There’s been a lot of picking on Sports Authority of late. The company went bankrupt, couldn’t find a buyer, and has even struggled to sell its leases.
In the end, Sports Authority is going out of business and 15,000 people are losing their jobs.
You’d expect outrage and trash talk from former employees pushed out by the sporting goods retailer’s financial woes, but a recent look at Sports Authority’s standing on company/job review site Glassdoor shows a different story — curiously, a lot of praise.
“I looked forward to going to work every day at Sports Authority. Many of the friends I made there will be with me for a lifetime. I am going to miss working for this company so much.”
“Flexible schedule and work from home up to two days per week for many positions provide a good work-life balance. Managers have a high level of autonomy making work much more enjoyable when you have a good manager. Decent level of promotion from within.”
“The people are truly what make the job. The company may have fallen, but my time with SA has been totally worth it.”
“Great customers and a fun, busy atmosphere. The managers are professional and work hard to keep the staff busy and engaged.”
Granted, there is criticism too, but for the most part the cause of complaint is upper management.
“Very top heavy which sometimes creates busy work as upper level managers try to justify their existence.”
“Leadership was ever changing and was the eventual reason for our lack of vision.”
Still, the majority of the most recent reviews are positive, especially for a company that is about to go under.
That got us thinking: Why?
Well, for starters, most of the recent reviews are being written by long-time employees who have stuck with the company for more than 10 years. You don’t stay that long with a job if you didn’t like it. And as seen above, most Sports Authority employees loved the people they worked with, which we all know can make or break the experience.
Secondly, with all the negative media surrounding Sports Authority, it can prompt defenders of the retailer to be more vocal — after all, they were part of the team. An attack on Sports Authority is an attack on them all.
Finally, after a bad break-up, no one likes to feel like damaged goods. Finding a new job is all about who you know and where you’ve been. The latter can sometimes reflect poorly in the eyes of others. “If Sports Authority failed, does that mean you did too?” It can be a reflection of self, and writing a positive review of the company you worked for may relieve that cognitive dissonance.
As of June 28, Glassdoor gave Sports Authority a 3.2 out of 5 ranking, situating it as a not-too-bad place to work. Dick’s Sporting Goods stands at the same grade of 3.2, while Academy Sports & Outdoors was a bump ahead with 3.3.
Just goes to show, Sports Authority wasn’t all that different from the other big boxes, and as a workplace, it deserves a good headline in its final hours.
Lead photo courtesy Sports Authority
