J. Jill Reviews

3.4

53% would recommend to a friend

(605 total reviews)
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Mary Ellen Coyne

40% approve of CEO

47% positive business outlook

J. Jill has an employee rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars, based on 605 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The J. Jill employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Retail and wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

605 reviews
1.0
24 Jun 2014

Toxic Environment. STAY AWAY!

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

You might survive if you have a supportive manager, but that's VERY rare. Free K-Cups is a pro. The roof deck is nice IF you get the rare opportunity to be able to take a lunch break. 60+ hours a week is the norm, no time for lunch. Location is good.

Cons

J.Jill is a toxic environment, very cut throat, kill-or-be-killed mentality. Everyone throws everyone under the bus to protect themselves and that's acceptable. Management said point-blank in a meeting that they expect you to stay after hours and it’s the norm to NOT see your kids, “if you want a job and you want to leave at 5, this is not the place for you, if you want a career it is”, “You either have it or you don’t and if you don’t your time is going to be up”. Once head exec walked the halls and stated “it’s 6:30 where is everybody?”. I mentioned I needed to leave at 5:30 to pick up my daughter and its been hard to leave to do so - "too bad" they told me, "I don't see my kids either". Late and early meetings are the norm, 8am meetings and 7pm meetings happen almost every day. They don't develop and support their good people and then drive them out. The President of the company is always confused on what she asked for in prior meetings and has everyone run around in circles back and forth to appease her. Decisions are made on the fly with no regards to what needs to get done and the impact on the employees, creative work suffers and it results in a lower quality outcome. There is A TON of turnover. They place unrealistic expectations on their staff and everyone is overworked, departments are understaffed, folks are miserable and unhappy.

1.0
13 Jun 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Conveniently located on the South Shore, with easy access to metro Boston & the Cape.

Cons

Where do I begin? Working at the J Jill corporate office is a nightmare. Virtually no training for new employees. Dated, sub-par systems. Management is very "hands off" and disconnected from employees. No support from management - constant finger pointing; direct reports constantly "thrown under the bus" in order to alleviate being blamed for wrongdoing by company president. Speaking of whom, the company president is an out-of-touch "has been" who has no clue of the actual J Jill clientele. Management is incapable of making firm decisions in a timely manner, leading to constant re-works. Ineffectual HR department. Absolutely no room for growth - the company has "leveled off" in growth & will never be a "power player" in the industry. Salary is below industry standard, particularly for East Coast companies. Many positions that are "bonus eligible" at most other companies are exempt here; yet management is given substantial "secret" bonuses. Finally, if you relocate, be prepared that they do NOT "gross up" in terms of the relocation $, it's retroactive, and takes months to be paid out.

1.0
23 Aug 2012

Height of dysfunction

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

There are some great people who work for the company and try to keep the motors running. If it wasn't for people below the Director level the company would crumble.

Cons

I have never seen a company run so poorly. One woman, Paula Bennett the President, makes all decisions. Everyone else is given the illusion of decision making ability, but then Paula swoops in and casts her decision without considering the hours of work and discussions that have already taken place. Working here is completely frustrating. The bonuses that are worked into the Sr. level and above's contracts would infuriate the other 95% of the company if they ever knew. Company does poorly, gets sold and the executive team takes home a years salary as a bonus. What did everyone else get? Nothing. Upper management has been completely replaced as they started growing their legs and questioning the actions of Paula. Once they started being a squeaky wheel, they were fired. All in all, an utterly awful place to work and I caution EVERYONE to stay away from here. It will affect your personal life, your confidence and you will hate coming to the office everyday.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 605 Reviews

Glassdoor has 652 J. Jill reviews submitted anonymously by J. Jill employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if J. Jill is right for you.