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      Gensler

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      Gensler reviews

      No Work/Life Balance - Design Manager Gensler Employee Review

      2.0
      Mar 1, 2022
      Design manager
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Great pool of talent in one office The name is recognized throughout the world. Exposure to many different projects (if you are tight with management)

      Cons

      Poor Leadership. Leadership only cares about their small teams and projects with their names on it. Egos of the Design leads. - Many Sr. employees Leadership is not in touch with their employees at all. Poor salary, (San Diego pays about 5-10% less then most firms in the area) Laid off 20% of staff in 2020, only to have their most profitable year. Bonuses were only positively reflected for the Principals. You are pigeon holed to one job and one job only. (If you manage, you only manage projects, even if you have drafting and design experience) They have lost a number of employees in the last 6 months due to burn out. Lots of Kool-Aid is drank here.

      Explore other reviews about Gensler

      5.0
      Apr 20, 2026
      Architect
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Good firm to work at

      Cons

      Nothing bad about the firm

      avatar
      Gensler Response
      1mo
      Thanks for providing feedback on your experience at Gensler. We value our interns and love to hear their perspectives. We are thrilled and delighted to see your 5-star rating!
      1.0
      May 29, 2026
      Job captain
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Nice office, lots of “rah rah Gensler” events with food & booze, some nice people

      Cons

      Where do I start…..some studios are TOXIC. Favoritism permeates every aspect of working here. It’s nauseating. There is zero loyalty, zero recognition for hard work (yeah you get a bonus but sometimes a kind word is needed). Oh-and never ever express an opinion that may be in opposition to “leadership’s”. Your private life, beliefs, politics and other personal things are fair game for letting you go. I’ve seen it happen-fired because someone expresses in a private conversation that one has ethical concerns regarding projects that are in the office (but in another studio/office) will get you fired. They will make up some bs about “work performance”, yet no conversation ever with anyone about “needing improvement “. Out of left field. Bye bye. Management tells leadership that they’d already “warned” the person-completely untrue. Hear later it was likely due to having concerns about a client/project. Lesson learned-shut up, work 12 hrs a day and be happy with the scraps you’re thrown. Also-egos galore! Unwillingness to take accountability for mistakes.

      5
      avatar
      Gensler Response
      2w
      Thanks for the feedback. We treat workplace concerns seriously and address them in accordance with our internal policies and procedures. We have multiple channels for reporting issues and we train and encourage our team members to use them. Encouraging everyone to ask questions and provide honest feedback is critical to supporting our culture and our values of integrity, trust and mutual respect. We appreciate your feedback and will share your comments with the firm’s leadership.
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