tanker driver

operator

high school teacher

driver

utility worker

EMERY SAPP & SONS

My time with this company was incredibly frustrating, demoralizing, and ultimately a complete waste. The work environment is cliquish and toxic, making it difficult to thrive professionally or personally. Management is a disorganized mess-constantly lying, avoiding ACCOUNTABILITY, and never providing straight answers. Leadership ignores valid concerns and then acts shocked when problems arise, always shifting the blame onto employees. There are far too many “leaders” and not nearly enough support staff to actually get work done efficiently. Don’t bother going above and beyond here. If you’re not part of the clique, your ideas will be taken and handed off to someone else who is, and they’ll get credit and rewards while you’re left with nothing. The culture promotes favoritism, not fairness. Opportunities for growth and recognition are nonexistent. Despite being therefore years, I was never promoted-just handed a new job title with no meaningful change. The promises of career advancement are empty.  Raises were minimal and only came after constant pushing and uncomfortable conversations. I wasn’t even close to making the average pay for the role I was doing “under paid for many years”. Don’t count on bonuses, they will hand them selectively and often pass over people who’ve earned them in favor of office favorites. Flexibility is also a joke-remote work is discouraged or flat-out refused to include hybrid work. They expect you to be in the office no matter what the situation. The ESOP isn’t that great either as  it isn’t accessible right away and isn’t guaranteed either. Overall, this company is disorganized, unappreciative, and a dead end for your career. I would not recommend it to anyone serious about their professional growth.

Working at Emery Sapp & Sons has been a truly rewarding experience. The company fosters a strong, people-first workplace culture that’s built on teamwork, respect, and a shared drive to succeed. Whether you’re in the field or the office, everyone has a voice, and leadership genuinely cares about employee well-being and professional growth.

One of the standout aspects of working here is the wide variety of construction projects. From major highways to complex civil infrastructure, there’s always something new to learn and take pride in. This diversity keeps the work exciting and provides excellent opportunities to expand your skill set.

Career advancement is more than just a promise here—it’s a reality. ESS is deeply invested in promoting from within, offering mentorship, training, and the chance to rise through the ranks for those who show initiative and dedication.

Compensation is competitive, and the insurance benefits are top-tier, providing peace of mind for employees and their families. But what really sets ESS apart is the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). It’s more than a benefit—it’s the backbone of the company culture. Being employee-owned creates a sense of pride and accountability that you can feel on every jobsite and in every office. Everyone works a little harder because we all have a stake in the company’s success.

If you're looking for a place where your work matters, your future is supported, and your team feels like family, Emery Sapp & Sons is the place to be.

I’m working on ten years with this company. I started as a laborer and moved up to operator, then foreman and now superintendent.  It is a very prideful and fast-paced company to work for.
I have seen a lot of great changes just in the last couple years.  The company recognizes the struggle to maintain a workforce that is self motivated and will work hard and offers a lot in order to encourage people to continue employment with the ESS. It is an employee owned company/ ESOP/ so the harder you work each year the more the company makes which means the more that you make for your retirement.  I have way more in my retirement account than most other retirement plans could offer. 
My experience alone can tell you how the company invest so much in each and every employee and will train you in so many different jobs to help you and your skills grow and advance.
 I think the hardest thing people find with working for this company is that you often travel to jobs that are a couple hours from home which can be hard on the family but they have very competitive pay and offer per-diem to compensate. 
If you are self motivated, hard-working, enjoy preforming a variety of tasks instead of the same old thing every day and are willing to travel a little bit, this company is definitely one to consider for all the benefits it provides.

I have seen some of the worst management skills of my whole career here. The healthcare plan is about as much as I would pay outside of the organization (expensive). 

My typical day involves doing things that are not in my job description, not having a clear goal, and being totally overloaded. I regret working here.

Culture is basically nonexistent and negative. There are rarely any team building events. I don't know half the people's names in my office. High turnaround and very poor communication. 

There's a pretty big difference between the way field employees are treated and the office staff. The benefits of the field guys is basically just healthcare and the ESOP plan which only really kicks in at year 3. No maternity, no real PTO, barely any paid holidays and a vague explanation of sick days (I don't think there are any).

Generally a lot of drinking and bad behavior all the way to the top.

Stay away.

I started here 3 years ago as a utility foreman and brought my whole crew with me from another company. I have been promoted to utility superintendent. ESS loves to promote within but you have to work hard and stand out. You gotta strive to be better than the guy next to you. ESS is one great company and the ESOP is real! The retirement will be significant for me when I’m ready to quit working. I’ll say that upper management treats employee owners like family because with ESS family is part of our culture. Safety is the most important part of our culture. Our safety culture is like no other. If we need it on the job site ESS will make sure we have it. Absolutely the best company I’ve ever worked for doing this for almost 11 years in the business 

Everyday is a new chance to build America, and work for a top 3 construction company in the Midwest. That alone propels me to get out of bed in the morning. But, then I get the luxury of working for ESS. From day one, my supervisor told me he would take care of me. So, I’ve put the work in, and he kept his word. I started out as a labor in the ditch over 4  years ago. Now, I’m a foreman teaching people and helping my company shine. I could never repay Sapp & the management for this opportunity and this life I’ve made for myself. So, I’ll just leave a nice review in hopes someone else gets to experience  something like this. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’m loyal to ESS, and there a reason for that. It’s a great place to work. As long as you’re not scared to get dirty and put the time in. 

As project manager I must say the culture was extremely disappointing. there was a noticeable lack of communication between departments, leading to constant confusion and frustration. Management seemed more focused on profits than on employees well-being, which created a toxic atmosphere. Teamwork was virtually nonexistent, as I had to complete other employees tasks while they weren't doing their job. If you want to get promoted you have to be in their click you aren't good luck on getting the promotion as they will look over your hard work. Overall, I cannot recommend this company to anyone looking for a positive and supportive work environment.

The office is extremely unorganized. It is such a clickish buddy system there in and a lot of the employees who cared are leaving. It is hard to get help when needed. They have switched HR software multiple times. Switched from a good product to one that sucks. The software  hardly works correctly always freezes or sits there and loads. I always have to uninstall and reinstall the application. I get in trouble when my time is not turned in on time but I cant when it doesn't work a majority of the time. It use to be a couple of apps we had to get into. Now we have multiple apps that we have to get into and nothing seems accurate. They do not care about the field guys. 

You'll be hired at a pay rate lower than average, having the ESOP dangled in front of your nose like it's some big pot of gold to make up the difference. It certainly can be, if you can survive the toxic, chaotic mess for longer than a few years. Depending on your department, management is a joke - no real leadership, just bullying and thinly veiled condescending feedback. No matter your experience, no one is interested in your input or suggestions. Don't bother talking to HR. They're aware of the problems but won't do anything about them, no matter how often my colleagues would sit in their office in tears or the amount of turnover that has occurred in the past few years. 

Emery Sapp and sons is great place to be employed at. They have given me a great opportunity working here and always feels like a small family at work. If anyone wants to try and get ahead in life ESS is a very good place to start. ESS has a lot of different projects and lines of work they perform, the opportunity to learn a trade is a great benefit with this company.  The employees that work for this company are some of the best people I have ever met. Hard work does pay off with this company, I see a lot of growth and potential every  year I’ve been employed.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Tanker driver 3 salaries reported	$70,923 per year
Operator 2 salaries reported	$23.21 per hour
High school teacher 2 salaries reported	$15.00 per hour
Driver 2 salaries reported	$23.89 per hour
Utility worker 1 salary reported	$32.90 per hour

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