A culture of fear, intimidation, and uncertainty — STAY AWAY - Account Executive Salesforce Employee Review

1.0
Oct 2, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good people, health & wellness benefits, many cool offices, employee resources. Great on to have on the resume when you inevitably leave or are laid off.

Cons

I joined Salesforce mid-COVID, when it was recognized as one of the best places to work (focused on employee wellbeing, culture, and doing the right thing), and it was, until late 2022/early 2023... Several massive layoffs (seemingly random - including top performers and people on vacation) took place when venture capital firms started buying up shares and making demands. Almost overnight, Salesforce became the opposite of the company it was known to be for the previous ~10 years. Salesforce is now just like any other megacorporation/cold call sweatshop - defined by a culture of fear, intimidation, and uncertainty. Sales quotas nearly doubled in a matter of weeks, with the apparent goal of pushing salespeople to either perform miracles, or quit because of the strain on their mental health. After an embarrassing, rambling, incoherent all-hands at the beginning of 2023, the "work from anywhere" nonsense that Benioff spouted for years is gone, as he chastises remote employees on a regular basis, and teams are reporting the intimidation tactics being used on them to force them into the office (5 days a week in-office, crippling micromanagement, threats of remote work in exchange for salary decrease, tracking badge swipes, etc). Promotion freezes and unattainable/absurd demands in exchange for promotions are all that remain for growth opportunities. Now, many salespeople are promoted, and receive no pay raise, just a greater workload, as Salesforce pushes a "you're lucky to be here" attitude (and don't even think about taking PTO without more intimidation and guilt trips weighing on your mental health). The vast majority of salespeople (other than those fleeing the company in droves) now fight each other for promotions as tickets out of Salesforce, as opposed to legitimate career growth. Employee morale is the lowest I've seen anywhere at any time in my career. Slack is a display of constant employee resentment towards leadership at every level, with near-monthly internal revolts (and leadership flip-flopping on poor decisions after being called out by their workers en masse). I have never worked at a company that displayed more disrespect to its own people, and illustrated what little value it holds for workers. All this in the span of ~10 months. Complete transformation. Do not come here. They're lying to you about everything.

Explore other reviews about Salesforce

5.0
Jun 5, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Amazing workplace culture Great benefits Great career growth pathways Favorite job of my entire career Great leadership

Cons

None. You work hard but it’s so worth it.

4.0
Jul 9, 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I've spent over 8 years with Salesforce in various management and individual contributor roles, all customer or partner facing. Some of the pros: - vibrant, fast paced culture - smart, fun, aggressive colleagues - management is focused on latest tech trends and staying or becoming a leader for many of them - by and large, customers and partners are very positive about the technology - good benefits and perqs - hip urban culture at HQ - a chart-your-own-course mentality that rewards those who aggressively seek out the job they want and pursue it, or sometimes even create it

Cons

After my long tenure and many Dreamforce conferences, I'm nearly fried. To say the culture is fast paced and the focus is always changing is an understatement. The reason Salesforce always seems on top, and chasing the latest trend, and in the press, is because employees are expected to run harder, carry more, cheer loudly, and pivot constantly. It's the world's biggest startup in behavior. But at the same time, with the recent influx of top career sales leaders from Oracle and what appears to be a board-level mandate for doubling revenue, employees are being asked to do even more with even less, fill higher quotas with smaller territories, less help, and the big company bureaucracy is rearing it's ugly head. Worse still is the politics. When you hire a bunch of smart, aggressive people, and put them in an environment of outsized expectations, throw in a bunch of re-orgs and changing management, and sprinkle with uncertainty and constantly changing priorities, you inevitably get people back stabbing each other and throwing others under the bus to appear smarter and more worthy of promotion. The few at the top will get very, very rich. The rest will lose the sense of personal ownership and start to wonder why they've given up health and family

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Salesforce Response
1y
It's not often that you get the opportunity to respond to a review 10 years in but your comprehensive and thoughtful review has managed to hold on as one of our most popular even a decade in :) It’s exciting to see that the things we love most about the Salesforce of today — super smart colleagues, being at the forefront of tech trends and establishing ourselves as leaders in the space, great benefits and perks to name a few — haven’t changed in the past 10 years. We acknowledge the challenges you faced, such as the pace, shifting priorities, and internal politics. Your advice on maintaining our foundational vision while avoiding big-company bureaucracy is helpful as we continue to grow as the #1 AI CRM. Salesforce is committed to balancing growth with employee well-being and staying true to our core values. We appreciate your insights and dedication over the years. Thanks again for your feedback!
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