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      Cengage

      Engaged Employer

      Cengage reviews

      2.9

      31% would recommend to a friend

      (2,405 total reviews)
      avatar

      Michael Hansen

      39% approve of CEO

      24% positive business outlook

      Ratings by demographic groups

      Cengage has an employee rating of 2.9 out of 5 stars, based on 2,405 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The Cengage employee rating is 22% below average for employers within the Media & Communication industry (3.7 stars).

      Reviews by job title

      2K reviews
      2.0
      Mar 24, 2025

      Flexible work arrangements are the only thing holding this place together

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      - Lower level staff are wonderful to work with - They continue to allow flexible work arrangements, although with increasing pressure to return to the office.

      Cons

      - Salaries are not competitive, no salary transparency or opportunity for salary negotiation, no opportunities for growth/promotion. - Budgeting and resourcing is inconsistent across divisions - divisions with higher levels of pressure are understaffed and yet still have high expectations of delivery output. - A significant number of employees have been made redundant within the last two years, undercut by ineffective communication from management and non-existent support for remaining employees. The expectation is for remaining employees to pick up the work from unfilled positions, while maintaining their own work, for no extra compensation. - Permissions, finance and HR have all been offshored, making it difficult for local employees to get support, or trust that their voices will be heard when they have genuine concerns. - Management continues to ignore the obvious dissatisfaction of their employees. Despite annual feedback surveys with consistently negative results nothing of any substance has changed. - Poor support for lower level staff In summary: understaffed, overworked, feedback isn't taken on board, poor compensation, no career progression, fear of retaliation if you get too vocal about work conditions.

      avatar
      Cengage Response
      1y
      Thank you for leaving a review about your work experience. We are committed to embracing approaches that allow our teams to thrive, and we continue to experiment, adapt, and evolve our approach, understanding that there is no one-size-fits-all solution that will work for our company. Regarding compensation, we are working towards a global HR operating model for Total Rewards to increase consistency and transparency. We appreciate your feedback as we continue this transformation. I recognize that organizational changes and layoffs can be challenging and sometimes create additional pressure on the remaining staff. We are continuously working to improve our internal systems and structures to ensure efficiency and ease of navigation. We recognize that during these periods of transition and implementation it can be overwhelming. These transitions are temporary, and ultimately will be critical in simplifying our business, improving the ways we work and best serve our customers. I appreciate you feedback as we continue to improve. Best, Michael Hansen, CEO
      3.0
      Mar 23, 2025

      -

      Associate content project manager
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Flexible, open work environment and collaborative experience.

      Cons

      Can’t think of any cons right now.

      2.0
      Mar 20, 2025

      Getting Worse Every Day

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      At the individual contributor level, my colleagues are truly fantastic—caring, supportive, and passionate people who genuinely believe in the value of education. Working alongside them has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my experience here.

      Cons

      I've been with the company for 5 years and have lost count of how many reorgs have taken place. Recently, these changes have been made under the banner of "simplicity" with little explanation or tangible improvement. On the tech side, most software engineering has been offshored, resulting in a noticeable decline in quality: more bugs, rolling back releases, implementation not as designed. If you're located within 25 miles of an office, expect to be required to commute just to spend your day on virtual calls. This policy is framed as "team building," but in my nearly 20 year career, it has been one of the most alienating in-office experiences I've ever had. If diversity, equity, and inclusion are important to you, it's worth noting that the Director of DEI&B was recently let go. Given that previous directors have also had short tenures (usually less than 18 months), it raises questions about the company's genuine commitment to these values. Lastly, voicing concerns in all-hands meetings often results in leadership dismissing or contradicting the feedback based on their own differing experiences, which can feel dismissive and disheartening.

      avatar
      Cengage Response
      1y
      I hear you. I do not take lightly the changes that we have gone through over the last year. I am, however, proud of the way we have transformed our business in the last decade to ensure we are able to invest in the business and meet the needs of customers. I am proud of the nearly 7M students we have helped save $920M on course materials with Cengage Unlimited and I am proud of the more than 250,000 individuals we help upskill and reskill in the workforce each year. I am proud of the tens of millions of students in more than 100 countries we have helped to learn English and start on a path to achieve their dreams. To achieve these things has meant we have to closely examine how we do business so we can best serve our customers. In terms of work arrangements, we are committed to embracing approaches that allow our teams to thrive. Our leaders have been observing teams, experimenting with different models, and adapting as needed to set their teams up for success. We have learned that face-to-face interaction is invaluable in certain areas, such as building trust among team members and onboarding new employees. I encourage you to speak with your manager about your experience as we continue to experiment, adapt, and evolve our approach, it is important to have feedback from employees on the model. Regarding the Director of DEIB position, we remain committed to embedding inclusive and fair practices into our policies, as well as supporting and enabling our employee resource groups. This work is not the responsibility of one person; it is everyone's responsibility. Please feel free to reach out to me directly with any further concerns or ideas on how we can improve. Best, Michael Hansen, CEO
      Viewing 151 - 153 of 2,405 Reviews
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      ReviewsCengage reviews

      Glassdoor has 2,603 Cengage reviews submitted anonymously by Cengage employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Cengage is right for you.