Wasted years - Anonymous employee Elsevier Employee Review

2.0
8 July 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Generous vacation time once you've worked at the company for more than 5 years, good company 401k match, flex time (can come in at 7 am and leave at 3 pm, for example), 7.5-hr workday, get to leave 2 hours early the day before a holiday, no overtime required, you put in your 7.5 hrs each day and don't have to think about it at night or on weekends. People outside know and respect the brand (mostly).

Cons

Where should I start? I have to echo another reviewer by saying, Can I have the last decade-plus of my working life back? I rue the day that I ever accepted an offer from Elsevier. Better to have stayed unemployed for a longer time. Management is just awful...I have worked for some truly evil and self-serving people who intentionally keep their employees down and said and done things that would have had them fired years ago at any other place. Had to go above my line manager to beg for a promotion even though I was doing her job and mine. Too many middle managers who don't know their heads from a hole in the ground. People work here for decades and are promoted on who they are friends with and not because they deserve it. There is NO room to grow except for a select chosen few, and although the company likes to say there are so many opps, once you are hired in a dept. it is VERY difficult to move into another dept. Raises are a joke--you're lucky if you get 2 percent "cost of living" every year. Also have to echo another reviewer who said that "fake" positions are created to give the illusion of "job opportunities" and room to grow, and truer words were never spoken. Too many role changes. People are pushing paper and not using their skills. Also, did I mention everything has either been outsourced to other countries or is well on its way to being so in the near future? Morale is in the toilet and it's nothing but negative energy in most areas. I have been trying to escape for years but the economy tanking & other factors have kept me from doing so. Hope to be able to change this profile to "Former Employee" sooner rather than later.

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Industry leader Great benefits Incentive trips Invests heavily in its employees

Cons

Processes can be burdensome and clunky at times

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Elsevier Response
2w
Thank you for this balanced and thoughtful review. We're glad to hear that our benefits and investment in people are making a positive impact, those are commitments we take seriously. On the process feedback: Leadership is actively reviewing operational workflows, and the advice to listen more closely to employee feedback is something we're holding ourselves accountable to. If you're open to it, we'd encourage you to bring specific examples forward through your team or people and culture contacts. Change is most effective when it's grounded in the real experiences of the people doing the work, and that means you. Feel free to reach out to us at elseviergdrev@elsevier.com to provide more information Thank you for staying engaged and for caring enough to share this. It matters.
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5 June 2026
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Pros

The company’s mission is inspiring.

Cons

Poor executive decision making, lack of clear strategic vision.

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