Is Elsevier a good company to work for?

Elsevier has an overall rating of 4.0 out of 5, based on over 2,530 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months. 79% of employees would recommend working at Elsevier to a friend and 76% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Elsevier have been left by employees working as Software Engineer , Editor and Manager .

Does Elsevier pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Elsevier employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.6 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Elsevier. This rating has improved by 2% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Elsevier?

79% of Elsevier employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Elsevier 4.5 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.3 for culture and values and 3.6 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Elsevier?

Software Engineer (78) , Senior Software Engineer (63) , Account Manager (61) , Product Manager (55) , Journal Manager (49) , Project Manager (37) , Publisher (30) , Director (29) , Editor (28) , Manager (23) , Sales (22) , Editorial Project Manager (20) , Marketing (18) , Software Engineer III (18) , Data Scientist (16)

What are the pros of working at Elsevier according to real employee reviews?

"Flexibility and good work/life balance" ((in 275 reviews)); "You get the chance to work with great people that are very driven and know their subject area very well." ((in 167 reviews)); "Great employees and colleagues" ((in 146 reviews)); "Great company and team to work for." ((in 54 reviews)); "Work from home and flexible hours" ((in 41 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Elsevier according to real employee reviews?

"We're continued to be asked to develop "world class content" with third world resources and insultingly low salaries." ((in 95 reviews)); "the pay is low but everything else was great" ((in 87 reviews)); "Management on the corporate side is poor with very little business development experience." ((in 82 reviews)); "level and higher managers result in poor leadership and decision" ((in 53 reviews)); "There are also bad managers and seemingly no easy way to reduce their impact on the staff for whom they are responsible." ((in 48 reviews))

What are employees saying about Elsevier layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Elsevier layoffs and their outlook for job security at Elsevier in 2026.

What Elsevier locations have received the highest employee ratings?

Gainesville , Pittsburgh , San Diego , Dayton , Tampa , New York

Elsevier reviews

4.0

79% would recommend to a friend

(2,185 total reviews)

Kumsal Bayazit

91% approve of CEO

76% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.5

Work/Life balance

4.4

Diversity & inclusion

4.3

Culture & values

3.6

Senior management

3.6

Compensation and benefits

3.6

Career opportunities

Elsevier has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 2,185 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Elsevier employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Media & Communication industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

2.0

Oct 15, 2015

Lack of innovation/technoloy and executives who know what to do about it.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Service Anniversary Rewards, flexible hours, overall medical benefits are good. A global corporation and overseas opportunities for employees willing to relocate.

Cons

Innovation and technology is lacking, especially as the world is changing on how to view/use content. Elsevier is so behind in this area. Very slow to respond to any negative press. Executive level does not deal with ineffective Senior Managers and their old school management style. They should fire them, but due to length of service, the SM's are to expensive to get rid of. In turn they lose great people. Outsourcing is used to reduce cost, especially in Operations. However there are practices in house that could also be targeted for cost of effectiveness and it is never dealt with. Out of touch at Senior and Executive levels. There are corporate values but other than reducing cost, they are not part of the Elsevier culture.

2.0

Jun 7, 2015

Backward-Thinking on a Massive Scale

Production

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Nice coworkers, and sometimes the landfill next door doesn't smell so bad and you can walk around acres of barren parking lots. "Green" LEEDS-certified building (which is hilarious, considering the fact that you cannot reach Earth City by bus or bicycle, unless you desire a 2-hour commute and dangerous road conditions).

Cons

Nice coworkers are miserable, like everyone at Elsevier in St. Louis. Commiseration makes it worse. Environment is toxic. Anyone who says this is a great place to work is either lying, fooling himself, or sucking up for no good reason--promotions are rare and increased compensation is not part of that equation. Do great work? Rewarded with increasing demands to lower the quality of the content. Abusive and greedy company.

2.0

Nov 12, 2014

Someone please save this company from itself..

Education sales consultant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Medical benefits, profit sharing match, company car, work remotely from home. Clients are intelligent, and critical thinkers (not all but some) Learn to work through complex problems to create solution. Sharpen presentation skills, and consultative approach.

Cons

Zero vertical, or financial mobility, leadership is mediocre at best, switching gears every year for a hopeful direction, fighting the never ending print battle due to lack of foresight and a cohesive initiative plan, extremely archaic management and business model. Lacking employee moral, and lacking diversity across the board. Sadly if this company doesn't change leadership or direction it's a sinking ship.

Viewing 46 - 48 of 2,185 Reviews

Jobs at Elsevier

Quality Test Engineer III

Business Program Manager

Elsevier

Elsevier reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Lack of innovation/technoloy and executives who know what to do about it.

Backward-Thinking on a Massive Scale

Someone please save this company from itself..

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