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Penguin Random House

Is this your company?

AU office is terrible and needs desperate interference - Anonymous employee Penguin Random House Employee Review

1.0
28 Oct 2019
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

60% off books and study leave

Cons

-Very backwards and complete 180 compared to our US counterparts -Stale and lifeless environment - you can hear someone sneeze from the other side of the building - We are quite spread out in the office so it appears really lifeless -Lack of vision from CEO and leadership team - very out of touch and dont focus on the reader. -Highly political and if you're not located in Sydney then you'll have a hard time in swaying stakeholders -High turn over, well over 40 people have left this year alone and no one bats an eye -Promotions tend to go to those with lack of management skills as well as technical skills ...they're not even qualified for their roles yet they get promoted into them

Explore other reviews about Penguin Random House

5.0
20 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

• Caring people. Psychological safety is emphasized by people at every level. I feel like leadership at each step of the reporting chain is very approachable and transparent. • Great work/life balance. • There is a lot of openness to trying new technologies or doing different things for such a large and established organization. There is very little "trend chasing," it's more like you're listened to. As the CEO started out as a technologist, he has a realistic view of what new tools (including, but not just, AI) can do for us. • Informal, especially for a company created by the merger of two nearly-100 year old publishing firms and was recently acquired by a nearly-200 year old company. • Company supports learning and development. • Free books! • I care greatly about the company's mission and it's clear how my work impacts the company's ability to execute on it. • Things often move slowly, which is both a pro and a con.

Cons

• Pay and insurance are very average, but I can live with that. This is a much bigger con for employees whose jobs require them to be on-site, especially in e.g. London and New York. • Said learning and development seem to have a ...deliberate pace. While this is fine and what I wanted, other tech people coming in from more "tech-y" organizations mightn't gel with it. • Things often move slowly, which is both a pro and a con.

5.0
20 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great writing, Top tier production

Cons

The male director never asked me once how I was doing or offer any advice to calm my nerves (on my first production ever with them) which lead to a burdensome recording process.

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