It's hard to know where to start.
FedEx does have some pluses. First of all is the health coverage. It's not great, and it takes a chunk from your paycheck, but at least you have it in case of a catastrophe. Secondly, you get retirement benefits, and FedEx matches your contribution. You are also pretty much guaranteed a job with the company as long as you want it. They are proud of not laying off employees, and to my knowledge, they have never done so. You also get paid vacations, maxing out at 5 weeks after 20 years with the company. Again, not great, but when you compare it to other American companies, well, it could be worse. Overall, however, I'd say FedEx has not been a great company to work for, and I wish I had started somewhere else, even if it meant getting paid less initially.
When I began, I worked long hours and there was plenty of overtime available. I went from part-time to full-time in a matter of months, and the padding in my checking account was nice to see. But such hours are not guaranteed, and in time they dwindled. After a few years, I was invited to attend a meeting with the head of the district. The topic of "top pay" came up, and he told us we would reach the top of the pay scale within 5 years (when the company started, it was under 2 years to reach top pay). We were using an assessment system then to rate couriers that was on a scale of 1-7 in a variety of categories. In the driving categories, new employees were considered to be
ProsSteady Paycheck, healthcare that's good in case of catastrophe, retirement benefits, paid vacation
ConsStress, company often lies to you, no respect for your personal time (FedEx must always come first!), pay does not reflect cost of living, no reward for good work, infrequent pay increases, physically demanding
This place has a lot of problems. Rampant favoritism, dishonest management, and Backstabbing co-workers. Their is literally no selection process when they hire management, whoever volunteers gets the job. You could have the most dishonest, backstabbing garbage person of a manager and they are basically un-fireable because the manager above them would have to admit they made a mistake hiring an idiot so they just ignore bad managers. The level of stress and toxicity of the work environment was something I’ve never experienced before(I’m prior military, didn’t think it got more stressful than that job but I was wrong). Your co-workers will screw you into doing their work for them so they can go home early, management just ignores it even if you make a complaint. Management is really only concerned that the job gets done they don’t care if other employees take advantage of others so they don’t have to work as hard. Every morning their was people yelling at each other, getting angry at each other and the same human trash that continually pushed their work off onto either people regardless of their or your workload. Zero integrity in some of the people that worked there. I honestly couldn’t believe how many lies one person can come up with to try to get you to do their job on a daily basis. Not only is this job a nightmare for your mental health it’s also incredibly physically damaging to your body as well. They could honestly pay double the salary to start and it still wo
Working for FedEX is pretty decent, but don't expect having much free time
I have been working for FedEx Express for about two years. Training seemed to take a long time, but it's not difficult to learn the tasks of the job. Initially, I was a Casual Courier, which meant I could only work up to 24 hours a week, and up to 8 hours per day. As a Casual, you can set your own schedule week-to-week, and come in after the AM sort, missing all of the morning chaos. I went part-time almost a year ago, and the rigors of work certainly increased somewhat but with the extra hours and ability to earn overtime I felt that the compensation was worth it (although my feelings about going part-time changed recently, I'll explain further on).
A typical day at work involves the AM package sort, pulling freight/docs off of the trucks and organizing them by route. This can take 1-2 hours. Once you load up your van and go on road, you're on your own. Learning a route can be a little stressful and takes time, you have to find ways to do your work as quickly and efficiently as possible. When it all finally clicks, working the route becomes much more of a breeze. At this point, I rarely need to use the LEO to know where the stops are going, but starting out the job really intimidated me -- especially when working the "heavier" routes. My current route is comparably light to most of the other routes, but just because you finish your work at 2:00 or 3:00 doesn't mean you are finished. My managers often have me helping other drivers afterward who have higher stop counts. The
ProsDecent pay, coworkers are like an extended family, independence, getting to know a city/area, benefits
ConsBeing overworked, stress from making delivery/pickup times, traffic
I work as a Ramp Agent at the FedEx Express Hub in Indianapolis, IN. The environment is fast paced, as everything is time sensitive towards meeting the goal of "The World on Time". A typical day at the hub varies depending on which part of the operation you are working in. Overall at the hub we handle a large amount of inbound aircraft and trucks with packages from all over the world. Our job is to offload those containers and packages, induct them to be sorted, stack the sorted freight into containers, and then load those containers onto outbound aircraft and trucks going all over the world. All this is accomplished every day/night in a matter of a few hours. Every part of the operation controls a part of this process, and every part is critical to the others to ensure we reach our goal as a company. That goal is to make every FedEx experience outstanding, and ensure customers receive their packages on time, every time. The culture in the workplace is very friendly, at least where I work. I've formed great relationships with my peers, as well as my superiors. As far as I can see, everyone does a great job at making others feel their value to the company. I've seen enough of the operation, and understand enough of it's workings, that I can see the value in every position at the hub. All of the parts of the company are interconnected, and without even the seemingly insignificant jobs at the hub the whole thing would fall apart. That's probably the most enjoyable p
Inadequate Equipment, hostile coworkers, and adversarial work environment
This is the only place I've ever worked where so many coworkers seem so adversarial towards each other. In most places, there's a sense of comradery among peers, and if factions are formed it's along the lines of "craft vs. management" or "employees vs. customers."
Not here. At the Schaumburg FedEx station, battle lines seem to have been drawn between full time and part time employees. Many of the full timers are jaded, angry old lifers that have been with the company for 20, 25, 30 years or longer. They constantly gripe about how great the company used to be back when they started, yet they have no intention of retiring. They will sit firmly entrenched atop the seniority-based vacation and route selection lists, and eat up all the overtime with only scraps remaining for the rest of us.
Being a southern-based corporation from a right-to-work state, with an anti-union mindset, FedEx has done a great job of fostering a toxic work environment and pitting hourly workers against each other to ensure a profound lack of solidarity.
There is also a significant equipment shortage. If you work as a PM driver / courier, you will start your day not knowing if you will have access to a PowerPad (the scanning device used to complete all pickups and deliveries), a printer (for creating corrected shipping labels, printing delivery confirmation receipts, etc.), or even a truck! There have been days when I haven't been able to leave the station until over an hour after I've punched in becau
ProsYou will not need a gym membership to stay in shape
ConsHostile Coworkers. No Raises. Filthy trucks without air conditioning.
Great co-workers, opportunities for advancement, negative effects from department reorganization
When I was promoted to Admin Assistant for the Business Transactions Group of the Legal Department, I supported 8 attorneys, 1 paralegal and a Managing Director, with whom I immediately "clicked." He was new to his management position and we were able to help each other with various programs and ways to be more efficient. In the Business Transactions Group of the Legal Department, I have been able to learn as much as I desire, which is always fun, motivating and exciting for me. Our group negotiates, prepares, amends and maintains contracts for aircraft purchases and sales, hangar leases, sales and purchases of aircraft parts, etc. There honestly has been no "hard part" of my job(s) because the people with whom I work closely are all supportive of each other, and any questions or problems that arise are generally resolved quickly just by asking the proper person for assistance. Unfortunately, in December 2018, my Managing Director announced that he had accepted a job with a large company in another state and that his last day would be the end of that week. Since his departure, my group has continued with business as usual because, by that time, we had developed a fantastic system of "checks and balances" so that nothing fell through the cracks. My former boss' Managing Director position still has not yet been filled. Over the last several months, upper management has not been receptive to the concerns of, and feedback from, hourly staff. There was a large employee "v
ProsOn-site cafeteria and exercise facilities, team work emphasis, company clinic and pharmacy within walking distance, great benefits
ConsSmall number of paid sick/personal days, inconsistency among the "sub-departments" of the Legal Department
There is no typical day at FedEx in operations. The planes are ALWAYS late. If you're in a location outside of Memphis, you'll have to explain to several people why your operation was late. Even one minute. If you're staff, then you'll probably be one of the folks saying how great FedEx is. Until they attempt to cut your job and send you somewhere else within 50 miles.
I've learned a myriad of things as FedEx operates less like a multi billion dollar company and more like a mom and pop operation. I've had to hire, schedule, manage, drive, do dangerous goods, and more. Those are just the basics.
Management at higher levels talk the corporate line. At lower levels, the company seems to want to praise aggressive, neanderthal approaches to employees below them. There was even a communication that they wanted people with "fire in their belly". From working in that organization, what they meant was someone who gets in people's faces and writes people up often. As someone who likes being professional, a BBQ here or there doesn't offset the total lack of the PSP (people first) philosophy the company says it follows...
The culture amongst dedicated employees is always to get the freight moving as soon as possible (preferably early). With the current lack of quality applicants, you encounter some of the most entitled and lazy people imaginable. The latter tend to drag the former down to their level.
The hardest part of the job depends on the person. You'd think management (
ProsDiscount shipping, some travel perqs
ConsNo work life balance if you are salary, Lazy employees, Unprofessional management, less than average pay, Business model that worked in 1988 not in 2019
To anyone thinking about becoming a courier, please give this a second thought before jumping in. For beginners, it's nothing like it seems at first glance and is extremely stressful. From management not being transparent to fighting over vehicles, it is NOT worth it. If you are lucky, you will get a decent vehicle with A/C that will get you through the day without breaking down. If you are not DOT certified, you are a snake in the grass. I got screwed out of $25 by my manager because I went to go get my CDL (hazmat), was given a month to get it then was put on another route and was told that since they did me a favor, they will not reimburse me. If you are full-time, they will work you like a dog and call you in at a moments notice and make things up on the fly. There is zero accountability and everything rides on you. I like feedback from my employer, but apparently no news is good news in this job which does not jive. You will be given feedback on how fast/slow you are. Honestly, I sped, ran red lights and did things I should have not done and was usually the first to third one done and still was barely in the 90%. I knew my route front to back, but they do not account for things that are out of your control (traffic, no stops ready, etc). Equipment is garbage and will usually shut down on you while you are on your route. If someone calls out or is on vacation guess what, you are getting their stops on top of already what you have. Dispatch needs to be drug tested. I say t
I made a career out of fedex. I was there for 28 years. You will be very well trained when they send you to class to learn how to do your job. But your route specific training might not be as much as you would like. So you have to be ready to figure out how to do the job on your own. Your manager and your coworkers will help you but you have to be mentally tough because no one will be there to hold your hand when you go out on the road on your own. The first few months will be hard. If you're a swing driver the first year will be hard because you have to learn many different routes and potentially have your schedule changed every day. That's one thing everybody at FedEx has to get used to is that you don't have a defined end time. Many days you will get off at a predictable time, but there are also many days when you make plans and you think you're going to get off at a certain time and you end up having to help out because somebody called in sick or you're just swapped with stops for the day. From Thanksgiving till a couple weeks after Christmas you won't have any spare time during the week because you'll get done late every night. You have to learn that everything is done according to policy. If you decide to do the job the way you want to do it, you will find out that they don't tolerate that. If you violate policy often enough they will fire you. Overall I would say being a FedEx courier is like being in friendly version of the military. You have to do things their way bu
ProsIf you get hired as a part-time employee you will get the same insurance as a full-time employee, Once you learn to do your job it's very easy, It's not physically too hard unless you have an in-town route where you're doing 130 stops a day, The pay is acceptable, The insurance is very good, You will get a benefit card that will have approximately $1, 500 on it that you can use for all your medical expenses, a doctor's office visit generally costs about $35
ConsThe raises are inconsistent, You may wait 20 years to get to the top, their goal is 10 years to top out, You have to be willing to solve problems on your own, You have to make independent decisions based on your knowledge of their policy, Sometimes this can come back to bite you when you do something wrong
I’ll preface this by saying there are certain things that FedEx is doing correctly. Their employee amenities are decent - the vending machines are pretty full most of the time, they have a decent break room, and there was pretty frequently company provided food of some kind. Whether it be pizza or cupcakes, it was way more common than any other workplace I’ve experienced, and it was nice. When your manager is cool, they’re cool; they’re understanding and they do their best to have your back. That being said, the communication between management and the staff at this facility is one of the absolute worst I’ve experienced. They’ll decide on an hour break, then change it to a half an hour break in five minutes, then change it again - and t get employees that happen to be near the managers at the time are pretty much responsible for communicating this with their coworkers.
Their communication to their newly hired employees is also in desperate, desperate need of advancement. They will hire you for one position, but when you get there, you will rarely work that position as it’s usually in rotation. You will be loading cans most of your work week. They will work you overtime, and they will mandate you. Your schedule is never concrete, you work until the work is done, and this should be a point that is outlined in the interviewing process. Some nights you get out at 9PM, others after 11PM. The only decent thing about it, is typically speaking you and your coworkers are in it all s
ProsOccasional free lunches and snacks from corporate or customers, decent amenities
ConsCommunication, management, job culture
Questions And Answers about FedEx Express
What is the best part of working at FedEx Express?
Asked Nov 28, 2019
Working alone
Answered Jul 2, 2022
Benefits
Answered Jul 2, 2022
What advice would you give the CEO of FedEx Express about how to improve it?
Asked Apr 9, 2017
Decent leadership in management would definitely be a plus, instead of big headed ,unfair, unhuman idiots.
Answered Dec 15, 2021
Pay a living wage to package handlers with the 0 you paid in federal income tax
Answered Nov 9, 2021
What is a typical day like for you at FedEx Express?
Asked Mar 14, 2020
Always busy that was a love as a cargo handler
Answered Dec 5, 2020
Fast Pace and busy excellent teamwork excellent employees
Answered Nov 29, 2020
Do we get benefits working here?
Asked Oct 27, 2016
401k, medical, dental, life insurance, HRA. Vacation is really good. Medical is either employee, employee + children, or family. No employee + spouse. They are seeming to go after benefits recently. So beware
Answered Aug 7, 2020
Yeah, there are "benefits." Get what's left of them while you can. Year over year, FedEx has continued to chip away at the value of its employee benefits. Of course, FedEx's corporate Ministry of Truth will doublespeak tell you that your benefits are "better than ever!" In reality, FedEx employee benefits are rather mediocre compared to other large multinational corporations. And, if you're a full-time courier, plan on spending your vacation time in order to find time to take advantage of many of the other benefits. I'm an old school FedEx courier, with over 30 years of perspective regarding FedEx, and its employee benefits. I can tell you firsthand, the employee benefit package---as with all other things FedEx---are but a shadow of what it used to be. It's a sad shame that the younger FedEx employees will never be able to experiemce the full benefits of the great company to work for that FedEx was at one time. C'est la vie.
Answered Dec 8, 2019
How flexible are your working hours at FedEx Express?
Asked Mar 14, 2020
Management has to be downvoting these. The hours are not flexible, lots of OT, so the pay is good (at least where I am). If you want 40 hours a week, do part time, if you are ok with 60+ do full.
