The irony behind core values - Anonymous employee Gopher Sport Employee Review

1.0
19 Nov 2025
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The products and customers are great, occasional bright spots in leadership, Teammates are fantastic.

Cons

Working at Gopher comes with a strange tension: the company proudly highlights values like, "move fast to innovate," "fast, friendly, easy, right". On paper, it sounds energizing. In practice, it often feels like those ideas don't reach people doing the day-to-day work. There’s a noticeable divide between management and the bullpen. If you’re part of what feels like the “peanut gallery,” your perspective tends to get brushed aside. Decisions can shift abruptly, sometimes without explanation, and it’s hard not to feel like your voice gets lost in the process. It creates an environment where it seems leadership has free rein to change direction on a whim, while everyone else is expected to simply keep up. Over time, that disconnect starts to weigh on you. The work can feel dry, almost like being stuck in a looping episode of Severance. Monotone, distant, and draped in a sense of looming pressure. It’s tough to stay motivated when the atmosphere leans more toward doom-and-gloom than collaboration and growth. On-top of that. Gopher has the worst work life balance I have ever seen. The benefits get worse and worse every year. To the point where it's actually better to go through the state for your healthcare instead of the plans Gopher offers. They took away all your freedom while management is usually no where to be seen in the office. I hope for my friends who are still there the future brings opportunities for alignment. Where the values they proudly post on the walls actually show up in how people are treated and heard. The potential is there; the follow-through just needs to catch up.

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Gopher Sport Response
7mo
Thank you for your thoughtful review. We agree, our team members are fantastic! Regarding some of your other thoughts, we do value “bullpen” opinions through periodic surveys and regular L10 meetings in which every person at Gopher Sport participates. These are specifically designed to solicit thoughts, opinions, and EOS designed “issues” that every team member may bring up for record. While not every decision can meet the thought of every person, the whole of the company and what is best for all is a standard practice for any company decision. Typical work hours at Gopher Sport are 8:00 – 4:30 PM. There is rarely regular and/or expected overtime for hourly employees. Salaried employees do have periods of increased expectations, which is normal for any given field and/or profession in any professional organization. But those periods are also short and far in-between. We’re confident in our benefits offerings which include traditional and HSA Health Insurance options, Vision, Paid Time Off (that exceeds the Minnesota ESST minimum), profit sharing, 401K, and a Lifestyle Spending Account. For 2026, we worked to keep health insurance premiums as minimal as possible. Every organization in 2026 faced a very challenging Health Insurance market. We’re confident in the value of our health insurance and we were below many rate increases that other organizations implemented for their 2026 plan year. We’re disappointed that Gopher Sport did not meet your employment expectations and we wish you the best in your future/current employment!

Explore other reviews about Gopher Sport

5.0
16 May 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Fun company, with good office atmosphere. Focused on employee growth

Cons

The lack of autonomy allowed for a good amount of micromanagement.

1.0
26 May 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The people are the best part of this company hands down excluding some. Many employees genuinely care about each other, work incredibly hard, and do their best to create a positive environment despite leadership challenges. There is flexibility in some departments, which can be valuable depending on your role. The CREW team deserves recognition for trying to maintain morale and employee engagement, often while working with limited budgets and constraints outside of their control.

Cons

This company was once family-oriented, employee-focused, and a place where long-term careers could be built. Unfortunately, over the past several years, that culture has changed significantly. Insurance goes up every year making it literally impossible to afford life in general because you are trying to be the keeper for your families health. Senior leadership appears heavily focused on metrics and financial performance at the expense of employee development, innovation, and retention. Internal growth opportunities are limited, and capable employees are frequently overlooked for advancement. Employees with strong ideas, initiative, or constructive feedback often feel unheard rather than empowered. Upper leadership has created an environment that feels disconnected from the day-to-day reality of employees. Decision-making often appears top-down, with little openness to feedback or collaboration. There is a strong perception that leadership believes they already have all the answers rather than valuing the experience and insight of the people doing the work. If you are a puppet this is a company for you. A particularly concerning observation has been the apparent lack of female representation in leadership after several women in management roles left or were let go, with those roles subsequently being filled by men. From an employee perspective, this has raised serious concerns about equity, advancement opportunities, and leadership culture. If you're looking for a place with meaningful career growth, transparent leadership, and a culture where employees feel valued beyond their output, this may not be the environment you expect.

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Gopher Sport Response
1mo
Thank you for your thoughtful opinions regarding your employment at Gopher Sport and we’re sorry that you departed with a negative experience. Medical insurance premiums is a challenge for all employers in the U.S. and Minnesota. The average increase in Minnesota was as high as 22%. Gopher Sport’s average increase across our options was 13%. Gopher Sport’s HR and Finance teams work closely with our partner brokers to provide the best value possible for our Team Members in our applicable market and are confident in our 2026 offerings. Regarding Career Paths and development, nearly every hourly and salaried individual contributor role has an assigned career path and is documented to all People Leaders in the Gopher Sport Intranet/SharePoint site. Gopher Sport is a privately held for-profit company which strives to maximize our value to both external and internal stakeholders. Part of the Executive and Senior Management’s responsibilities are to ensure strong financial performance for our customers and internal team members. Again, thank you for your many years of employment. We value each of these responses and wish you the best in your future employment.
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