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Harvard University

Is this your company?

This is a great place to work, but know your strengths stand by them. - Administrative Assistant Harvard University Employee Review

4.0
Feb 27, 2009
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

My benefits are great, and other than the most senior management person in my office, my superiors are pretty accommodating and fair about pretty much everything.

Cons

Everyone is very wrapped up in "the meeting" culture and spends far too much time talking about things and not enough time doing. My department in particular could be so much more productive if people were just allowed to do their job and not have to have a summit over every decision being made and talking things to death. If you have 5 meetings in a day, that only leaves you barely 2 hours to get anything done, but each meeting generates at least 3 hours of additional work to be done. I have seen this in many departments I have worked in across the company

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5.0
Jul 13, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Light work if you have the right team

Cons

Low pay for amount of work

2.0
Jun 30, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great Union and benefits for non-profits/higher ed. Wonderful colleagues outside of leadership!

Cons

GSD Development and Alumni Relations (under current leadership) is an incredibly toxic work environment. I didn't realize the intensity of the toll it took on my until after leaving, and I am not one to leave a negative review, but as they are hiring for several positions currently, I wish to share words of caution with applicants. Cons: - Absolutely not a safe space for anyone who is Black, brown, trans, queer, working-class, or disabled - 100% top-down direction. No room for personal exploration, initiative, or creativity. - Minimal guidance from leadership - Frequent pivots, even in the late stages of projects - Petty, immature talking behind your back by leadership - No upward mobility unless the Associate Dean or Dean like you - Deeply disingenuous comments, reflections, and feedback from leadership - Complete lack of transparency on direction, goals, etc. - Small mistakes are made cornerstones of performance evaluations, while leadership routinely missteps. Leadership never takes accountability. - Top-down policy decisions, completely lacking detail, thought, and care outside of legal ramifications - Ever-changing in-office requirements

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