Pros
95+ percent of the salaried employees own the Company (no one can own more than 5% of the shares). This gives the Company a very paternalistic culture where everyone has a vested interest in the success of every other team member. Mentorship is ingrained and everyone is willing to help others. The benefits are incredible (3 weeks of vacation to start, 4x salary in life insurance, $150 deductible medical plan) and the employee share of the cost is a percentage of salary. That means that the higher compensated employees subsidize the cost for the lesser compensated employees and everybody is fine with it. They have a goal of 35 hours/employee/year for community service and make numerous activities available to help us meet that goal, many of which are on Company time. There is a similar 35 hour/year goal for continuing education through the PCL College of Construction. A wellness program includes free health screenings for employees and spouses, exercise reimbursement, etc. The big benefit is share ownership - every employee is offered an opportunity to purchase shares each year and the shares have averaged more than a 40% return each year since 1977! It's the best equity generating vehicle I have ever seen. Long term employees who have been purchasing shares regularly see divident checks well in excess of their annual salaries! What's not to love about that? I'm going on 30 years with the Company and only wish I had joined earlier. This is the 7th consecutive year we've made the FORTUNE Best Companies to Work For list and for good reason!!
Cons
Construction means occasional long days and potential relocation if work runs out in a particular area but PCL is extremely diversified both geographically and sectorially (commercial, civil and industrial) so there are usually lots of opportunities to stay with the Company for persons willing to go where the work is via short term assignments or transfers. Many employees spend their entire careers in one location.
