Awful and emotionally draining - Anonymous employee Publix Employee Review

2.0
Oct 13, 2023
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Free lunch at the corporate office and stock options.

Cons

Where do I start? Pay is abysmal and way below market level. They try to justify it by saying you'll always have "job security" with Publix. While that may be true, there are other companies out there that offer just as much job security and can still pay their employees fairly. The benefits are nothing to write home about either. 401k match is lower than most, 2 weeks of PTO, (many employers now offer 3 weeks of PTO starting out) and only 6 paid holidays. The corporate office has pretty much no amenities past the free lunch. In a world that is moving more towards remote/hybrid work, companies that require their workers to be in the office full-time need to have things that make their employees want to come to the office. Upper management and executives are old-school and behind the times. It's a good ol' boys club everywhere from store management to corporate C-suite. If you don't play their game, you won't go very far. Even if you try your best to fall in line and work hard, get ready to be talked down to if you're a woman or if you're under the age of 40. Inter-department cliques are also a huge problem. Gossip is rampant and you will never feel like you can trust the people around you. Full of people who never grew out of their high school mean girl/bully mentality. In my experience, the only people who put up with this environment long-term are those who have little to no education or experience outside of Publix. They constantly shove down your throat how Publix is such a "great place to work" so that maybe you'll actually drink the Kool-Aid and believe that you are under a great employer. If you have any type of self-respect, you should look elsewhere for somewhere that fosters employee retention/growth and takes care of its people.

Explore other reviews about Publix

5.0
Jan 21, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

They were open and honest about hours and working conditions. Pay was good for the position.

Cons

Refunds on anything. Way too times customers took advantage. They should change refund policy.

3.0
May 29, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Amazing 401K, free stock after one year of employment, health insurance is very good for part-time employees if only getting it for yourself, management always approves time off requests, hours are always available, will work around school schedules, tuition reimbursement program, will reimburse you for gas for work-related expenses as needed and will put you in a hotel as needed for work-related reasons that are more than 50 miles from your home.

Cons

Not every store is the same, some stores are run better than others, some managers look down upon people with disabilities, and some see people with disabilities the same as someone without disabilities, they are very big about favoritism, you have to work a lot to earn a vacation, the company does not give out sick time and full-time gets the most benefits and is next to impossible to get full-time. Also, you practically have to be a former employee with a clean record or related in some way to a current employee to get a job with the company though Kentucky Publix's don't quite function that way.

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