Q&A With Amec Foster Wheeler Employees

The people I get to work with and the type of work I get to do.

I really enjoy the group I work with and the work I get to do.

Fairly run of the mill health benefits. 401k matching up to a certain percent. Sharesave programs.

Decent/Average healthcare and premiums. Fairly average vacation plan. Nothing extraordinary. Nothing truly awful.

The vibe in my office area has always been great. Nice small group that works really well together.

My office is great. Welcoming. Friendly. Good team. Other groups, probably not so much.

We are in the middle of a big merger at this time, so everything is up in the air. I would probably say that solar and alternative power has been the biggest growth area over the last few years though.

Oil and Gas is having difficulties obviously. As is Nuclear maybe? Automation is doing well, not really growing super fast though. Not really sure about others.

With the group I work with, the culture is great.

For a global, large corporation, I don't think it's really all that bad. Not sure what I would really change as the office and smaller group/org I work in is pretty nice.

For me, it's been great. For the ones that it isn't, it appears to mainly be a personal choice. I haven't really come across any instances where anyone appears to be forced into the situation of not maintaining a good work/life balance.

My work/life balance is quite good. Much better than at my previous employer. Occasional travel. Occasional overtime. But really not very much at all.

It seems to mainly be based on your immediate line managers perception of your performance for the most part. Not really sure beyond that.

Fairly standard for an American company. This could certainly be an area I would not mind seeing improved.

If the outlook were to change, and I became uncertain of the future of the company or my position, I would certainly be looking for a more stable opportunity. Otherwise, I don't have much interest in leaving. I suppose, just like anyone else, if I were presented with a good enough opportunity, I may consider it.

Generally, they are supposed to happen twice a year or so. But with the various mergers that have happened (are happening) things have been a bit up in the air. It does seem that if you are a strong performer, you will generally be taken care of even if they are holding back on the general population raises.

If you have the skills, it does not appear to be very difficult to switch departments. People regularly switch project teams all of the time depending on skills and availability when each new project comes up.

Not difficult at all.

I find it rather rewarding, but I am working in a field I rather enjoy and I've been getting to work on projects with clients that I rather enjoy, so maybe I've just been a bit lucky.

In my experience, at the location I work at, they do not seem very common at all. In the several years I've been here, I've only seen a few people that wound up being laid off. I'm not aware of any large scale layoffs in the company.

After many years, I can honestly say this is the most enjoyable work experience I've had. I truly enjoy going to work.

From my experience, it's been fine. You don't get a lot of it unless you ask. They do have a process that it should be provided twice a year, but if you don't really embrace it and use it to your advantage, you probably won't get much of anything out of it. Which is pretty typical for most places I've worked. Unless you're a bit of a problem child, you may wind up getting feedback more frequently.

I think it's the same type of people that succeed anywhere else. People that are capable and willing to adapt. To grow. To push the envelope a little when it's needed. Ask the right questions. And when you can, give the right answers.

Be technically capable. Be capable of working well both alone and with a team, because depending on the size of the project you get involved in, it may require either ability. Be future thinking, don't be afraid of new technologies and process that the industry is moving towards to better manage projects and data.

The work I get to do.

Seems to be on a good track. The merger is supposed to help the company out of the recess from the previous merger that brought on a lot of debt, so hopefully it does and only improves things even more.

It varies based on the current project. Most of the time I feel challenged enough to be satisfied. Some projects can have a decent amount of work that can get tedious and rote, but it hasn't been an issue or concern for me.

Hard to say right now as a result of the merger.

For me personally, not bad at all. I see others involved in a myriad of other projects that struggle to maintain a good life work balance though. It doesn't appear to me that this is the result of any policy or particular leadership drive, but more a result of the individual themselves and what they choose. Though, I would prefer to see leadership step in more and actually not allow some people to work quite as much as they do. At some point, it not only gets dangerous for the individual, putting their literal safety at risk, but it also hurts their productivity and ability to deliver quality work.