Elsevier reviews

4.0

79% would recommend to a friend

(2,190 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 2,190 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
Sep 4, 2024

Bad Experience

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There are no pros that come to mind.

Cons

Narcissistic leadership. Indian Managers hires sycophants from their home state to tip the balance in their favour. Work hours are insane and there have been complaints about workload globally. It doesn't end well for whistleblowers. Sycophants are promoted and hardworking employees are left behind. This company is always hiring for CDS and EPM for the same reason. There is no work life balance.

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Elsevier Response
1y
Thank you for leaving your review. We’re sorry your experience hasn’t reflected our values of inclusivity, fairness, and respect in the workplace. We’re actively working to build an environment where employees feel valued and supported, regardless of background or location, and we are committed to ensuring that all employees experience equitable growth opportunities. The concerns you raised around workload and work-life balance would have been prioritized through ongoing initiatives to improve resourcing and wellness support across teams. Your input when you worked here would have been vital to making the required improvements, as we encourage open dialogue at all levels, including anonymous feedback channels, to create a culture where everyone feels heard. If you’d like to discuss this further, please contact our HR team confidentially or email us at -elseviergdrev@elsevier.com to provide more information.
5.0
Sep 4, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

great work life balance good benefits lovely people and real supportive team feel does feel like company cares about well-being of employees and managers are relatable and empathetic

Cons

constantly dismiss employees' concerns about pay, this has come up the whole time I've worked here and they always give the same line even though benefits now are far less than they were a decade ago insisting on pushing AI which is a move in the wrong direction do not pay most people who work on their content

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Elsevier Response
1y
Thank you for your review. Compensation is always a hot topic in any industry. Here, we benchmark our salaries externally to ensure we stay competitive. We offer competitive rates plus an array of great benefits.
1.0
Sep 3, 2024

Stuck in a Rut

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

1. Beautiful, centrally located offices 2. 100% remote option for most employees 3, Generous leave and time-off policies 4. Option to buy into extremely high quality health insurance 5. Congenial, kind and thoughtful colleagues

Cons

1. Pervasive defeatist attitude as Elsevier consistently misses commercial goals with no leadership accountability whatsoever, must acquire companies to create illusion of growth 2. Must learn and refine vocabulary/behaviors to explain/excuse consistent patterns of failure to organically grow 3. Most managers possess expertise and experience substantially below their grade and function at extremely low levels 4. Management is committed to finding ways to excuse lack of performance rather than solving problems, employees are highly incentivized to tell management team how effective they are 5. Managers conspire to force effective leaders out so as to maintain defeatist and apologetic culture

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Elsevier Response
1y
Thank you for sharing your review. We understand that every experience is unique and take each review seriously. While we regret to hear about the concerns raised regarding leadership accountability, growth, and performance, we would have benefitted more from your insights through investigation when you were with us. As a director, when you were with us, you must know that we are committed to cultivating an open culture where employees feel comfortable sharing candid feedback, contributing ideas, and driving change. While these experiences don't align with our intended culture, they highlight opportunities where we can and must do better. Our vision is to foster a high-performance environment emphasising transparent leadership and accountability. To that end, we're actively focused on building leadership capacity at all levels, investing in targeted training, and implementing performance metrics emphasising accountability and support for our teams. Growth is a crucial focus, and while acquisitions are part of our strategy to strengthen our capabilities, organic growth is equally critical. We are refining our internal development programs to ensure every leader and manager has the tools, knowledge, and support needed to succeed at the highest levels. We value transparency, honest feedback, and problem-solving over complacency, and we welcome further discussions with current and former employees to ensure we address these concerns comprehensively. Contact us at elseviergdrev@elsevier.com to discuss the issues you raised further.
Viewing 292 - 294 of 2,190 Reviews

Glassdoor has 2,535 Elsevier reviews submitted anonymously by Elsevier employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Elsevier is right for you.