Friendly but unequal work environment. - Director Scholastic Employee Review

3.0
Feb 7, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Assuming you work for the right division, Scholastic is a friendly, welcoming work environment. The company has a strong, warm-fuzyy inducing mission: To Help All Kids Learn and Love to Read. Who can't get behind that?

Cons

Scholastic is run like a family business, regardless of the fact that it is publicly traded. There is a great deal of favoritism at play in the company at all levels, and advancement is often more of a popularity contest than a reflection of employees' work ethic. The company's "family friendly" policy is out of control, allowing virtually anyone (who is female) with children to work from home, or four-days a week and piling on extra work on those who do not have children. This kind of decision is popular with moms, but is a perfect example of why the company seems to be hemorrhaging good workers and can't get itself in the game as far as new publishing ventures and new technology. There are also huge disconnects between the ways divisions are run. For example, the Book Group gets (secret) "Summer Fridays" where they can take every other Friday off or half-day Fridays in the summer, but the rest of the company is required to work those days. Great for the Book Group, but what about Education? Or eScholastic? Or Magazines? Or the Legal Department? Or Human Resources?

Explore other reviews about Scholastic

5.0
Jun 26, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

positive working environment, good people

Cons

great company to work for; no complaints

2.0
Jun 11, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Remote work and the clients are very nice to work with.

Cons

In my experience, the company's compensation practices lacked transparency and accountability. When employees asked questions about how their earnings, bonuses, or compensation were calculated, clear answers were often difficult to obtain. Decisions affecting employee pay were made without adequate explanation, and requests for clarification frequently went unresolved. What I found particularly concerning was the apparent disconnect between employee compensation outcomes and management compensation. Employees regularly experienced reduced bonuses or earnings, while management and executive leadership appeared largely unaffected by the same business decisions. This created the perception that the financial impact of those decisions was being borne primarily by employees rather than those making them. After repeatedly seeking explanations and receiving few meaningful answers, I lost confidence in the fairness and transparency of the compensation process.

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