Huge corporate office that lacks inspiration in NYC - Designer Gensler Employee Review

1.0
27 June 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Tons of technical resources and training - Ability to work remotely - Overtime

Cons

- Overtime must be approved by PM's that tightly restrict scheduling and overtime hours towards projects, if you work over 40 hours you will have to go through hoops to get it approved by upper management and in the end they will be annoyed that you worked longer hours. - Studios can feel really cliquey and caddy; there is a lot of chatter and talking behind peoples backs epescially with people who have spent a long time there - Huge office with a serious lack of mentorship, you get dropped into projects without much context or discussion about your interests or skill set - Terrible design aesthetic, lots of older people that have been working there for decades and are not clued into whats relevant today. - Base compensation is really low - The office has no qualms about taking work from questionable companies

Explore other reviews about Gensler

5.0
20 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good firm to work at

Cons

Nothing bad about the firm

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Gensler Response
1mo
Thanks for providing feedback on your experience at Gensler. We value our interns and love to hear their perspectives. We are thrilled and delighted to see your 5-star rating!
1.0
29 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Nice office, lots of “rah rah Gensler” events with food & booze, some nice people

Cons

Where do I start…..some studios are TOXIC. Favoritism permeates every aspect of working here. It’s nauseating. There is zero loyalty, zero recognition for hard work (yeah you get a bonus but sometimes a kind word is needed). Oh-and never ever express an opinion that may be in opposition to “leadership’s”. Your private life, beliefs, politics and other personal things are fair game for letting you go. I’ve seen it happen-fired because someone expresses in a private conversation that one has ethical concerns regarding projects that are in the office (but in another studio/office) will get you fired. They will make up some bs about “work performance”, yet no conversation ever with anyone about “needing improvement “. Out of left field. Bye bye. Management tells leadership that they’d already “warned” the person-completely untrue. Hear later it was likely due to having concerns about a client/project. Lesson learned-shut up, work 12 hrs a day and be happy with the scraps you’re thrown. Also-egos galore! Unwillingness to take accountability for mistakes.

5
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Gensler Response
2w
Thanks for the feedback. We treat workplace concerns seriously and address them in accordance with our internal policies and procedures. We have multiple channels for reporting issues and we train and encourage our team members to use them. Encouraging everyone to ask questions and provide honest feedback is critical to supporting our culture and our values of integrity, trust and mutual respect. We appreciate your feedback and will share your comments with the firm’s leadership.
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