A (hard) fall from grace - Anonymous employee IKEA Employee Review

1.0
Sep 27, 2017
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

For the wonderful first 6 years of my career with IKEA, I never for a moment would have considered rating IKEA as anything less than a perfect five-stars. IKEA was (yes, sadly "was") a five-star organization; the company had an exceptional culture, which was rooted in a fantastic, well-adhered-to set of of values. Unfortunately, the US organization will be/was completely restructured in October, and it appears that the IKEA values (as well as logic and common sense) were completely scrubbed from the new organization.

Cons

The true con is what the current US country managers, Lars Peterson and Nabeela Ixtabalan, have done to what was once an exemplary and beloved organization. Their pet reorganization project, dubbed "Organizing for Growth" or O4G, has unraveled productivity and morale at an alarmingly rapid pace. Many "lifers" (coworkers with over 10, 20, or 30 years of experience with IKEA) are leaving or have already left. The future looks extremely uncertain, and unfortunately the only certainties are lower salaries and significantly higher hour requirements (full-time coworkers must now commit 80 hours/week to IKEA).

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5.0
Apr 14, 2026
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Pros

Great managers and coworkers-felt like family.

Cons

Holidays were brutal but mainly because of the coworkers

4.0
Jun 1, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I have a very empathetic and flexible manager. Although I do meet the requirement to be in office three days a week many others do not and don’t seem to suffer for it. My work can be challenging at times, but due to the slow pace of most things here I rarely feel overwhelmed.

Cons

This is, without equivocation, the most sclerotic organization I have ever been a part of. The management structure and reporting lines are inscrutable and even after 3 years I barely understand how my team fits into the larger picture. My job is a data role, and although getting access to data has improved somewhat, it is still one of my biggest blockers.

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