Good company, some bad apples - District Manager Cengage Employee Review

2.0
Jan 14, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Work-life balance was nice. For the most part, you are given the ability to "leave your work at the office," and maintain some free time outside of work. There are plenty of good people working there and the work is rewarding.

Cons

Favoritism is a major problem. Several undeserving employees were given every opportunity despite falling short of expectations. In some cases, they even created "new positions" for people who were personal friends with upper management. Meanwhile, many hard-working and highly successful employees were treated very poorly and their career goals were ignored, simply because they didn't have personal relationships with the "right people." They don't always value results, good ideas, or smart people. Instead, they too often value "yes men," who play the part, even if they don't produce. Double-standards are a major problem as well. Again, if you happen to be friends with the right people. you can get away with behavior that would never be accept from those who are not personal friends with those making decisions. This creates a culture of resentment and hopelessness for those on the wrong side of these double standards.

Explore other reviews about Cengage

5.0
Mar 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Total rewards, time off, great people and culture

Cons

Lots of changes and uncertainty at times

1.0
Jul 13, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The individuals below the management level are good people, with some good people at management but C-Suite is horrible.

Cons

C-Suite hides their plans under corporate speak. Cengage was a family owned private company and they sold and ever since then has had, debt, schemes to shuffle and restructure debt while implementing RIFs after RIFs after RIFs...never ending and amazingly has been in increased this last year. From their actions it's outsource as much as you can of company operations and squeeze value from Intellectual Property. Look how many times they've renamed themselves. They had a CTO join for about a month or two until she realized it was a role with no team, no authority and left. The CEO is amazing at spin, you hear "great, great, great" corporate speak as the reality on the ground is "this failed, that failed..what!? they're gone!...what they moved that department offshore!...what!? that department is now a vendor relationship...oh we're not DEI focused because the wind changed". The trend is contraction not expansion, no ground breaking innovation. My jaded view from college on expensive books has only grew since I see how the sausage is made.

6
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