Future reviews

3.2

44% would recommend to a friend

(712 total reviews)

Kevin Li Ying

60% approve of CEO

36% positive business outlook

Future has an employee rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars, based on 712 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Future employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Mídia e comunicação industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

712 reviews
3.0
May 5, 2017

Things are good and then...Surprise, you are laid off.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

-Loved everyone I worked with face to face. -You can play video games at work and no one will think twice. -Depending on your role, you will get lots of free stuff (games, tech). Even if your not in editorial, you will still get free stuff now and again. -Opportunities to work at gaming and tech conferences around North America and sometimes get rock star treatment while you are there. -Life/work balance is amazing. - Try new tech and games before the public does. -Get to work with PC Gamer, TechRadar and GamesRadar -The office space is cool and in a great location (though they are talking about moving.... again) -Catered lunch on Wednesdays (but not the swanky 415 you see in the pictures, they cut that) -Lots of snacks and different drinks.

Cons

-At Future US you can get laid off at any moment. No warning, no whispers. Even high management will not know it is going to happen until its already over. -Employees are constantly asked to do more with less. -The top execs in the UK make decisions without telling anyone. -They will lay off workers but then buy seemingly useless media properties. -The US no longer has HR. (cause they laid them off) So now HR is ADP and one woman in the UK... -Getting a raise is almost laughable. -There is little communication between the US and UK teams. It can sometimes feel like "us verses them." -Every time you think things are looking up they seem to fall right back down.

1.0
Mar 30, 2017

No more leaders left

Anonymous employee
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

Interesting digital media space for someone with zero experience

Cons

The US office has lost its leaders - all of the ones that people respect. Leaders leave because the British CEO and CFO are either making them leave or they act superior but have nothing to show for it. Unfortunately the US is the growth engine of the worldwide operation so this one is going down the tubes

1.0
Aug 15, 2015

Not much future at Future

Anonymous employee
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

Good health benefits, some nice coworkers, easy parking. (Quick note: At the start of 2015, management practically begged employees to put good reviews on here, so take other reviews with a massive grain of salt.)

Cons

Before you start there, answer this question: Do you currently live in England, the home base of Future? If not, don't expect much forward momentum or support in your career. Both US and UK divisions have been steadily shrinking for years, as this diminutive magazine publisher finally caught on in 2013(!) that perhaps this whole internet thing was here to stay. Now it's a mad dash to make up for lost time. As it stands, the UK bosses still don't get online publishing, and prefer potential quick fixes to long term planning. Of course, when so few executives in the US or UK stay for more than 2 years, it's hard to stick with any real plans or goals anyway. A lot of shuffling of deck chairs on the Titanic going on, as the US and UK sides shrink and shrink every fiscal year, as a new round of layoffs and publications closing comes every September. US/UK culture clash leads to UK folks getting majority of promotions and responsibilities, as the the US give notes on the American market that will fall on deaf ears. Also, if you work out of the main South San Francisco office, you better enjoy video conferences at 8, 7, and even 6AM, because you'll be having oh so many inconsequential meetings with the UK brass. What, did you expect a UK exec to stay after 5pm local time? Haha, that's a good one. Due to cost-cutting measure, they'll likely want to hire you for an entry level position, unless they head hunt you as part of those aforementioned quick fixes. You'll find you won't have much upward mobility by working out of the American office, as you watch Brit after Brit take most promotions. That or someone gets hired from a competing brand, mainly for their ability to self-promote as opposed to a proven record of success. That's not to say you won't be tasked with enough work to fill up most nights and weekends, because you can count on that. Working with folks across the Atlantic means that the emails never stop and your work/life balance takes a beating. Company loyalty or long tenures are more burdensome to your Future US career than anything else. It looks like you have no other options or ambitions to go elsewhere. The new bosses always want to separate themselves from what was worked on a couple years ago anyway. Best to take what you can to enhance your career, and then leave that mausoleum before the stink of it attaches to your resume. Mainly, Future US is plagued by the usual corporate BS, only it's multiplied by remote UK owners and a continual grasping at straws by the newest boss sent in to put out the garbage fire that is their online business model. Content is a buzzword, readers are merely numbers to show advertisers, and passion in work is to be distrusted. Here's tip: Just nod and agree with every British accent you hear. Life will go easier that way. Speaking of content, if you're working there to create anything, you're basically meaningless to Future. Ads, web devs, video editors, management, HR, SEO 'experts,' product placement specialists, and others matter much more than content creators who work on the sites their entire business is built around. Writers merely churn out the copy which is covered in ads, and is seen as a job anyone can do. If you prioritize content over networking and delegation, you're seen as fairly unambitious by superiors. The less writing done by someone hired to write, the better their prospects are. Lastly, the remote South San Francisco office is a pain to get to from most directions, so look forward to a lengthy commute. It's on the fourth floor of an all-but-abandoned business park, with very few food options nearby. But honestly, if they're hiring you now, there's a good chance you don't live in the Bay Area anyway. Many recent hires live elsewhere in the US, no doubt part of a long term plan to eventually shutter the expensive US office and run the bungled operation as cheaply as possible. All you really need is your sales team anyway, right? The last 4 or so Vice Presidents of Failing Upwards got promoted from the sales group.

Viewing 79 - 81 of 712 Reviews

Glassdoor has 785 Future reviews submitted anonymously by Future employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Future is right for you.