Does Elsevier pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Elsevier employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.6 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Elsevier. This rating has improved by 2% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Elsevier?

79% of Elsevier employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Elsevier 4.5 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.3 for culture and values and 3.6 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Elsevier?

Software Engineer (78) , Senior Software Engineer (63) , Account Manager (61) , Product Manager (55) , Journal Manager (49) , Project Manager (37) , Publisher (30) , Director (29) , Editor (28) , Manager (23) , Sales (22) , Editorial Project Manager (21) , Marketing (18) , Software Engineer III (18) , Data Scientist (16)

What are the pros of working at Elsevier according to real employee reviews?

"Flexibility and good work/life balance" ((in 285 reviews)); "You get the chance to work with great people that are very driven and know their subject area very well." ((in 157 reviews)); "Great employees and colleagues" ((in 137 reviews)); "Great company and team to work for." ((in 57 reviews)); "Great Exposure and work culture." ((in 34 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Elsevier according to real employee reviews?

"We're continued to be asked to develop "world class content" with third world resources and insultingly low salaries." ((in 102 reviews)); "The pay is low and does not increase by much each year" ((in 82 reviews)); "Management on the corporate side is poor with very little business development experience." ((in 77 reviews)); "level and higher managers result in poor leadership and decision" ((in 52 reviews)); "There are also bad managers and seemingly no easy way to reduce their impact on the staff for whom they are responsible." ((in 50 reviews))

What are employees saying about Elsevier layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Elsevier layoffs and their outlook for job security at Elsevier in 2026.

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Elsevier

Part of RELX

Elsevier reviews

4.0

79% would recommend to a friend

(2,188 total reviews)

Kumsal Bayazit

90% approve of CEO

75% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.5

Work/Life balance

4.4

Diversity & inclusion

4.3

Culture & values

3.6

Senior management

3.6

Compensation and benefits

3.6

Career opportunities

Elsevier has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 2,188 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Elsevier employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Audiovisual y medios de comunicación industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

5.0

Jul 2, 2019

Nice workplace

Principal quality engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great culture, good benefits( pension up to 11% after 3y of work, around 20wks paid maternity leave, health insurance and many others) Good defined career path, lots of learning resources, budget for training/conferences Flexible working policies

Cons

- nothing so far

Elsevier Response

Thank you for your review.

3.0

Apr 21, 2019

Best People, Poor Strategy

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

People all work hard, care about each other, and want the company to succeed. There is generous time off, flexible schedule, and work from home days. The company also recently expanded their short term policy for maternity/paternity leave.

Cons

The pay is very low, even for publishing, and the insurance is terrible. There is little room for growth. Years with the company is seen as a negative and company does not provide much employee training or job shadowing opportunities.

2.0

Feb 18, 2019

Low pay, poor reward system, big workloads

Senior editor, the lancet

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Flexible working, central London location

Cons

For anyone wishing to be part of the Lancet group, be advised that salaries are incredibly low in comparison to competitor journals, and does not look likely that they will change any time soon. Annual pay review scores are below rates of inflation so you will be effectively taking a pay cut. Huge workloads and tight timelines only compounded by Elsevier's increasing pressures for the Lancet group to exapnd.

Elsevier Response

Thank you for your review. Sorry to hear about your experience. Most of our employees enjoy working at Elsevier and they actively partake in initiatives that will continue to make Elsevier a great place to work. Globally, our employees, their leadership teams supported by HR are increasingly unified in further ramping up efforts to build a working environment that is supportive, nurturing and inclusive. Your review will be shared with them. All our employees are empowered to speak up if they are unhappy with any aspect of their work. If you prefer, contact us anonymously via elseviergdrev@elsevier.com Again, thank you for your review.

Viewing 148 - 150 of 2,188 Reviews

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