Mary Kay reviews

3.9

72% would recommend to a friend

(1,019 total reviews)

Ryan Rogers

73% approve of CEO

61% positive business outlook

Mary Kay has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 1,019 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Mary Kay employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Produktion industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

1K reviews
3.0
Mar 28, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

> First of all let me make something clear: most of the reviews on here are from Independent Beauty Consultants. They are NOT Mary Kay employees, so do not judge what it's like to work for the Mary Kay corporation by these reviews. > I work in the headquarters building on Mary Kay Way. It is a beautiful facility. I really love walking into it everyday. The food in the cafeteria is amazing and really affordable. A professional team of kitchen chefs and cooks prepare meals that you would find in restaurants for less than $7. Can't beat it! Also all parking is underground so you never have to worry about your car sitting in the sun all day or running to it in the rain. > The employees are very polite and friendly and respectful of women which is really cool. > The security guards are very professional and take their job seriously. They actually check your badge and make sure you belong there. That makes me feel safe knowing they are not going to let some wacko head up stairs and terrorize people. They also carry sidearms.. I love it! > The mission of the company, enriching women's lives, is a great thing to work for; especially in parts of the world that are emerging from depressing old economies where women have had no opportunity to make a living before. It's not just words, the employees really believe in this stuff and are doing everything in their power to help the beauty consultants be successful in their businesses. > This is by far the most money I've ever made somewhere. Salary, bonuses, profit sharing, random gifts and perks, benefits, etc is all top notch. I think you would be hard-pressed to find a place that compensates their employees better than this one.

Cons

> I am an employee of the company in the Information Systems & Technology department at Mary Kay. I can tell you that Balanced Priorities, Make Me Feel Important, and The Golden Rule do not apply to us. We work like f'ing dogs here! Impossible deadlines and competing deadlines are put upon us and we get to kill ourselves to accomplish the goals anyway. It sucks! I have no life. I just work all the freaking time. Everything is a crisis every day. It's absolute chaos and misery. I don't know how else to describe it. The best part of my day is going to the cafeteria and getting some good food. The 2nd best part of the day is when i get the hell out of there and go home to my family. > They use a ton of contractors here and this is why they can work everyone like dogs and get away with it. If you burn out, oh well they can just hire another contractor. If they don't like you, they can end your contract. If you're one of the lucky few, you can become an employee. But most people in this department are only contractors and don't get to become employees. I can't say what it's like for other departments at Mary Kay. I'm sure it's wonderful because most people are so happy around the HQ building.

1.0
Jan 11, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

This company is having it's best year ever, apparently. Many people go to work here because of the core values of the company and it's mission from it's founder - to enrich womens lives. Unfortunately, the real culture of the company isn't what it's portrayed to be from the outside looking in.

Cons

Political and backstabbing. I was given no feedback on my job performance. Too many managers are plotting with each other to keep their jobs while plotting to get others fired. Meanwhile, they are not doing their jobs. They're making their employees do all their work which puts an incredible amount of pressure on the employees, who have no voice. They have no voice because the directors who oversee the managers give complete and blind support to their managers. This creates a large window of opportunity for abuse of power by the managers.

1.0
Mar 17, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

None. The manufacturing facility is full of narcissistic managers that love to make their employee's lives miserables. Employees are constantly written up to HR. It's a rite-of-passage amongst employees and something they joke about because it's so common. Managers are not proficient in their role and expect their employees to do what they're told, only to be written up when the managers realize they were wrong. Managers prey on other managers to get them fired so they can advance their inner-company love interests into that position. Managers favor certain employees and use them as tools to get employees that they do not like fired. The environment at Mary Kay is toxic and most employees do not stay long. It has become so bad that every employee that quits simply quits on the spot and does not put in a two week notice.

Cons

The entire company is one big con. The "family first" idea that they try to lure employees in with is just propaganda. Employees are not treated well and are forced to endure mental and emotional pain throughout the duration of their time at the company.

Viewing 13 - 15 of 1,019 Reviews

Glassdoor has 2,437 Mary Kay reviews submitted anonymously by Mary Kay employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Mary Kay is right for you.