Pretty typical startup experience - Anonymous employee Gusto Employee Review

2.0
20 Apr 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Solid product, easy sell (because I think it's actually good). Company has a pretty good outlook, I think overall they will do well. A few really awesome coworkers and a manager who rocked in terms of leadership, personal growth, and direction for the team.

Cons

A lot of soap-boxy speech by individuals who idolize their jobs. Also the company preaches about how they are so unique and different, "anti-corporate", etc. I have worked in corporate America and this is pretty much the exact same thing (with a cooler office environment and free meals, but also lower pay). Some of the root issues found in any workplace become exacerbated due to the high number of millennials who believe they are entitled to hold leadership positions so they can boss other people around, despite having proven very little in terms of actual ability to perform or personal work ethic. I see the company attempting to resolve these issues by hiring individuals who actually are qualified to lead, so this might sort itself out, with time. Not a ton of engineering resources for internal enhancements, which can make doing my job difficult sometimes. Some toxic energy here. Most people at the individual contributor level consistently feel job anxiety. It is the type of environment where it feels like you could make one mistake and be fired. Or make no mistakes, and still be fired anyway.

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Gusto Response
10y
Happy to hear that you enjoy working with your teammates and that your PE is excelling in providing empowerment to both yourself and the team. Job anxiety is not something we want any of our employees to ever feel. In your regular 1-1s with your PE and programs such as GustoFIED, job performance and expectations should be known. We would appreciate spending time with you to discuss how to calm anxiety, and would love to chat with you about this if you are comfortable. The more we know, the more we can do to help.

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Cons

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2.0
20 May 2026
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Pros

The product is genuinely good, too bad the same can’t be said for how they treat the people who sell it.

Cons

Leadership talks a big game about people-first culture but the reality doesn’t match. The Chicago office expansion felt like a poorly thought-out experiment, new hires were brought on without a clear long-term commitment, and layoffs came without warning, leaving people blindsided. Crossing a billion dollars in revenue and still cutting employees sends a clear message about where workers rank on the priority list. Remote work flexibility is also a glaring weakness. For a company selling HR software to modern businesses, their internal stance on where employees can work is surprisingly rigid and hypocritical. The “flexibility” messaging is mostly optics. The broader concern is the AI roadmap. The automation push feels less like an innovation strategy and more like a slow wind-down of the workforce. Employees aren’t blind to it, it creates anxiety and erodes trust. The culture of transparency they promote externally is largely a facade internally.

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