Essendant reviews

2.8

31% would recommend to a friend

(507 total reviews)
avatar

Dave Rickard

22% approve of CEO

15% positive business outlook

Essendant has an employee rating of 2.8 out of 5 stars, based on 507 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The Essendant employee rating is 21% below average for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

507 reviews
3.0
Sep 10, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Super easy job for the pay. A couple of my coworkers are... I guess "were" super cool (get to that soon...) They hired me within I believe 3 days of me applying, which I should have taken as a red flag but I needed a job and money so I'll give them that. Upper management is actually pretty chill, couple people I have in mind specifically I wish the best for them moving forward.

Cons

Strap in ladies, gents, and everyone in between, this is going to be a heck of a beat down. Losing this job in a couple months no matter what, so here's the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about at least our DC. Let's start "light"... the daily meeting before we actually start working. I guess it's supposed to be reviewing previous day KPI and assigning tasks for that day, but it always turns into "it's supposed to rain today" or just an endless "anything else?" until 30 minutes have passed, which means the actual work will now get done 30 minutes later. I only had like 3 coworkers I would actually consider "friends," everyone else either hated me for no reason or was just SO weird I couldn't stand listening to them talk for more than a few words. Speaking of other people... how hard is it to do this job??? People screw up CONSTANTLY like HUH? All the information you need is RIGHT THERE just open your eyes. They act like it's rocket science or something, but I know 4th graders that could do this job better than some of these people. So, if you are still planning on working here after reading this, know that if you just show up and have half a brain you will be a top performer. Middle management is very questionable. Some of them are AMAZING people I love joking around with and such, but then there's the "buddy" issue... if you're not best friends with my boss, you're screwed because there IS favoritism. Other people get away with everything (Show up an hour late? That's fine. Leave trash/empty boxes everywhere? Eh, whatever, not like it's a safety hazard or anything.) but then the rest of us? Come back from break 5 minutes late and people are staring at you tapping their watches like they have nothing better to focus on. They move workers around departments and claim it was because "they were causing drama" when really, they were the ones calling this stuff out in person. There is absolutely NO room for growth either, you can cross train 'til the cows come home, you are NOT getting a promotion or more than a 3% raise. Happened to one of my closest friends here, we swear they talked corporate out of promoting her because they couldn't afford to lose her in our department. I guess I'll move on... the hours: There are no consistent hours. 12:00-8:30? No. It could be 12-5, 12-10, 10-10, 10-12, you have no idea until you show up for the day when you're likely going to get home that night because you work until the work is done. On top of that, depending on the amount of orders we have left, most of the time we don't even get a second 15min paid break because of a stupid rule aforementioned middle manager made up that now everyone follows. Why? Because he's salary and wants to go home. What does it really save? 15 minutes. But he wouldn't be able to process that math, I guess he thinks it's 15m times the number of employees or something. Also, if you want to save time, cut down on the number of times you ask "anything else?" in the meeting, like I said. Also, the buildings closing... I do appreciate the couple months heads up, don't get me wrong, but really? To tell us all that our building is consolidating to the one down the road and you have no idea when or who will keep their job, then a couple weeks later saying "JK, no one has a job. Good luck." is not cool. The severance package isn't even worth sticking around for, so I guess I'll see what to do now... If you're planning on applying to one of the 6 remaining buildings, I'd have a backup plan because who knows how long those will stay open too.

1.0
Sep 4, 2025

Awful

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Many of the middle managers and team leads are the only reason this company has managed to stay afloat. They care about their people, work hard to keep teams motivated in impossible situations, and do their best to shield employees from the constant uncertainty. Unfortunately, their efforts are undermined by poor executive leadership that refuses to take accountability.

Cons

Essendant has become a revolving door of layoffs year after year, with no real vision or stability provided by leadership. Instead of building a sustainable business model, executives continue to hide behind buzzwords like “streamlining” and “reductions,” which in reality just means cutting loyal employees who have given years of their lives to the company. Some of the best, most dedicated people I’ve ever worked with were let go—not because they weren’t good at their jobs, but because poor leadership decisions left the company scrambling to cut costs. The loss of OP was just another step in dismantling what once made this place strong. The pattern is clear: instead of accountability at the top, the workforce pays the price for short-sighted strategies. If you value stability, career growth, and being part of a company that respects its employees, I would look elsewhere. This place is an absolute dumpster fire.

1.0
Sep 4, 2025

No one likes surprises...

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The relationships built were nice, managers were lenient. There are several coworkers i will miss seeing on a daily basis.

Cons

Best time finding out your DC is closing on a powerpoint is awesome! No heads up, nothing. Also left with a terrible severance package. If you are thinking about working here, I hope you love surprises 😮 they are full of them.

Viewing 31 - 33 of 507 Reviews

Glassdoor has 528 Essendant reviews submitted anonymously by Essendant employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Essendant is right for you.