Good colleagues, questionable leadership - Project Software Engineer Philips Employee Review

3.0
Jul 31, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Working here means you're working on products that improve the lives of real people. It's very satisfying to hear about someone benefitting from something you worked on or to see someone using a device out in the real world. The pay and benefits are good and the majority of your colleagues are great people who want to do great things to help others. I enjoyed working with the people on my team every day. You have the potential to move around within the global Philips organization, though this is limited by available openings at any given time. My manager was great.

Cons

While you're working on devices that improve people's lives, you're not really working on anything new/exciting. You're either working on maintaining existing products or developing "new products." New product development is pressured to reuse what was done in the past, and is largely driven by reaction to what competitors release instead of trying to get out ahead. Even after COVID, remote work is frowned upon and your career advancement opportunities are severely limited if you are a remote worker. Change is seen as bad and will meet strong resistance in favor of "doing it like we've always done it." They want to attract new talent but insist on using dated methods. Portions of the organization are very much a "good old boys" club that will not hesitate to blame others to advance their own interest. Constantly fighting fires and changing priorities. Communication is terrible with leaders in different parts of the organization delivering different, sometimes conflicting messages about any given topic. Communications are usually full of business buzzwords and a message of improvement but there's never any substance or action behind the message.

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Philips Response
4y
Hi there, thank you for sharing this level of detail in this review - it's very helpful to hear and understand your perspective. First of all, we're delighted you found many rewarding experiences working with Philips, though it's unfortunate there were some drawbacks in regards to our ways of working. We would highly encourage you to bring these concerns to your HR representative or manager in order to gather some points of improvements. Philips Management is also active on this platform, so your feedback will be taken into consideration for future improvements. Thanks for supporting our mission to make the world healthier and more sustainable through innovation. We wish you all the best.

Explore other reviews about Philips

5.0
Jun 11, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Work life balance, pay, opportunities

Cons

Slow moving industry, management style

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Philips Response
5d
Thank you for sharing your perspective and for your ongoing dedication to our organization. We acknowledge the feedback regarding internal organizational dynamics. As a leader in a heavily regulated and critical sector, we remain fully focused on process optimization, streamlining decision-making, and enhancing leadership alignment to cultivate a highly agile environment for our teams worldwide. We encourage you to reach out to HR or your manager for an open discussion regarding your feedback, and we appreciate your continued contributions to our shared mission.
2.0
Jun 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The people in non- upper management roles that work there are fantastic. Great sense of community onsite and the culture champions are consistently looking for ways to make work life better.

Cons

Very poor communication on the strategy for the business unit. Leadership publicly promotes innovation and new ideas to be presented but then those ideas are shot down or penalized in private by current upper management. The business unit leadership says that don't want excuses for project delays but will then decide to do 3 major layoffs in the first two quarters with no transition plan, no support for gap in resources and no expectations to delayed progress.

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Philips Response
10h
Thanks for sharing your feedback and for your 7.5 years of service with us. It’s great to hear that you found a fantastic sense of community and culture onsite among your colleagues. We’re sorry to hear about your experience. Your perspective on management transparency and resource support is incredibly helpful, and we’re actively working to improve our ways of working. We appreciate your dedication over the years and your honest insights, which help us focus on building a better workplace. We wish you all the best in your future career.
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