At R29 there is no 'offline' - Anonymous employee Refinery29 Employee Review

2.0
Aug 17, 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

Lots of amazingly talented people on the team, nice office, most people care deeply about their work, general environment of excellence that can bring out an employee's best.

Cons

Everything you've heard about R29's brutal workload is true. There is NO work-life balance. Employees (even junior ones) are reprimanded for not answering emails/doing extra work at all hours of the day, night, weekends and days off. V. high turnover. Talented people jumping ship left and right for more structured, corporate environments that don't demand 24-7 work. Huge pay disparities for people doing similar work. The vertical you're in, how much you speak out, and looks matter a LOT to how you're paid. They will absolutely try to get away with underpaying you if your a shrinking violet. Talk to your coworkers and make sure you're being paid fairly. Also, get promises of bonuses from management in writing — major shenanigans going on there (bonuses promised then taken away, promises of a "great" year-end bonus that ends up being 1%)

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5.0
May 27, 2026
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

Great culture, extremely nice employees, diverse workplace

Cons

Not very cutting edge with their approach to tech

4.0
Mar 23, 2026
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

Refinery29 was training day, every day. The pace and creative expectations forced you to sharpen fast. I cut my teeth here over four years and came out a fundamentally better strategist. The work was culturally plugged in, the people were sharp, and you were trusted with real responsibility early. If you wanted to learn how brand, content, and audience intersect at speed, there was no better place.

Cons

The intensity that makes it a great training ground also means the environment runs hot. Not everyone thrives in that — and depending on your team, support structures varied. The company went through a lot of change during my time, which created some instability.

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