Working at IKEA — Reviews by Employees

I've worked for IKEA for over a year part time. The pay is not the best but at least it's something until I finish school. I still work in the same area because there really hasn't been any good openings that will work around my second job's hours. With my benefits, I only signed up for Dental but not medical. As a part timer with lousy hours it would take a big chunk out of my paycheck.
I absolutly don't see IKEA as being a potential career in my life. It was ok in the beginning but as of now I can't stand working there...but can't leave just yet. The location is good because I live in the Atlanta area, so it doesn't take long for me to get there. My co-workers are alright, but I'm getting sick of some of their half-assed work and having to correct their problems when I have my own work to do. Also supervisors from other departments love to meddle in others affairs, and show off their fake "superiority" they think they've earned.
Work environment is starting to be a really big problem at this store. The store's management has dicided to up the stock level of everything hoping to sell more. So all of the store shelves and bins are crammed with merchandise which makes the store look tacky. Lets not forget the piles or mountains of stock that are over flowing from bins through out the store. These mountains of merchandise create hazards which tend to fall over on the floor, and I've seen shelves collapse from the heavy weight. I'm 5'10 and there are rug piles taller than me. Customers like to grab things from the middle than the top, so imagine 6 or more rugs rolling down on an adult or child. Plus I've passed by other areas with the same problem, cookshop with their pot boxes stacked to the sky, or self serve furniture stacked so high with a display on top that might fall over if not stable.
I'd love to express concern to the human resources department but the guy in charge is friends with the other upper management people. If I tell the HR guy, he tells upper managment, and I just might get fired for complaining. The upper management can easily break rules because....their upper management.
I really can't wait to quit this place.

Upper management are only concered about pleasing their higher ups. In their many campfire meetings they state their concerns for the betterment of the coworkers in a way that sounds as though they are genuinly concerned, but in reality they are just trying to make themselfs look good.

I work in the distribution center in Lebec, CA and have rated all categories below from my experience there.

Pay: Not fantastic, but definitely above minimum wage for even general warehouse positions. The pay is reasonable, but you certainly won't get rich working for IKEA.

Respect: I feel incredibly respected as an individual and coworker. As someone else said, there are two sides to IKEA. I've come to realize that management from those who were hired into high positions as outsiders manage nothing close to IKEA's management philosophy, while those who worked their way up are much more respectful, understanding, and motivating. The latter find a way to relate to coworkers without making them feel like they're on a different level, although they may be.

Benefits: IKEA's benefits are great. What may be lacking on your pay stub is seriously made up with the benefits. Dental is so cheap and covers a considerable amount every year. The education assistance is a great incentive to finish a college degree. I recently had a baby and with the insurance, i only had to pay $200, regardless of the number of days I needed to stay in the hospital.

Job Security: I personally feel great job security because I feel valued in my department, but our location did let go of nearly 30 people during the slump in the economy for general warehouse positions.

Work/Life Balance: With sick days available when your spouse or child is sick, I feel that IKEA has a good work/life balance. In my department, I feel incredibly fortunate to have a team leader and boss that are so understanding if there is something I need to do. For example, they allowed me to take a few days off during a blackout period because I was getting married, which would seem obvious. However, I'm not sure I would've gotten the same courtesy from another company. Also, if you have something going on, they try to be flexible with your work schedule if possible. We used to be a seven day operation, but they made incredible adjustments to the operation to reduce it to Monday through Friday so coworkers could be with their families on the weekends.

Career potential/Growth: I feel that IKEA's philosophy of growth is motivating, but unfortunately, the opportunities aren't always there. I don't think this is really anything to do with the company, but rather the seemingly low turnover rate in our location.

Location: Our building is 30 miles from the nearest big city, so this is a big negative. Our steering group worked with the local GET bus to arrange a special bus route to our building to help coworkers reduce the cost of gas. Unfortunately, the buses pickup over an hour before your scheduled shift, so it is really a choice between valuing your time or your money.

Coworker competence: I gave this a negative 5 because the attitude of our coworkers has a recurring theme of immaturity. They want everything handed to them, rather than work for it. Most coworkers complain of not having the chance to move up, but make no effort to do so. They join committees and take no responsibility for tasks, yet they expect rewards. It's frustrating for me to see, as I'm sure it is for management to deal with. We have VOICE meetings where coworkers are free to express themselves. I consistently hear complaints in these meetings that the team leaders haven't solved this or that problem, yet they admit to not trying to solve it themselves. They want raises, promotions, and recognition, but don't want to work for it.

Work Environment: My department is very laid back because the management trusts the coworkers to do their jobs. There are definitely more uptight departments in our building, but I am fortunate to not be in those departments.

While I love what I do, I hate the people I work with and the environment I work in. Working hard makes no difference, it's all about who's butt you kiss and how many times you tell your manager that his ideas are fantastically perfect. If you're a dirt bag that doesn't deliver to your job responsibilities, don't worry about it, there's always someone who likes you who will make all your troubles disappear. If you're looking for a job where you make a difference and your ideas are heard, I would avoid this store. If you're looking for a job where your manager works with you to develop you and train you to be the best at what you do, you won't find that here. If you're looking for a job where motivation and teamwork are important, stay away from this store. The benefits are ok, the pay if fine, but the experience is a miserable one.

I have worked for Ikea for some time now in a supervisory position in the customer services department.
My experience of working for Ikea has been pretty consistant from the start and I shall explain my rating of the employer just to give you an idea of what it's like to work for us....

The interview process: I had in total 4 interviews with Ikea, 3 with the services manager and one with the customer services manager and the cash office manager, in total this took up a staggering 13 hours of my time, the interviews were all VERY late starting, one had me there until 10:15pm, and whilst I diligently turned up 20 minutes early for each I was on 3 occasions left waiting for 45 minutes, 1 hour and 10 minutes and 1 and a half hours respectively for the interviewer who couldn't plan their day correctly, on one occasion even being told "Sorry I had completely forgotten you were here." So NOT a very good start and I had the idea that this was going to be indicative of my time at Ikea....

When I was finally offered the job I was made to feel like the person offering it to me had gone totally out of their way for me, telling me how I would be on the highest banding possible for a new starter, and that had I not "reminded" the person so much of themselves that I might not have gotten the job as they have had so much trouble with the staff they have taken on in the past, that I should avoid joining the union (add not so subtle threatening eye-brow raise here) as it would not do me any favours, and that whilst my contract was for 39 hours I should aim to work around 10 hours per day not including the 45 minutes deducted for meal breaks. When I asked if I could have a moment to mull things over (seeing as how they'd practically told me why NOT to take the position) I was told I had 5 minutes to make up my mind, the interviewer then sat there looking at me for 3 minutes before asking "what's it gonna be then?" Had I not needed a more stable income at the time I would have said "No". To have been so pressured into making a decission to this day still feels wrong, and I would never had needed the time had I not been messed around, and (in not so many words) told that I must do as I am told.

When I started the staff all seemed quite friendly with the exception of some of the co-workers I was responsible for, I tried to understand how it must feel for them to have a outsider managing them seeing as how many of them had falsely been promised promotions. Regardless of how much kindness and support I lavished on them a select few set about tormenting and bullying me with as much gusto as possible, I tired to manage this and when it dawned on me that I was getting no-where I turned to my manager who's response was to try and ignore the problem hoping it would go away. This as you can imagine made me feel *ever* so valued, so I went to HR, who I have since learned is staffed by a group of people with NO professional human resources qualifications, bar one co-worker who isn't even the manager, so as you can imagine I got very far with them. So in the end it was left to me to take each co-worker to one side and make it very clear that I am the kind of manager who will do anything for you, I want to develop you and support you and that I will without discrimination take down anyone who decides to make my life hell for their sheer enjoyment. This is so out of my character that it felt dirty, but suprise, suprise it worked, and it worked for one simple reason, because the co-workers had been treated to this kind of shoddy, bullying management style for a long time!

All the co-workers at the store I work at are treated like idiots all the time, the majority of them are vastly more capable and passionate about their roles than 99% of the managers, me included! And yet they are ignored, their development is seen as bothersome and their happiness and work-life balance is seen as a spirit that must be crushed, rewards seem to extend to once in a blue moon parties where the co-workers (most of whom are only just legally allowed to drink) are plyed with cheap alcohol (very responsible Ikea) and then expected to turn up for work in a fit state the next day, any other benefits and rewards I am yet to see!

So work/life balance, well since I have been working for Ikea my gym membership has certainly become something I pay for yet never use, my gym is a 20 minute walk from my home, yet, trying to go every other day is an impossibility as by the time I get home I would only get a half hour session in, hardly worth it. My relationship has extended to kissing my partner goodnight and saying goodbye in the morning, we live together and I see more of the ignorant, largely dispicable customers in the returns department than I do him. I am no the kind to go out on a "school night" so socialising with my friends has taken a seriously unhealthy back seat. My partners parents came to visit from the (literally) other side of the world and when I tried to book holiday I was told it was inconvenient (this is with a months notice and I only wanted 2 days) so I had one meal with them and drove them to the airport when they left (thanks Ikea for the memories).

Ikea has no fixed policies for customers at the store I work in so co-workers are constantly confused and customers have a "its my right to abuse you and you have to give me everything I want" attitude, so co-workers (and it's not their fault) just give the customers whatever they want so they don't get verbally roughed up by the customers. Having a degree in psychology I can honestly say I have never witnessed such abhorrent behaviour from human beings outside of Ikea (and I have worked with offenders of violent crime before) and this behaviour is accepted as perfectly ok by managers who should be protecting and defending their co-workers!

In short the Ikea store I work in is a terrible example of the values the company likes to claim it holds dear.

The pay is decent for a starting position, but nothing phenomenal. I only worked part time so the yearly salary isn't really applicable. I think that the managers try to accommodate the coworkers to a reasonable degree. The benefits are excellent if you stay at the company long enough to receive them (i.e. not a temporary position). As far as I know, they rarely do lay-offs so if you start working there and want to keep working there, you most likely can do so. Between the job security and the benefits, they aim to keep you around; they are looking mostly employees seeking a career. The scheduling is pretty flexible. There is a lot of room for advancement and movement withing the company, but you often need to be willing to relocate to get some of the better advancements. The location was a bit of a drive for me, but it wasn't too bad; this was probably the worst part of the job for me. the coworkers are friendly and knowledgeable and the store is overall a fun place to work. I would reccomend it =)

Honestly, I wish I still worked here. While the job had its flaws, the good outweighed the bad. I had to quit because I stupidly decided to work with my girlfriend at the time and she made trouble for me. Had she not worked there with me everything would have been great.

Pay: Nothing special, I made $8.25 working in Home Organization and lighting. They claimed to have paid little because they offered a large benfits package. I didn't stay 90 days (damn girlfriend) so that didn't affect me.

Job Security: Excellent. My boss Aaron loved me, and I got along really well with my coworkers.

Work/Life Balance: Great, they scheduled me perfectly. I was able to have a 2nd job without any problems.

Career Potential/Growth: They said opportunity was there, but it was extremely political. My boss wanted to send me to a new store opening to set up and get a taste for things, but other managers vetoed his decision. You would think an endorsement from your own manager would mean something, but not here. At meetings, it felt like some of the other managers would go out of their way to discredit me. They would speak for long periods without interruptions, yet whenever I spoke I couldnt finish a sentence without being interrupted or having a joke being created out of it. It was incredibly annoying. Plus, I will never quite know what the managers do all day. They are always in closed door meetings, and whenever they would get out they would want to discuss sales philosophy. It would have helped alot more if they were acually out on the floor with us.

Location: Prime spot off 121 and the Tollway in an affluent area.

Co-Worker Competence: I loved the people I worked with in my departments, and they liked me because they knew if I was working we wouldn't be there all night closing. What annoyed me was the other departments, especially textiles. I would watch them standing around talking and doing nothing, yet at the end of the night when my department was finished we were "required" to go help them. I had a big problem with that because they were never doing what they were supposed to which is why they needed help in the first place. Once again, why we need managers on the floor more often.

Work Environment: I enjoyed my time there, and hated it when my girlfriend at the time started causing trouble. I put in a 2 weeks and never returned after putting it in. It was a good place to work for, and I wish I could go back. I doubt I could though because of how I chose to quit.

I worked at IKEA as a sales co-worker for almost two years while I was finishing my college degree nearby. The environment within the store was much more professional and competent than my previous experience at another retail employer. I made many close friends there of all ages as walks of life and the co-worker population was quite diverse in age, background, nationality, and ethnicity.

The customers are usually fun to work with but as with any job there are often difficult, ignorant, and disrespectful customers also. The company encourages customers to educate themselves through their extensive communications so that assistance needed is limited to necessary encounters.

There are a lot of factors that go into being happy with a position in the company and I think I made it in at pretty good spot. I was lucky enough to be hired in one of BAs (Business Areas) as a sales co-worker and under competent and motivating management. I felt respected by my co-workers as well as most of the management team. This respect is not just assumed however. While as a new co-worker you are given a certain amount of respect and leeway it is quickly learned by everyone around you what type of worker you are and this greatly effects your experiences and opportunities in the future. I worked very hard despite my limited hours as a part-timer but earned the respect of my manager as well as those in nearby departments. This allowed opportunities to gain more responsibility within my job which were personally rewarding and makes the day go faster. As far a financially rewarding, not really. At the same time however I have seen positions which are less desireable because of the management team in that area and high turn-over rates almost often correlated with management (although I doubt anyone at the company would admit that).

The pay for a retail position was better than most in my area but still not great. Raises were more frequent than I expected but often negligible. There is definitely a large gap between management pay and those under them. Getting to management would take a very long time. Often just getting a full-time position was difficult. Many people that work there have been there for a long-long time so as a new-comer there is a long line of potential management candidates ahead of you unless you work extremely hard to be seen as management material. I knew people who had been working there for 10+ years who were still trying to creep their way up the company ladder.

Scheduling was pretty flexible with about a months notice needed for request/offs and a bit more for vacation.

Benefits were great, paid vacation, flex holiday, personal, and sick time was earned as a reasonable rate. I didn't use the available medical or dental coverage but I never heard complaints from those who did.

In all this was a fun place to work and I'm very glad I had the opportunity to work at IKEA. If your looking into working there part-time, just looking for something to pass the time, or have a real passion for retail or home-furnishing/decorating I would definitely go for it. It's Fun!

IKEA is the best place I have ever worked. Everybody that works there is friendly and willing to help. The management is awesome and the benifits are great. As a part-time employee I get paid vacation and time off, paid sick days, a 401k, employee discount, and so many more. I work in returns so I get my fair share of bad customers but honestly, what company doesn't have those? I am able to work my way up to bigger and better things and am paid very generously. The co-worker area is fantastic. Co-workers have their own cafe, bathrooms, lockers, game room, fitness center, and entrance. The parking is covered so there are no worries about storms and such. The location is right by the MOA so it's a quick drive and easy to get to. Most of the customers are nice and it's fun to meet the tourists that come to IKEA. The whole store is so organized and clean. I am very proud of working there and I think it is a great place for anybody to work.

I have worked retail for a long time and while Ikea has it's problems, it is by far the best retail treatment as a coworker that I have had. People seem to really care about each other.