Pros
I worked for G Adventures for just over one year. When I was hired, I had worked in travel for years and believed I had landed my dream job. G Adventures posits itself as a progressive, ethically-driven adventure company – which to me, seemed like it was going to be a perfect fit given my own values and experiences. However, I was quick to learn that there are both pros and cons to working for G Adventures. Starting with the pros, G Adventures offers free travel. Full time employees can take a free G Adventures tour each year, valued up to $3500 CAD. You also have access to a flight subsidy to help with flight costs. When I worked for G Adventures, I was afforded the opportunity to trek through the jungle in Uganda and observe mountain gorillas in their natural habitat at very low cost to me. It was amazing – something I’ll never forget. In addition to free travel, there are other favorable perks. Depending on where you are located, G Adventures allows you to work remotely on a hybrid or full time schedule. If you work in the Toronto office, there is a slide, a ball pit, and a fridge full of free (to a reasonable limit) beer. There are parties, events, contests. G Adventures takes inspiration from companies like Google to make the workplace feel hip, fun, welcoming, and exciting.
Cons
In spite of the obvious benefits to working for G Adventures, there are cons which become apparent once you have worked there for a few months. First, the leadership team is largely a boys club. Senior leadership requires a great deal of hand-holding, and will make requests of you which are well outside of your job description. They are untouchable, and you will be expected to neglect existing duties in order to fulfill special requests and act as an assistant to them if they ask. The founder, Bruce, is particularly disrespectful as he talks down to employees and uses misogynistic language regularly. As he surrounds himself with a leadership team full of yes men and hype men, he does not ever feel the need to question his actions or behaviour. In my time with G Adventures, I found that while Bruce carries an image of prestige and progressiveness, many employees shared that they quietly felt snubbed, disrespected, or otherwise mistreated by him. Secondly, G Adventures’ image of being an ethical and progressive company is exactly that: an image. G Adventures grossly underpays overseas employees such as tour guides (which G Adventures calls CEOs or Chief Experience Officers). Despite this seemingly prestigious title, they are offered little to no flexibility, intense and demanding working hours, no benefits (so no free travel), and extremely low wages. G Adventures also employs several men who are known to, and have been reported for, s*xual harassment in the workplace. As these men typically often have high sales numbers, they are not reprimanded or dismissed, even if they are repeat offenders. Many women I worked with were vocal about their discomfort and suffering due to these employees, however nothing is ever done about them. Additionally, G Adventures does not take responsibility when it fails customers. As I worked largely in customer service, I have heard it all – and I am well aware that some complaints are actionable and some are not. However, when travelers are kicked off their tour in a foreign country due to contracting Covid, G Adventures offers no support and leaves them to their own devices, often with no refund – generally travelers are offered a nominal travel credit. For another example, one could google the MS Explorer. This is a long story – but know that customers on board the ship when it sunk were offered a nominal travel credit and no refund, although they faced certain peril due to G Adventures’ negligence. Finally, G Adventures uses a number called the “ripple score” to demonstrate their commitment to ethical practices. The ripple score is meant to show how much money spent on each tour goes directly into the local communities in which you, as a customer, travel. The number is often shown to be 90%-100%. However, we know that operating costs exist and employees need to get paid. When questioned about the actual figures, a supervisor advised that they were confidential – showing that the number is little more than marketing tactic. After all, G Adventures is a for-profit company, and the partnered non-profit (Planeterra) is owned and operated by the same founder under the same umbrella. One can only imagine how many grants go to Planeterra and feed directly into G Adventures’ profits. About six months into my employment with G Adventures, my partner was looking for a job and subsequently hired by G Adventures as well. After three months of lower-than-stellar sales numbers, my partner was fired by an HR representative whom he had never met, and he was not provided a reason for his dismissal. We assume it is because he was not a top seller – however, we still don’t know for sure as he was not given a reason or any closure. Even if it was his lower sales, it is typical for employees to take more than 3 months to learn the ropes. Dropping from two incomes to one, our lives were thrown into chaos without a word from his actual supervisor or anyone we actually worked with.
