Elsevier reviews

4.0

79% would recommend to a friend

(2,185 total reviews)

Kumsal Bayazit

91% approve of CEO

76% positive business outlook

Elsevier has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 2,185 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Elsevier employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Media & Communication industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews
1.0
Feb 23, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Potentially good products with name recognition. Leadership fails on all levels. You will get a car and decent benefits but they are not worth the minimum 1 hour days you will be expected to work. Zero work life balance.

Cons

Don’t be fooled. You will hear a great story when they hire you, but this is a hostile, angry, disorganized disaster of a place to work. Turnover is unbelievable and medical leave for stress is constant. Leadership alternates between dictatorship, manipulation, and being invisible. You will be used to perform then see your credit given to others. The internal systems are so bad reps never got their 2014 numbers, and still do not know where they stand. In 2013, numbers and awards were given for goal setters and reps of the year, then later retracted and lowered with bonuses and trips being taken away. You will be let down by the company that you rely upon to support what you sell. Lying is rampant while managers and sales reps are set up to fail and take the blame for the incompetent and reckless decisions of upper management. The sales force overacts their pleasure and love for the company and their jobs during meetings purely out of fear. Away from upper management, venting and hatred is the most you will see anywhere. Save yourself the pain and look elsewhere.

1.0
Apr 26, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Elsevier is the world's largest publisher of medical and scientific content. As such, it serves a worthwhile mission to educate others for the advancement of society.

Cons

While with Elsevier I experienced what I best describe as a lack of vision in the business strategy for the company on the part of senior management. There were too many short-term adjustments to long-term issues. Re-orgs were as dependable as clockwork in the fall. Employees were treated like commodities. No recognition or reward for hard work or loyalty. Too much tendency to turn to outside freelancers, or worse, outsourcing to other locations for talent that would best be located in-house. Very politically charged atmosphere within particular departments and mis- or no communication between departments. And management on the lowest level - at least in my case - was horrible. My manager - if he had any management training to begin with - exhibited little to no professionalism in his capacity of manager. In my group there was no employee morale - initially due to the senior management decisions but eventually it fell to the individual manager for the group and his superior - neither of whom did anything to address low morale or on-going issues within the department. Gossipy and back-stabbing, troublesome co-workers were never disciplined. If anything they were rewarded with promotions and recognition because of their cozy relationship with their managers.

1.0
Nov 30, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Offices in multiple places and decent match on 401K

Cons

Some members of senior leadership bully and force others to bully and to engage in unethical behavior. Even when denounced, this behavior goes unpunished.

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Elsevier Response
6y
Thank you for taking the time to write this review. Sorry if your experience with us did not measure up to the high standards we always strive for. We want to be clear that the issues raised here under cons do not show the culture or the organization we continue to build as we grow our brand and people. We take pride in supporting and nurturing our staff and we work hard to make Elsevier a great place to work, a place where people feel empowered to speak up so that together we can solve real problems in a great working environment. We’d be interested to discuss your experience some more if you are willing. If you are interested, you are encouraged to contact us at elseviergdrev@elsevier.com
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