Open your eyes...the people MATTER - Anonymous employee Cengage Employee Review

1.0
Dec 31, 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

At one point it was the people, but the current mindset is "a veteran can be replace by someone younger for less money and no family". Additionally there is no value in those who have been with the company and performed well.

Cons

There is no work life balance - vacation is frowned upon and the expectation is to work a full day with customers then spend evenings doing planning and follow up. The culture is one of fear and intimidation - the executive team in both sales and product is filled with bullies...men who yell and cuss at their team, it is known yet still tolerated. This breeds a temperament of just keep your head down and do what you are told to keep your job. There is no value placed on top performance nor on constructive feedback, it is just wanting YES-men/women. No strategy, focus or true direction. - Reorganizations occur every 9-12 months, changing territories and job responsibilities. The sales period is 9-12 months therefore it is in a constant state of turmoil. Reps close deals/experience increases in revenue only to have those accounts taken from them before bonuses are paid.

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5.0
Mar 28, 2026
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Pros

Total rewards, time off, great people and culture

Cons

Lots of changes and uncertainty at times

3.0
Jun 4, 2026
Recommend
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Pros

Company has some interesting approaches to the market and in the past they seemed value employees. There are some good employees there and there was, in the past, visionary leadership, but the people with the vision and leadership skills left the company a few years ago.

Cons

The company actively de-values employees. They had a project they called "Project Horizon" where they told all employees they needed to cut costs, so the company was going to have multiple layoffs over 3-5 years - but nobody was allowed to know when, where, or why - - just one day large swaths of people would be gone. That hung over everyone's heads - for years, and is indicative of how Cengage values employees - it doesn't. Everything is about trying to secure new funding and prepare for an IPO, so they stopped investing significantly in the products about 3 years ago and that's about when they stopped acting like they cared about employee wellness as well.

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