GLG reviews

2.6

23% would recommend to a friend

(2,296 total reviews)
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Gemma Postlethwaite

21% approve of CEO

19% positive business outlook

GLG has an employee rating of 2.6 out of 5 stars, based on 2,296 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The GLG employee rating is 30% below average for employers within the Management & Consulting industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews
1.0
Oct 30, 2019

Add your therapist to speed dial

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Above average salary, food and coffee, modern office, coworkers.

Cons

GLG has the most toxic corporate culture I've ever experienced in my professional life. They expect you to take lunch at your desk, they expect you to be on call all hours of the day, and on weekends and holidays. They put no value in a healthy work-life balance, and will work you to the bone with no regard for your mental health. The culture is truly so horrible that you'll lose your sense of self and if you're anything like me, you might develop some degree of depression related to workplace burnout and mental exhaustion. Vacation is unlimited but don't you dare take more than 2 weeks. Want to take a short walk outside for a breath of fresh air? No sir, not on GLG's watch. Also make sure you don't stand out, or bring a different point of view, or act like anything other than a New York socialite, because there's no place for people like you in the eyes of GLG's middle and upper management circles. After 2 years I had enough and mustered up my last ounce of confidence to leave, and it was the best professional decision I've ever made. To all current GLG employees: you don't have to stay, and you can leave whenever you want. It's okay to put yourself and your mental health above your employer, because I promise you from the bottom of my heart that GLG truly doesn't care about you even if you're the highest performing person on your team. They care about your results, and the second those results waver, you're toast. They care about your attitude, and if you're not able to feign extreme enthusiasm and dedication to GLG, you'll be cast aside in a heartbeat. This could potentially fall in the "pros" column - you'll probably make a few good friends, but that's only because you will find people to commiserate with about how horrible your work lives are. They'll be your saving grace, the people who keep you going and remind you that there's more to life than GLG. I wish I was kidding about putting my therapist on speed dial, but it's not a lie and it's something that I never thought I would need before GLG. I sort of devolved into a nervous wreck, never feeling like I was good enough or doing enough, and those feelings were reinforced, daily, by the language my manager used. Despite what I thought was pretty good performance and attitude, GLG just kept beating me down to the point where I found myself crying on the train or in the bathroom at least once every week or so. It's not a normal workplace, it's not a healthy workplace, and it's simply not where you want to be. Don't work here - put yourself first.

1.0
Oct 19, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great office space Weekly free meals Interesting and intelligent co-workers

Cons

I had a member of senior leadership more or less tell me that my mental health and experiences outside of work were of no concern to them. Company leadership has created a toxic culture and nearly all employees are miserable. Best advice: DO NOT APPLY TO WORK HERE! A few additional thoughts: -TERRIBLE middle managers who are pressured by senior leadership to micro-manage their employees -Misleading job descriptions and recruiting tactics -Utterly disconnected, clueless, and unresponsive senior leadership -Absolutely no work life balance. You are expected to be on call when ill and taking a lunch away from your desk is frowned upon -Day-today work is repetitive, boring, and unnecessarily metric-driven -Broad consensus of unhappiness amongst employees.

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GLG Response
8y
While I’ve addressed some of your criticisms like job descriptions and culture in my other responses, I’m very concerned about your mental health comment. We care about the well-being of our people and we offer a range of benefits (Employee Assistance Programs, Talkspace, and others) to help those employees in distress. If you ever feel that a senior leader (or your direct manager) does not care about your mental well-being, I encourage you to speak to a member of the Human Resources team or to me directly.
2.0
Sep 19, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Currently employed with a company which treats me like an equal, with management that communicates business objectives and goals accurately, and is truly interested in my professional and personal development. While I never felt that I had much of this at GLG, I did manage to get to a job where I do now...so thanks GLG!

Cons

GLG is an "OK" place for anyone who just graduated college, doesn't have other relevant job opportunities in their field, needs a basic income and job experience. It will prepare you to better communicate over the phone and bs your next job interview. GLG's major issues: 1) Inexperienced and at often times juvenile middle managers who condescend those in lower ranks and delegate all their work (there are a few good ones in there, just few and far between!) 2) Bureaucratic, unambitious, and uninspiring leadership 3) Compensation that doesn't motivate (i.e. no true commission in Research and an annual bonus with no specific performance numbers tied to it) *note a new bonus process was rolled out early 2017 that effectively set goals to pay out employees even less than the discretionary bonus previously used* 4) Little to no top down communication as new changes are made and rolled out causes constant confusion 5) "Process Standardization" that has you cold calling as a "Research" professional far more than anyone outside of a Sales role ever should (did I mention you aren't compensated well for this?). Also note that this includes managers reading your client facing emails and grading you on a GPA (and you thought that was all over after school...) 6) Long hours and expectations to behave similarly to the professional services world you work for (BCG, McKinsey, etc.) without the same compensation or reputation to get employed on afterwards 7) Clients that view you as a commodity, NOT partner 8) Toxic political culture on certain teams

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GLG Response
8y
It sounds like a lot of your experience was skewed by a negative relationship with your manager. I can’t say this enough: let us know. We ask for honest feedback often and repeatedly, because we can only help prevent personal circumstances from turning into toxic experiences if we’re made aware of them.
Viewing 28 - 30 of 2,296 Reviews

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