Just a hair east of downtown Houston is the HQ of one of the major players in the energy industry.
Phillips 66 got its start a century ago in petroleum.
Before moving to Texas in the late 20s, Lee Eldas and his brother Frank started the Phillips Petroleum Company in Oklahoma.
The specialization was natural gas and it quickly expanded into three states.
By the time 66 was added to the name, the company was already successful.
Today, one year of revenue is about $170 billion.
So, what’s it like to be one of the 14,000 employees who work at Phillips 66?
Come with us as we find out!
Table of Contents
Pros of Working for Phillips 66
1. Competitive Pay
With that kind of annual revenue, it would be silly not to reward employees with a nice salary.
Not that companies around the world don’t do that every day, it’s just silly to deny those who help make that possible.
So, when compared to other energy companies, Phillips 66 edges out the competition by having a competitive salary package.
That package includes an often hefty annual bonus.
You might even go as far as to say that money is a reason why some employees deal with the cons in the first place.
2. Benefits
Shockingly, Phillips 66 is one of the few American companies left to offer a pension.
Not only that, but there are retirement planners to help walk you through those golden years comfortably.
Ready to start a family?
New mothers can expect to get up to 10 weeks at home with their new bundle, dads get up to six.
Want to avoid hitting traffic on the way to the gym after work?
There’s a gym, cafeteria, and other resources on-site in a wellness center.
3. Interesting Work
Money and perks are fantastic reasons to keep a job, but so is the actual work.
No one wants to be bored at work, no matter how well they are paid.
The work being done at Phillips is vital to our society.
The problems that are solved are ones that our culture needs to know the answers to.
Energy is so much a part of our daily experience that it’s hard to imagine life without it, if not impossible.
4. Advancement Opportunities
Not necessarily into management but advancement of the position.
Being able to maintain expert status is great.
So is being able to learn something new in a different department.
If there’s a department of particular interest, employees are encouraged to seek out a new direction.
5. Team Rotations
Whether it’s Phillips 66 trying to avoid employees getting stagnant or they want a way to keep you developing, rotations seem to be a benefit.
Every two years or so, management likes to switch up the groups.
So, no matter how long you work here, you’re never really stuck in one position or with one group of people.
Newbies are introduced to projects and fresh prospectives are abound.
Rotating people not only helps keep things fresh, but also helps build a resume.
The more you’ve moved around, the more types of work you’ll get to experience.
Before too long, you become an extremely well-rounded employee for what Phillips needs are.
When you leave, you get to take a wider variety of responsibilities and skills with you than if you had only been stuck in one department with one group.
6. Training
Another thing new grads might appreciate about working here is the extensive training.
You can come out of college and go right into a training program.
This will have you not only fit for the exact specifications of the job in no time, but it will be a fantastic learning tool in the process.
That kind of knowledge can go with you wherever your career takes you.
7. Move Around
At Phillips 66, you don’t have to worry about being stuck where you are.
Jobs are available in 11 states and in Singapore.
Once you’re in, being able to uproot the family is just about finding the right job opening elsewhere.
Luckily, there’s a whole site dedicated to human resources and jobs across the country.
Cons of Working for Phillips 66
1. No Work-Life Balance
Much of what employees do at Phillips 66 would be considered heavy.
There’s a lot going on no matter what department you’ve been assigned to.
While some are more labor-intensive than others, the hours are long across the board.
Basically, there aren’t many well-defined schedules.
Just because you’re supposed to get off at six doesn’t mean that’s when you’ll actually get to walk out the door.
This is probably why many college grads gravitate here because they can really throw in their all with not a ton of outside commitments.
Having a life and family can make these hours tough.
2. Hands-Off Management
When you can have one-on-one time in front of a boss, it can be a supportive and even enlightening conversation.
Making that happen almost requires an act of God.
Management keeps a strange distance from the workers, which can cause running ideas or getting answers to be difficult.
Employees often wonder what exactly it is the company leaders are doing all day.
They aren’t engaging or doing work that directly contributes.
Managers are often grouped together and tend to be doing their own thing that is separate from what their title is, management.
3. Neverending Workload
This might not be as much of a con if managers were more involved with what their employees were doing.
Who knows?
As it is, though, workloads can get out of control.
It’s impossible to get on top of anything, the work is constantly piling up.
There is no such thing as completing any project before going home.
A large reason for this is the revolving door that happens to be the company.
People get tired and leave.
That’s when the work transfers from their desk to yours.
If leaders were part of the team, they’d either spread out the work better or get more coverage.
4. Safety Concerns
There’s a growing percentage of employees who are unsatisfied with the quality of safety sweeps.
Some are under the impression that the process isn’t actually being taken seriously at all.
Not only could this be potentially detrimental to those working firsthand with dangerous chemicals, but an accident could have a massive impact on everyone.
You don’t have to literally have something in your hand in order to feel the blowback from anything that could happen.
Not going through protocol correctly could cause lives.
Also alarming, when incidents do happen, they are brushed aside.
It’s likely that those who occupy the C-suites have no idea how often little things happen on the floor.
Turning a willing blind eye won’t keep a catastrophe from happening.
Things won’t get better on their own.
5. A Boy’s Club
Career advancement is real as far as expanding the specialty you were hired for.
As far as moving up the corporate ladder, that’s another story.
What seems to be happening, more often than not, is that the ones who get promoted are guys who were part of the same fraternity.
At least, that’s how it feels.
Breaking through the barrier to lead borders on impossible because the boy’s club is so tight there is no way to squeeze through.
Promoting only who you know and not who possesses the skill is a detriment to every department and all leadership.
6. Little Recognition
Energy is more than fuel, it also has to do with things like power.
When there are issues in the system, such as outages, it can really grind everything to a halt.
The amount of time, effort, skill, and implementation it takes to fix a problem is enormous.
When something goes down, there is no disaster team.
Resolutions come from the people who do this every day and attack a crisis as it comes on.
Basically, you can’t stop until everything is back to normal.
People who remove themselves from life in order to focus solely on an issue should be recognized and rewarded for going the extra mile.
Instead, once the situation is over, everything goes back to normal.
As if it never happened.
Not acknowledging employees who do the dirty work leads to low morale and eventually loss of talent.
7. Uncertain Future
No one is afraid that Phillips 66 is about to go out of business.
The uncertainty comes from the direction of the company itself.
Energy needs are changing and it doesn’t seem like anyone who makes decisions at Phillips is taking that seriously.
The research department is more or less a fluff piece to make it look like innovations are underway.
The reality is there is little being done in a progressive way to be meaningful to the industry as a whole.
That’s not to say there aren’t efforts.
A strategy is debuted annually that falls by the wayside within months.
No forward-thinking strategy is ongoing.
Leaders are happy enough with the returns they get that the future is too fleeting to invest in.
14 Pros and Cons of Working for Phillips 66 – Summary Table
| Pros of Working for Phillips 66 | Cons of Working for Phillips 66 |
|---|---|
| 1. Competitive Pay | 1. No Work-Life Balance |
| 2. Benefits | 2. Hands-Off Management |
| 3. Interesting Work | 3. Neverending Workload |
| 4. Advancement Opportunities | 4. Safety Concerns |
| 5. Team Rotations | 5. A Boy's Club |
| 6. Training | 6. Little Recognition |
| 7. Move Around | 7. Uncertain Future |
Should You Work for Phillips 66?
From entry-level to management, there are a multitude of positions up for grabs at Phillips 66.
That means you can have your sights set on the company and not necessarily because of the job.
There are many great aspects of working for Phillips 66, such as benefits and great coworkers.
However, it’s important to remember that this can be a tough company to work for.
The jobs aren’t really cushy and some can be quite hands-on and even dangerous.
Moving up to management can be a challenge.
Before getting invested, take a long look at your career goals and see if you’re willing to stay in one position or if your dream is to be in the C-suite.
