General Motors

"Don't expect to be treated the same as men. Always be at the top of your game."

"GM was once one of the best placed to work in Michigan but has lost its way over the last year. Work hours are flexible but work life balance ends there. You will be expected to be in the office 3 days per week without exception and still work well over 40 hours per work and be available around the clock after leaving the office, and it will still never be enough . GM offers a lot of benefits on paper (vacation time, parental, 401k, good, health insurance) but any benefit you use you will pay for and their culture is run on a system of fear. If you take time off, you will not have coverage and will make up the time and often be expected to work on your days off, despite being granted PTO or holidays. The high performance culture and bell curve forced ranking GM has moved to is not good for morale, and directly hurts women who don’t thrive in cutthroat environments or who want work life balance, especially when compensation is directly affected for 15% of people. By high performance they mean how many extra assignments and workload you will take on, how many extra hours you will put in without being compensated or promoted, or what list of chosen young white males you are on. Women generally don’t move up quickly because having family and setting boundaries will set your career back. Because of this, the Senior Leadership Team is almost all white men who are out of touch and have zero EQ. GM no longer offers their take 5 program for career entry and part time work, while listed as a benefit is rarely approved (unless you want to work overtime less days per week for part time pay and benefits). Mental health, safety, health and inclusivity are constantly talked about, but GM culture does not live their values. They have become a company driven by greed and shareholders and have lost their way. I would not recommend unless this is the kind of environment you desire."

"Must go in to office three days per week if you’re within 50 miles. Leaders can mandate the days. Now corporate is issuing Tues-Thur mandate. Flexibility is being taken away and remote and hybrid work is becoming a thing of the past."

"It's a very good company for those just starting out in their careers since they tend to hire a lot of college hires and cater to their training and development. Depending on what org you get into, and your manager, your experience can vary widely. They do have a very generous parental/family leave policy, just implemented in the past few years. They also have a very generous tuition reimbursement program that I regret not taking advantage of. Once you are established, there are opportunities to apply for international assignments. On the downside, I had never worked in automotive before and they tend to have layoffs pretty often even in good times. I would say GM is a better option for business backgrounds than software developers since their IT strategy seems to be in flux at the time of this review."

"Get active in the GM Women ERG. Network and meet as many people as possible. Do your core job VERY well, but look and ask for "stretch" projects. Observe what people who get promotions do, and you'll see what is valued in your department. If you are having difficulties with your manager, look for another department to work in. The quality of management varies significantly from department to department."