Management leaves alot to be desired - Senior Program Manager Upwork Employee Review

1.0
Aug 8, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

some of my teammates will be friends for life - the individuals contributors I worked with are some of the best and brightest people I've ever met.

Cons

Management is inept. In my time there almost the entire C-Suite turned over. They invested alot of time and money into training but it was some of the most ineffective training I've ever been apart of. Upwork trains us to sell this platform as a crucial hiring tool and none of my clients saw Upwork as that. There is a fundamental mismatch in how Upwork views itself vs how clients view Upwork and until Upwork realizes that no one wants to use them as a main hiring tool (my clients only wanted Upwork as a supplemental tool), they will continue to fail. They also laid off 15% of the workforce and clawed back a portion of our severance after we ad already signed and agreed to the package. I made financial decisions based on the severance amount that was originally agreed to that I would not have made had I known a large portion of our severance was going to be not delivered as promised. I have been financially harmed by Upwork's negligence

Explore other reviews about Upwork

5.0
Feb 25, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great people, very approachable, interesting problems

Cons

A lot of short term thinking and near future optimization

2.0
Jun 5, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Pay and benefits were pretty good. Only reason I stayed.

Cons

Chaotic leadership. People are constantly busy doing things that don't matter as there is no clear understanding of what the strategy is or what success looks like.

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