Mercer reviews

3.7

67% would recommend to a friend

(6,665 total reviews)
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Pat Tomlinson

45% approve of CEO

59% positive business outlook

Mercer has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 6,665 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Mercer employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Management & Consulting industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

7K reviews
3.0
Aug 5, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There is $10,000 annual tuition reimbursement. They pay for actuarial certifications and give work time for exams. Used to be a pension & parking subsidy (parking costs $90/month in garage in Phx) but no more. Health benefits are good (although all high deductible plans, which work for me). Stock price is high. Take part in the 401(k) and buy stock! It adds up. If you join--try to negotiate as high a salary as you can since pay is not great. Use the tuition benefit and get an advanced degree in 2 years, stay a third so you don't need to pay it back, then leave. Bounce to a few other companies and come back if you want, since that's the only way your salary will increase decently. Good place for someone starting out or for someone coming from a state agency or MCO who can get a great salary. I gave it a thumbs up but would have liked to give it a neutral.

Cons

We were recently informed we are expected back in the office 3 days a week, unless we had already made our work from home status official (we were not made aware of this). Advancement process is inequitable--make friends with those at the top (or at least the top of your group). Really. Workload is too much for the reward. Pay is low unless you leave for a year. Then come back, make a lot more and get a promotion immediately or the following year. Stay and stagnate. Many left last year. No real repercussions for mediocre performance. No benefits for working night and day to meet/exceed client expectations and fill gaps others leave. Leadership does not want to hear even slightly negative feedback, which is necessary for positive change. Recent restructuring has raised billable hour goals to 1600 for virtually everyone this year (2023), which is a significant increase for many. (Although almost no nonbillable hours are expected outside of trainings, meeting as with supervisors and a few more quarterly meetings.). Employees mostly unwilling to go the extra mile. Leadership mostly unconcerned with opinions of the masses. Managers mostly will not help. Was a much more toxic environment, but working from home helped alleviate a lot of that. Backstabbing/sabotage is a real problem so beware. Most staff are decent; issues seem to be mostly involving managers/leadership staff. Disheartening to be an employee.

1.0
Feb 15, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

It's a job, they offer some benefits but not the best especially for a consulting firm focusing in employer benefits.

Cons

Typical toxic corporate company. Everyone is underpaid, overworked and anywhere you turn you'll find the toxic fear mongering leader who's leadership style is to put others down to make themselves live good. These people somehow always seem to skate by undetected with the C suite even though everyone beneath or across them cannot stand it. This year we received a 2% pay increase despite having a record profit year with no increases in 2021. That is not even enough to cover the increased cost of living. What a slap in the face to their hardworking employees.

2.0
Mar 19, 2021

Toxic work culture

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Satisfying to see a finished product/client deliverable Some of the clients are awesome Career opportunities

Cons

Toxic work environment No work life balance The work itself was okay, although, admittedly not super exciting. It feels more like you're in HR, if you're into that sort of thing. You are subject to working 40+ hours during the work week and attached to your laptop, checking emails on the weekends. If you're feeling overwhelmed with the workload, the suggestion from management is to work overtime. Lead consultants who have been with the company for years will never admit they are wrong on anything, and if they have an issue with you or your work, they won't address that fact with you face to face. As an Analyst, if something goes wrong with a client meeting or client deliverable, you are the first one thrown under the bus; being an Analyst at Mercer is a very thankless job. To reiterate the title of this review, the toxic work culture and environment I was in is what ultimately drove me (and many others) away from Mercer. I would not have even considered another role with the company because the culture was so bad, nor would I recommend Mercer to any of my friends/acquaintances. Lastly, the workload and expectations are incredibly (and unnecessarily) stressful and unrealistic. When the solution to being overworked and overwhelmed is to work overtime, something is truly wrong. Personally, I would 100% prefer to spend time with my family at the end of a workday and on weekends, versus stuck in the office or glued to my laptop. Walking away from Mercer was the easiest and most satisfying decision I have made in years.

Viewing 55 - 57 of 6,665 Reviews

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