You get back what you put in. - Anonymous employee Cengage Employee Review

4.0
Oct 1, 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

CL and upper management have really turned a corner with this company in the past year+. There are lots of exciting projects in the works and a certain level of empowerment that had been lacking for several years prior. Management seems to be making solid decisions regarding titles and learning platforms.

Cons

On one hand, the company seems to be heading in a great, exciting, new, and innovative direction. On the other, upper management seems unable to let go of "control" and returns to old corporate ways of thinking such as a recent reprimand about flexible work hours. They work so hard to understand today's current student but haven't given a look at today's current workplace/happy employee. Lately they seem obsessed with "people in seats" from 9 to 5, versus when and where the real work is getting done.

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Cengage Response
11y
I appreciate your insights. It is an exciting time in our industry, and Cengage is reflecting those changes. During a transition like this, everyone, including upper management, needs to adapt to new ways of conducting business. Employees are a primary focus. This changing environment might not be right for everyone. Some roles are suitable for partial work-from-home arrangements (or even field-based or remote), and some teams require the collaborative intensity that an office-based culture affords. Our senior leaders and teams make those decisions, as they are closer to the work than I am. If you have any questions about the approach your team is taking, reach out to the team leader directly for a fuller understanding of the rationale and/or to propose something new. We always welcome your perspective. Thanks again.

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3.0
Jun 4, 2026
Recommend
Business Outlook

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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