Highly political workplace environment and learned to stay in the private clubs - Anonymous employee Workday Employee Review

1.0
Dec 11, 2017
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Free snack and bagel !!

Cons

Highly political workplace environment; career success depends on who you know and how well connected you are to company movers and shakers. Many managers and even some higher ups are where they are because they are friends or friends of friends of the people in charge -- not because they are skilled managers. There are tremendous amount of private clubs in Workday and if you are not in one, of those clubs, you are not a value to the company. Most everyone is out for themselves. Working for Workday was like a dream. We are a great company and we are all nice people ... But then ... There is a dark side behind that picture perfect image. The company is full of politics. Your performance mostly doesn't matter (and nobody is really trying to measure it!), it's all about whom you know. Leaders and managers are not held accountable. HR has done their best to facilitate feedback sessions within organizations. The ending results end up being nothing, as the leaders who receive poor feedback either push back or never change, and even worse, are not required to by their own leaders. As leader is connected with higher up. HR or HR leader are all lip services, not supporting at all and if you go and talk to HR or your leader, you end up losing your job with tag “RIF”. It is heart breaking when you work hard and give your 150% and they treat you unfairly and poorly. Management in all area is highly unsupportive of career growth, mid-tier management "leaders" are malicious towards their employees. There is a lot of office bullying, public shaming, favoritism and leaders try to form cliques to secure their power. They do not care about their employees, and the work environment is depend on whom you know and how well kiss your management or agree with "Yes or Sure" word. Best advice I can give is if you come here keep your mouth shut and don't try to make a positive difference. DO NOT stand up for what is right because it will only make you a target. You will loose your job with “RIF” word. Just work on your time and then leave at 5pm.

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Pros

Work life balance is very good

Cons

Too much org level changes

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Workday Response
2w
Thank you for sharing your experience at Workday. We're delighted to know that you've been making the most of your time with us and have been benefiting from a good work-life balance. This feedback is incredibly valuable as it helps us provide an even better working experience and benefits for our Workmates.
3.0
Jun 29, 2026
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Pros

Excellent engineering talent and knowledgeable coworkers. Strong engineering culture with high code quality standards. Modern technology stack and opportunities to work on large-scale enterprise software. Good work-life balance compared to many tech companies. Competitive compensation, benefits, and employee perks. Collaborative environment with supportive teammates. Opportunities to learn new technologies and grow technically. Stable development processes and mature SDLC practices. Strong emphasis on testing, code reviews, and software quality. Flexible work arrangements (depending on team).

Cons

Large organization means decision-making can be slow. Significant amount of process and bureaucracy before changes reach production. Cross-team dependencies can slow delivery. Career growth can depend on organizational priorities and manager support. Frequent reorganizations can shift priorities and disrupt long-term projects. Innovation may move slower than at smaller startups. Internal tools and processes can sometimes feel overly complex. Communication between teams can occasionally be inconsistent. Like much of the tech industry, the company has experienced layoffs, creating uncertainty for some employees. Promotions can take time and require navigating multiple approval levels.

1
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Workday Response
1w
Thank you for your thoughtful review. We're aware that there's always room to grow, but at Workday, we take pride in our dedication to our Workmates and the 'employee first' ethos we've embedded since day one. We value your feedback as well as the praise you have provided in your review.
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