Does Penguin Group pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Penguin Group employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.2 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Penguin Group. This rating has decreased by 11% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Penguin Group?

81% of Penguin Group employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Penguin Group 4.1 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.0 for culture and values and 3.4 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Penguin Group?

Editor (5) , Intern (5) , Manager (5) , Production Assistant (4) , Assistant (3) , Associate Editor (3) , Editorial Assistant (3) , Editorial Intern (3) , Publicist (3) , Research Assistant (3) , Administrative Assistant (2) , Customer Service Representative (2) , Designer (2) , Marketing (2) , Project Manager (2)

What are the pros of working at Penguin Group according to real employee reviews?

"Great people and engaged team" ((in 24 reviews)); "Free books everywhere!!" ((in 12 reviews)); "Get to meet a lot of authors, great colleagues and summer hours" ((in 7 reviews)); "Ample vacation time and reasonable flex time;" ((in 4 reviews)); "This jobs offers very steady hours and great benefits." ((in 3 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Penguin Group according to real employee reviews?

"Low salary and difficult to move up." ((in 13 reviews)); "Low pay and with merger jobs (including mine) being eliminated." ((in 11 reviews)); "Poor management and HR all around and lack of concern for employees with discrimination of some management, especially in tech." ((in 8 reviews)); "Long hours That make work life balance hard" ((in 6 reviews)); "Compensation is beyond minimal." ((in 5 reviews))

What are employees saying about Penguin Group layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Penguin Group layoffs and their outlook for job security at Penguin Group in 2026.

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Penguin Group

Part of Penguin Random House

Penguin Group reviews

3.9

81% would recommend to a friend

(139 total reviews)

John C. Makinson

99% approve of CEO

90% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.1

Work/Life balance

4.0

Culture & values

4.0

Diversity & inclusion

3.8

Senior management

3.4

Career opportunities

3.2

Compensation and benefits

Penguin Group has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 139 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Penguin Group employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Media and communication industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

139 reviews

2.0

Sep 16, 2009

Interesting place to be, but hard work often goes unrewarded

Production assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Location - offices are bright and spacious Hours - pretty flexible esp summer hours on fridays. Good name to have on CV Laid-back environment Books! Excellent maternity benefits.

Cons

Very low starting pay -18K in London Lack of rewards for good performance -Â£200 bonus regardless of merit. People generally only get promoted when someone either leaves or (more likely) goes on maternity leave. Poor leadership from high up in the business, very slow to take up new technology. Serious lack of technical knowledge - general low levels of computer literacy Some departments are very old school, quite tribal and cliquey.

3.0

Jun 27, 2014

More of a publishing group than digital, they couldn't make any decisions and chased around a lot.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Some really nice people, laid back and chilled out.

Cons

Not digitally focussed. Online projects never got completed. They thought digital should report into marketing.

1.0

Dec 15, 2014

Elitist

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Free books. Great river views from the office.

Cons

Overwhelmingly white and posh. If your face and postcode don't fit, you're not going to get anywhere. Pitiful IT systems and training.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 139 Reviews

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