Great atmosphere, lousy career progression - Anonymous employee IKEA Employee Review

Part of being part of a "family" is that it can be very dysfunctional. Retail by its very nature is a dysfunctional sort of environment...but where I worked felt more like being back in high school. Because the company has a very strong company culture, it can also feel a bit cult-ish at times. I found a lot of people had worked there for eons and were quite frankly, brainwashed into thinking along company lines with little ability to think for themselves. I was part of the Backpacker Talent Development program, where 8 people from the US were chosen to travel and work for 1 year. I lived abroad in Belgium and Poland (6 months each). The program was meant to catapult you into a management position with support from within the company. It seemed like a great program but the reality was a completely different story. I received virtually zero support while on the ground in Europe and I had to learn everything as I went along. The logistics were poorly organized and there was really no accountability within the organization.