Alice McMahon dreamed about working for Sims Walters. After all, this was the ad agency known for its creative genius – the people behind Curt the Carpet Cleaning Cat and the First City Bank “We Took Your Money” campaign.
So she was thrilled when, fresh out of Wayne State University, she beat out 118 other candidates for a copy writing job.
“I thought it would be fun and exciting,” she says. “But then I found out they put people in boxes.”
Like most American workers, McMahon says she found it hard to accomplish anything, yet alone advance, once she was put in a box. “You’re looked at a certain way, people form the wrong impression of you, and it’s impossible to move forward.”
Unfortunately, according to some experts, what’s happening at Sims Walters is becoming increasingly common at American businesses today.
“The problem is growing, not shrinking,” says Professor Howard Levine of the Maspeth Institute. “Companies pay lip service to not putting their employees in boxes, but more and more of them are doing just that.” He says that 85 percent of US companies today employ the practice – up from just 68 percent in 2011.
“If they’re going to keep young talent,” he says, “they need to take them out of their boxes.”
McMahon couldn’t wait for this to happen. In March she resigned to take a job at rival agency Morley/Morley. While the situation isn’t ideal, she says she’s much happier.
“We work in silos here,” she says, “but I’ll take that anytime over being put in a box.”
