Drama, Clique Groups, and Toxic Fake Culture of Niceness - Implementation Specialist Gusto Employee Review

1.0
Jul 3, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

In most teams, you will find decent flexibility and allows for work-life balance. Plenty of benefits, such as healthcare, family planning, and RSU are great. The food in Denver is top-notch.

Cons

The culture at Gusto can be alluring, but underneath it, there are a plethora of issues. Too many expect decision-making to be implemented in a quasi-consensus process, where the supposed company value of "debate and commit" is thrown out the window. Many other reviews have discussed the abrupt changes that have affected hourly employees such as myself. I won't regurgitate the same, but they have plenty of truth. The downfall has been going on for a while, but it accelerated last year. During the layoffs and shortly after, several folks left or were let go under the shadiest of circumstances. We used to have unlimited PTO (with reasonable black-out periods). All gone for hourly folks, in great part due to the many Karens who abused the system and constantly complained, forgetting we are a company that needs to make a profit. We used to have an experienced operations leader who, despite his rough edges, kept implementing bottom-up decisions that improved a slew of metrics. Out the window as well and brushed underneath the rug. The current leadership, fortunately, has vast experience with our entire process but is a far cry from the operational leader we need. It's a shame, really. This company had the potential to be great, but perhaps that was also an illusion. We will have to settle for a highly troubled and, at times, counterproductive culture of whining that worsens things.

Explore other reviews about Gusto

5.0
Jun 10, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Smart and friendly coworkers. Excellent team culture

Cons

Tunnel visions on AI a bit too much

1
2.0
May 20, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The product is genuinely good, too bad the same can’t be said for how they treat the people who sell it.

Cons

Leadership talks a big game about people-first culture but the reality doesn’t match. The Chicago office expansion felt like a poorly thought-out experiment, new hires were brought on without a clear long-term commitment, and layoffs came without warning, leaving people blindsided. Crossing a billion dollars in revenue and still cutting employees sends a clear message about where workers rank on the priority list. Remote work flexibility is also a glaring weakness. For a company selling HR software to modern businesses, their internal stance on where employees can work is surprisingly rigid and hypocritical. The “flexibility” messaging is mostly optics. The broader concern is the AI roadmap. The automation push feels less like an innovation strategy and more like a slow wind-down of the workforce. Employees aren’t blind to it, it creates anxiety and erodes trust. The culture of transparency they promote externally is largely a facade internally.

11
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