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Penguin Random House

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Significant culture problems and toxic management, exploits people's industry passion. - Coordinator Penguin Random House Employee Review

2.0
Jul 20, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Decent benefits, especially vacation time if you can get in Full-Time. If you love books, PRH is the greatest in the game. The best authors, the biggest books. For aspiring publishing professionals, this is the dream. You'll never work on better books anywhere else in your career. Many employees form lasting, lifelong friendships here.

Cons

The company preys on your passion for books and the industry and exploits it to make you feel like you need to stay and that you have no other options. Most entry level employees are on three-month contracts that renew perpetually for years, but offer no benefits, vacation, or sick days. Career development opportunities are nonexistent. Raises small, few and far between. Promotions often long overdue. Many junior and mid-level employees have resigned in the last year because they can't keep waiting around for a minuscule pay bump and a pat on the back when they could take an entry level job in another industry and make 2x as much money. Expect to work evenings, weekends, early mornings and late nights, get emails expecting replies in the middle of the night. No overtime, no lieu time, no reimbursement for mobile costs or home internet even if you're working on your own time and device. HR is a laughingstock. Lip service is paid in big townhall meetings to diversity and employee mental health/work life balance but nothing is ever done. It doesn't appear that managers whose employees report mental health concerns or take stress leave are ever evaluated on whether or not they are fit to lead a team. Clique-y upper management closes ranks and fearful middle managers aren't empowered to stand up for their employees.

Explore other reviews about Penguin Random House

5.0
Jun 20, 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
May 20, 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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