Farm Journal Reviews

3.2

57% would recommend to a friend

(73 total reviews)
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Prescott Shibles

52% approve of CEO

46% positive business outlook

Farm Journal has an employee rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars, based on 73 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Farm Journal employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Media and communication industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

73 reviews
1.0
16 Dec 2018

Look elsewhere. Doesn't value employees.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Business-casual working environment. Great lower-level (non-management) colleagues to work with.

Cons

If you want to work for a company which values its workers, this isn't the place. Though an earlier review stated "Lots of people have been working here for many years, so that shows it is a good place overall," it's far from a good place, as longtime dedicated workers are gone either through better opportunities or being shown the door. From the outside, it appears to be a good company. Working there, however, one sees the entire picture. The company's managers don't care about their employees. They disparage them and micro-manage their work. There is also very little communication between the vice president-heavy management and its employees, who often aren't told how corporate changes will affect their jobs and the company. This company is clearly revenue- not people-driven. Money comes first. As another review accurately stated, employee/employer balance is gone and it's 100% about how much you can do for the company. The corporate culture is bad. Managers need people to tell them what is really happening with their products. There's a constant fear among employees of being let go for no valid reason. Performance evaluations mean nothing. At any time, your job is in jeopardy. Employees work in fear of losing their positions or returning to the office to find their cubicle mates gone. Those that remain are saddled with their former colleagues' work. The increased responsibilities don't come with corresponding compensation. Burnout is common. Morale is low.

2.0
14 Oct 2017

The trend is not good

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

You'll work with a wonderful editorial staff who are hard workers and great writers. The work environment is very supportive. You will always get good advice/help/encouragement from your peers. Writers will get the opportunity to put out a lot of great work for some really respected industry-leading brands. Opportunities to advance within the company are uneven but do exist.

Cons

There are some ongoing red flags right now that have been getting progressively worse. 1. Zero professional development opportunities. Like literally, there will be no "award-winning" work at Farm Journal this year because the company elected not to enter any awards in 2017. Also, many staff haven't even received a formal review in 2-3+ years. 2. Squeezing staff and workloads. Many editorial positions that have vacated in the past 18-24 months (whether through attrition/retirement/promotions/whatever) have not been filled. That puts tremendous pressure on remaining staff, who find themselves expected to get more work done with fewer total people. Don't expect compensation or even much acknowledgement when this happens, either. 3. Aside from squeezing current staff, the company hit them with a salary freeze in 2017. So bigger workload with no hope of a raise. 4. Your vacation may not necessarily be approved, especially in winter months, when the company is seasonally busier. Holiday travel is not a given here. With a "use it or lose" it vacation policy, I found that especially irritating. 5. Increasingly low morale, as a product of items #1-4 (plus some other nitpicks not mentioned here). The corporate culture is unwell and it's starting to show. Most of these red flags stem from the same core problem: All employee/employer balance has been completely erased over the past 2 years. Right now, it's 100% about how much you can do for the company and 0% about what the company can do to support and develop your talent. Expect to work hard and produce great work, but don't expect much (or any) acknowledgement or support along the way.

2.0
29 Jan 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The collection of workers in the company is superb. So people truly care about thier job and this industry.

Cons

Management doesn't listen. They don't promote internally, especially when they should. They lose millions because of this.

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Farm Journal Response
6y
We are sorry to hear that you felt (or feel) marginalized. We are happy to discuss this in more detail and welcome the opportunity to discuss your employee experience. It's the only way any company can deal with issues and ultimately get better at communication - we can only act on the information we know. Please contact HR directly.
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Glassdoor has 75 Farm Journal reviews submitted anonymously by Farm Journal employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Farm Journal is right for you.