McMachine - Yikes! - Anonymous employee McMaster-Carr Employee Review

1.0
21 Aug 2022
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Pay and benefits are above-average as long as you are willing to sacrifice your humanity. They hire smart people at the "generalist" level, but morale is in the ground so they are miserable smart people.

Cons

The reviews are correct, depending on what you value. If you value money over your sense of humanity, this is a great place for you. If the following doesn't sound like something you'd be able to tolerate - RUN. (I'm honestly not sure how I've made it this long.) HR and management are out of touch. That should say it all, but I'll go on. Employees are quantified in every way possible down to the second. I have never experienced this level of micro-management. We are treated like robots and stripped of our humanity, but the technology and metrics they use to do so are archaic at best. They are not willing to be challenged when it comes to their metrics. Although they've never done the work themselves, management thinks whatever they've come up with is "best for the operation." Hiring practices are antiquated and elitist. They really think that a fresh 22 year graduate from an Ivy League is more qualified to manage a team than an employee with over 40 years of experience at the company. Employees do not have a say in their roles, even if they are looking to grow within the company. If an employee expresses interest in a different role, they are immediately shot down and given a list of ways they are not qualified, but everyone knows what they won't say - they're elitist and value fresh Ivy League degrees over years (in some cases decades) of experience. It's only okay for them to laterally move you across the company at their convenience; you are not allowed a say. They'll pay for your education, but they pass along taxes if it's not deemed "applicable to the business" and there's no clear list or guidance as to what they deem to be worthy. Oh, and that Ivy League degree? It's only worth something to them if you obtained it before you started working there. They will pay for your degree, but won't let you use it. Morale among employees is awful. I have never experienced a workplace where employees collectively hate every single aspect of their job except for the pay. Most people are either waiting out retirement or vesting at six years in -- if they even make it that far. The company is very disjointed from department to department. Some of my co-workers barely have to work, while others are tracked to the literal millisecond. Either way, the expectations are not clear across any of the departments and management expects employees to deal with it. No matter how well you perform, your raise will always be 2.5%. Despite perfect monthly, tri-annual, and annual reviews, I, nor anyone I have worked with, have ever gotten more than 2.5%. That's not even enough to match inflation.

Explore other reviews about McMaster-Carr

5.0
14 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

At least in the Systems department, it’s a helpful and collaborative environment.

Cons

3 days in office and potentially long commute from the city

4.0
16 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Pay/benefits are incredibly generous - People are generally easy/nice to work with - Note that the Systems department seems to be fairly isolated from the negative issues discussed in other reviews (e.g. tension between warehouse workers and management) - I haven't experienced any of those issues within the systems department. In my opinion, Systems is a great place to work and develop as an engineer. - Hybrid work style (3 days in office). Personally, I like hybrid more than both fully in-office and fully remote styles. - Great cafeteria with good food and cheap prices. - Good work/life balance (outside of being on call, I can leave work at work).

Cons

- Work is not super interesting to me. I come from a highly technical, but very different (not ecommerce/industrial supplies), background where I was doing work I was much more interested in. No doubt there are folks in Systems who love the domain though. - While I'm not on call a ton (1-2 weeks every few months), I really hate being on call. I like to leave work at work. Note that joining at least one reliability team is expected within your first year or so.

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