You get back what you put in. - Anonymous employee Cengage Employee Review

4.0
Oct 1, 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

CL and upper management have really turned a corner with this company in the past year+. There are lots of exciting projects in the works and a certain level of empowerment that had been lacking for several years prior. Management seems to be making solid decisions regarding titles and learning platforms.

Cons

On one hand, the company seems to be heading in a great, exciting, new, and innovative direction. On the other, upper management seems unable to let go of "control" and returns to old corporate ways of thinking such as a recent reprimand about flexible work hours. They work so hard to understand today's current student but haven't given a look at today's current workplace/happy employee. Lately they seem obsessed with "people in seats" from 9 to 5, versus when and where the real work is getting done.

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Cengage Response
11y
I appreciate your insights. It is an exciting time in our industry, and Cengage is reflecting those changes. During a transition like this, everyone, including upper management, needs to adapt to new ways of conducting business. Employees are a primary focus. This changing environment might not be right for everyone. Some roles are suitable for partial work-from-home arrangements (or even field-based or remote), and some teams require the collaborative intensity that an office-based culture affords. Our senior leaders and teams make those decisions, as they are closer to the work than I am. If you have any questions about the approach your team is taking, reach out to the team leader directly for a fuller understanding of the rationale and/or to propose something new. We always welcome your perspective. Thanks again.

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5.0
Mar 28, 2026
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Pros

Total rewards, time off, great people and culture

Cons

Lots of changes and uncertainty at times

1.0
Jul 13, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The individuals below the management level are good people, with some good people at management but C-Suite is horrible.

Cons

C-Suite hides their plans under corporate speak. Cengage was a family owned private company and they sold and ever since then has had, debt, schemes to shuffle and restructure debt while implementing RIFs after RIFs after RIFs...never ending and amazingly has been in increased this last year. From their actions it's outsource as much as you can of company operations and squeeze value from Intellectual Property. Look how many times they've renamed themselves. They had a CTO join for about a month or two until she realized it was a role with no team, no authority and left. The CEO is amazing at spin, you hear "great, great, great" corporate speak as the reality on the ground is "this failed, that failed..what!? they're gone!...what they moved that department offshore!...what!? that department is now a vendor relationship...oh we're not DEI focused because the wind changed". The trend is contraction not expansion, no ground breaking innovation. My jaded view from college on expensive books has only grew since I see how the sausage is made.

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