What’s It Like to Work at Slack?

Some tech companies have actually seen tremendous growth despite the pandemic, and one of these fast-growing companies is the popular collaboration app, Slack. Back in March, The Verge reported that Slack broke user records for simultaneously connected users due to increased demand from remote employees. In April, Fast Company declared Slack the “king of the remote-work world.”

But what’s it like to work at one of the hottest innovative companies that is helping remote employees stay connected and be productive? We did our research to find out. Let's explore the benefits, culture, work-life balance and where the company could improve.

What is Slack?

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Founded in 2009, Slack is a collaboration software to help team members work together seamlessly and efficiently. The software allows users to send messages and files to each other, providing a modern solution to old-school email exchanges. Slack users can also join various “channels” to communicate and work effectively with team members on different projects.

If you’re lucky enough to get an offer to work at Slack, you’ll likely find the compensation package and benefits are tough to beat. Let's take a look at what you're offered as a Slack employee...

The Benefits Are Among the Best in Tech

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Slack truly takes care of its employees, and employee reviews of the benefits are almost unanimously positive (something you don't see at most companies). Here are the benefits Slack offers:

• Comprehensive health, dental insurance, and vision coverage (one of the best packages in tech w/ 100% of premiums covered)
• 401k match of 50% up to a maximum annual matched contribution of $4,000
• ESPP with a 15% discount
• 20 days PTO + 12 paid holidays
• 18 weeks maternity leave and 12 weeks paternity/parental leave
• Fertility and infertility services
• Fri-Yays (1 Friday per month is considered a paid holiday)
• Phone reimbursement
• WFH stipend
• Annual allowance for professional development
• WeWork subscription

Slack's Culture Is Huge Selling Point

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Slack's core values

On its website, Slack lists six core values:

• Empathy
• Courtesy
• Thriving
• Craftsmanship
• Playfulness
• Solidarity

And for the most part, it seems Slack’s work culture stays true to these. To get a better sense of Slack’s company culture and community, we researched reviews posted on platforms like Glassdoor, TeamBlind and Quora. The consensus across the three was pretty overwhelmingly positive. On Glassdoor, Slack boasts an overall company rating of 4.6/5 from its over 350 reviews. For reference, Airbnb has a rating of 4.1 and Github has a rating of 4.3.

Collaborative work culture & attentive leadership

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Dozens of former and current Slack employees describe a collaborative work culture that makes them excited to come to work every day. Along with Slack’s “game-changing product,” employees highlighted Slack’s transparent and inclusive culture.

One current employee wrote about their experience on Glassdoor, saying they felt well taken care of and appreciated at Slack.

“Slack really cares about the people that work here. They do every effort to make sure that you are valued and comfortable in performing your job. The company has an amazing culture and collaborative way of working. The product itself helps with the process and the way things work inside the organization. I'm amazed by transparent communication at all levels and how management is involved and takes feedback very seriously,” they said.

Many employees were also quick to praise Slack’s leadership team, who they say demonstrate outstanding transparency and compassion for Slack’s employees. Unlike some companies with hands-off, distant executives, Glassdoor users describe Slack’s executives as people who genuinely care about employees and make every effort to attend to their needs.

“Leadership has been one of the most impressive things to witness since joining Slack. Leaders at Slack do not just say thing to say things, in every instance, I've seen leadership lead by example. Very empathetic and compassionate leaders that sincerely care about your well being and go out of their way to assist you when you're down rather than tell you about it,” they said.

Want good work-life balance? Work at Slack

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Work-life balance is often one of the biggest concerns for those seeking to join a new company. Lucky for Slack employees, this is another area where the company shines.

Employees overwhelmingly cite WLB as one of Slack's strengths as an employer, explaining that the company is committed to fostering a good WLB. This makes a huge difference for working parents juggling their careers and parenthood.

A technical architect at Slack described on Glassdoor:

"Work life balance is not just talked about but demonstrated here. Work hard and go home was painted on the wall of my office and it's respected and adhered to. I had a life event and my manager simply said, 'go and do what you need to do, your family comes first.'"

A focus on inclusivity

It’s clear from employee reviews and Slack’s own website that the company is actively trying to improve its diversity and inclusion efforts.

For example, Slack offers the following programs and initiatives to help employees from underrepresented backgrounds feel supported and thrive:

• Diversity, Engagement and Belonging - A program that invests in a community that prioritizes education, introspection, opportunity and growth.
• Rising Tides - A six-month sponsorship program for emerging leaders, providing them with career development training, executive coaching, and one-on-one sponsorship.
• Employee Resource Groups - Company groups that allow people from similar backgrounds to come together and bond over shared characteristics or experiences.
• Partnerships - Slack frequently invests in community partnerships like its collaboration with The Next Chapter, a program that benefits formerly incarcerated individuals.

But, Slack Has Some Growing Pains

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While most of the reviews about Slack were overwhelmingly positive, some employees expressed concerns about the company’s lack of diversity in top leadership roles and how the company has become increasingly more bureaucratic as it has grown.

One Glassdoor reviewer commented that it felt like Slack was in an awkward position having outgrown its “startup” title but not yet deemed an established, large tech company.

“Growing organization that is still finding its way from smaller start-up to now a 2K+ public organization. Sometimes processes can be overly tedious, and can feel like there can be too much of a big company mentality, when we still have the ability to be nimble if we could focus on that,” they said.

Another employee agreed with this point, but seemed to consider Slack as a happy medium between working at a startup or a well-known tech giant. They pointed out that even though things don’t move as fast as they would in a start-up, employees still have some freedom and flexibility that isn’t bogged down by bureaucratic processes associated with larger tech companies.

“Personally, I haven't been able to see anything that I can label as a con. If you're used to being in a startup and want things to move fast within a small team? Then perhaps this isn't necessarily that anymore. But at the same time if you're coming from a huge organization with 10s of thousands of employees? Things aren't structured to that point either,” they said.

Overall...

Despite varying experiences, it appears most employees at Slack feel inspired and grateful to work there. While the culture and size of the company may not be the best fit for everyone, Slack’s collaborative atmosphere and compassionate leadership team make the company one to watch.