Most of the worst-rated companies are customer-facing, low-paying businesses with high employee turnover rates. For a number of these companies, the most commonly reported annual compensation on Glassdoor is lower than the national average annual wage of $48,320. The majority of these companies operate in the retail trade sector, which has an above-average turnover rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The high turnover rates at these companies suggest employers treat employees as easily replaceable. With low-skilled workers readily available, employees at some of these companies may indeed be disposable. However, many companies with the lowest employee satisfaction are also not doing especially well financially, which may suggest that low employee satisfaction is but a symptom of poor management overall. The Employment Policy Foundation also estimates it costs a company an average of $15,000 each time a an employee leaves
Just as employee satisfaction can impact profits, a company’s financial performance can impact employee satisfaction. Follett bookstores are losing ground to online giants such as Amazon.com, and their in-store sales are falling. As a result, Follett is closing stores and implement other cost cutting measures, employees may be assigned shorter shifts and consequently earn less. In Kmart, for example, where cashiers frequently complain about the difficulty of working on commission at a failing retailer, all full-time positions were recently switched to part-time.
To identify the worst companies to work for, 24/7 Wall St. independently examined employee reviews on Glassdoor — this is not a Glassdoor.com commissioned report. To be considered, a company needed to have a minimum of 1,500 reviews and be currently operating and headquartered in the United States. Employee counts are from the most recent financial documents for each company. For subsidiaries, head counts are for the parent company.