Pros
A solid, operationally-grounded Fortune 100 company that cares about people - its employees, agency owners, customers and community. Strong attention to employee benefits and wellness, especially in the last 3-4 years. Company supports responsible business practices like supplier diversity, ethics, engagement with its stakeholders, environmental stewardship, public advocacy and asset management (that includes a decently-sized socially responsible investment portfolio). Whether people know it or not, Allstate has received industry awards and recognition in a good number of these categories. The company, at least in the main corporate office, has gotten more with the times in recent years as it relates to flexible work schedules and allowing employees to work from home. Depending on your role, I think it's better than the majority of companies. Compensation is solid, if not above average. But the employee benefits, in general, are well constructed…IMO, an Allstate employee can't complain about not being taken care of, in the short- or long-term. We have a pension plan (in addition to the 401K) and that's certainly not the norm with corporations these days. They've also made a big push in recent years to provide employees with the resources and tools they need for professional development. At the end of the day, employees have to take these tools and do something with them - which is often easier said than done. Allstate takes the "lead a horse to water…" approach and leaves it to employees to own their careers.
Cons
As with any "classic", there's a little gray around the edges. The employee demographic skews a bit toward the suburban Boomers but is starting to get younger the past few years. And the workforce is relatively diverse…and *inclusively* diverse. As with any corporate behemoth, making changes and getting decisions made is a little like steering an ocean liner…lots of layers in the org chart but the checks and balances are there for a reason, I suppose. They've tried to create a culture in recent years that rewards innovation and hard work…that's always a work in progress. As far as workload, you'll probably hear a lot of rumbling in internal satisfaction surveys that people are overworked and don't have the resources they need to get their jobs done. But I think that's pretty common in any corporate environment these days - do more with less.