It CAN be a great place to work! - Executive Assistant Darden Employee Review

3.0
Dec 16, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Darden has a great benefits package - great pay, great health insurance, stocks, free coffee, soda, bottled water, etc. There are 10 paid holidays, 5 sick days, 3 personal days and 2 weeks vacation. You get 1 week vacation after 90 days. They are moving to a more flexible schedule where you can work 7-3 or 9-6 depending on your need. They have casual fridays where you can wear jeans. It's a business casual environment the rest of the week. The pay is above anything else in Orlando. The employees who work there are great! I met some fabulous people at Darden.

Cons

Communication between HR and employees and Management and employees is terrible. It needs major improvement. There is so many politics at Darden. They are not 100% honest with their employees - especially during "restructuring". It's is very HR heavy and sometimes they have more say than the actual management team. Never go to HR if you are having a manager issue because the manager will always win and you will find yourself without a job. There is very little work life balance at Darden. You will be expected to put in major hours if you want to get promoted. If you don't have a college degree - don't bother.

Explore other reviews about Darden

5.0
Jun 17, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good place to work and good benefits

Cons

No cons. Very transparent with expectations

3.0
Jul 1, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The overall pay is good

Cons

Work life balance Leadership not the best on smaller brands Heavy work load

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