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Penguin Random House

Is this your company?

stellar mission, great people, other things lag - Art Director Penguin Random House Employee Review

3.0
Sep 25, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Employees are devoted and passionate about books, and making them as good as they can possibly be. They are also engaged and active in corporate culture. PRH has been at the forefront of legal challenges to book banning, which has led to signifcant pushback against censorship nation-wide. Paid time off is better than most places. Hybrid/remote policy is great. They've gone to great strides to take bias out of hiring and interviewing.

Cons

It varies by division/imprint/publishing unit, but hierarchical and management heavy. There are layers of management that are not needed. Innovation for workflow lags behind other industries. Salaries lag and grind to a halt after a certain number of years of service, unless go into management. Limited opportunites to advance and get raises. Yearly adjustments do not keep up with inflation. Work load/life balance gets worse by the year.

Explore other reviews about Penguin Random House

5.0
Jun 30, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

super friendly work environment, very understanding, very fun

Cons

in consumer marketing department, a large number of people work remotely

5.0
Jun 20, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

• Caring people. Psychological safety is emphasized by people at every level. I feel like leadership at each step of the reporting chain is very approachable and transparent. • Great work/life balance. • There is a lot of openness to trying new technologies or doing different things for such a large and established organization. There is very little "trend chasing," it's more like you're listened to. As the CEO started out as a technologist, he has a realistic view of what new tools (including, but not just, AI) can do for us. • Informal, especially for a company created by the merger of two nearly-100 year old publishing firms and was recently acquired by a nearly-200 year old company. • Company supports learning and development. • Free books! • I care greatly about the company's mission and it's clear how my work impacts the company's ability to execute on it. • Things often move slowly, which is both a pro and a con.

Cons

• Pay and insurance are very average, but I can live with that. This is a much bigger con for employees whose jobs require them to be on-site, especially in e.g. London and New York. • Said learning and development seem to have a ...deliberate pace. While this is fine and what I wanted, other tech people coming in from more "tech-y" organizations mightn't gel with it. • Things often move slowly, which is both a pro and a con.

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