Not for the weak of heart - Creative Department Refinery29 Employee Review

2.0
Aug 17, 2015
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

Office culture can be very social, with frequent events, parties, etc. My colleagues are some of the best in the business.

Cons

Refinery29 can be a bit of a catty sorority, where bosses pick favorites based on how cool you look rather than how good your ideas are. The politics can be difficult to navigate for anyone who doesn't fit the mold, and I've seen really great folks get ostracized for that exact reason. For a company boasting their earning YoY in company wide meetings, it's really disheartening to see that pay and benefits are not growing equally. Salaries are not competitive. Employees are expected to be online 24/7, work late, work on vacation, etc. Work life balance is not existent. Almost every department has weak or abrasive, untrained mid-level to upper management. All of these factors contribute to an incredibly high turnover. All of my colleagues are actively looking for new jobs.

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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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