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      Upwork

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      What is the company culture at Upwork?

      Upwork reviews

      Declining Company Culture and Outlook

      Anonymous employee
      Current employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Still hiring in a few teams. Good place to come to get hired at a VP level position and then leave in a couple years (frequent observed pattern.)

      Cons

      Leadership team worships startup culture (build and break fearlessly), but we are carrying the weight of 15+ years technical debt created by frequent changes in product direction and business model of globally distributed engineering free lancers (good people, just hard to pull off). High turnover in executives. Not many "new products" have added to the bottom line in recent years...declining GSV and Revenue.

      6

      Good experience for me personally

      Account executive
      Former employee
      Chicago, IL
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      100% remote, team culture, good people

      Cons

      Lack of transparency, clarity of organization's goals

      stay away

      Enterprise account manager
      Current employee
      San Francisco, CA
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      great people, good culture zero direction and no transparency and expect the world

      Cons

      zero direction and no transparency and expect the world

      12

      Chaotic company with low chances of success

      Product manager
      Current employee
      Los Angeles, CA
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      remote work first, a lot of great team members

      Cons

      upper management is constantly changing the vision and strategy making it impossible to drive impact, a lot of red tape to get any work done, low morale

      10

      Good place to woerk

      Accounting manager
      Former employee
      San Francisco, CA
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Great people good culture, remote

      Cons

      constant leadership changes, inconsistent priorities

      Micro-management central

      Anonymous employee
      Current employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Flexibility Mission Working with people all over the world Diversity

      Cons

      Upwork is has a deep culture of micromanagement and favoritism. There are a few favorites who get all the opportunities. HR violations take place with no consequences. No culture of growth or constructive feedback - just fire people when you feel like it. Values mean nothing because there is no follow through. And the biggest thing: no direction for the business. Every year we discuss the strategy and every year we come up empty with improving the product because we have no operations in place.

      20

      Micro-management central

      Anonymous employee
      Current employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Flexibility Mission Working with people all over the world Diversity

      Cons

      Upwork is has a deep culture of micromanagement and favoritism. There are a few favorites who get all the opportunities. HR violations take place with no consequences. No culture of growth or constructive feedback - just fire people when you feel like it. Values mean nothing because there is no follow through. And the biggest thing: no direction for the business. Every year we discuss the strategy and every year we come up empty with improving the product because we have no operations in place.

      20

      It's a large company, what you would expect

      Anonymous employee
      Former employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Smart, friendly people; flexible work environment; sense of social mission; company culture that's not about being mean

      Cons

      Lack of clear strategic mission; future of the business is unclear; lack of clarity around layoff decisions

      Toxic Management

      Analyst
      Current employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      The only thing I can think of is that it's remote

      Cons

      As a former employee of Upwork, I had high hopes when I initially joined the company. Unfortunately, my experience was marred by a toxic management culture and ineffective communication practices. Toxic Management: During my time there, I felt that the management lacked transparency and accountability. Instead of fostering a supportive environment where employees could thrive, the leadership frequently dismissed constructive feedback and criticism, leaving many team members feeling unheard and undervalued. It seemed that promotions and recognition were based more on favoritism than merit, which demotivated those striving to advance through hard work. Passive-Aggressive Communication: Communication via Slack, which was the primary mode of internal messaging, became a source of anxiety rather than clarity. Managers would often send passive-aggressive messages that only added to the stress of the daily workload. Rather than addressing issues openly, conversations would often take on a tone that felt condescending, further contributing to a tense and uncomfortable work environment. Final Thoughts: While there were talented and dedicated people at Upwork, the prevailing management style undermined morale and productivity. I hope the company takes meaningful steps toward creating a healthier, more supportive culture for its employees.

      16

      Great Place

      Data platform engineer
      Current employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Great culture full of a lot of challenges and knowledge depth. Great management and a great place to grow up and enhance your career rank.

      Cons

      Nothing bad to say about the company.