Workday is a large enough company where micro-culture matters. - Software Engineer Workday Employee Review

2.0
Mar 23, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Workday is a great company if you want to be a cog in a giant machine, churning out code and making the big bucks. I'll admit, I think Workday is one of the higher paying companies in the East Bay at the moment. You may even climb the ranks, fast, if you're interested in constant politicking and back-scratching. But if you want a company where voices are heard and personality is valued, this isn't the company for you.

Cons

I'm going to preface this by saying that I've been an employee of Workday for 4+ years. I've had close to 10 managers, been on many distinct teams, and grown with Workday through numerous reorgs. Workday is vastly different now than when i first joined. It is no longer a "startup" culture, but recruiters or hiring managers will try to convince you otherwise. They'll say we're a successful company but without the bureaucracy of large corporate culture. I don't know if they've regurgitated that line so many times that they're starting to believe it themselves? Truth is, Workday is definitely a large company with many micro-cultures and so much bureaucracy. Your experience at this company will vary from team to team, it will be entirely dependent on your manager. And internal transfers are hard. With internal transfers, they will try at any cost to chip at your salary since they are certainly not going to compete against themselves (and trust me, I've been a part of many internal transfers). I'm not comfortable disclosing what team I work on, but let's just say my team has hemorrhaged an astounding number of developers and QA (let's just say we've lost more developers than the number of fingers on both your hands in the past year alone, and we've lost 80% of our QA), and the only answer management has for us is that there's nothing wrong. That said, I've been on awesome teams prior to this - in Workday. It all depends on management. I hope this helps!

Explore other reviews about Workday

5.0
May 20, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Workday is a truly values-driven company, and you can feel it every day. We’re in the middle of an exciting transformation to drive more innovation and speed, and while that has meant making some tough decisions, those decisions are always grounded in our core values. Employees and customers are consistently kept at the center, and there’s a real sense that doing what’s right guides how we operate and where we’re going as a company.

Cons

Decision-making can sometimes feel slow and unclear, as it’s not always obvious who has true ownership or final say. In a few areas, especially HR, leadership can feel more oriented around selling and positioning our products than around deep, hands-on practitioner experience, which occasionally creates a gap between strategy and the day-to-day needs of employees and managers.

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Workday Response
2w
Thank you for your feedback. We are proud of our culture and the success that we have achieved because of the hard work and dedication of our Workmates. Thanks for your contributions, your transparency, and for being an integral part of the Workday team during your time here.
2.0
Jun 10, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Flex work model- 50% in office Direct team is supportive- great people (hope they stay)

Cons

Constant churn in leadership and shifting priorities. Feels like we can’t get anything done. VPs and SVPs who only care about managing up. Vision is lacking Slow decisions and lots of layers of approval Women pushed out of leadership Feels like they are gaslighting people with talk of being employee first yet they hire leaders who do not live that value.

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