Does Goodwill pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Goodwill employees rate their compensation and benefits as 2.8 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Goodwill. This rating has decreased by 5% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Goodwill?

46% of Goodwill employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Goodwill 3.0 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.0 for culture and values and 2.8 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Goodwill?

Sales Associate (544) , Cashier (498) , Sales Associate/Cashier (320) , Retail Sales Associate (298) , Donation Attendant (275) , Assistant Manager (203) , Store Manager (179) , Manager (132) , Processor (93) , Production Associate (88) , Employment Specialist (84) , Retail Associate (78) , Case Manager (74) , Store Associate (74) , Assistant Store Manager (62)

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

"Great people and flexible with work hours" ((in 567 reviews)); "Great coworkers and understanding store manager" ((in 380 reviews)); "Flexible hours and good if you’re in school" ((in 195 reviews)); "They also were great for the employees" ((in 121 reviews)); "work environment is good and" ((in 117 reviews))

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

"Low pay and you must spend time propping up employees who can’t get the job done" ((in 909 reviews)); "Company keeps bad managers in power while the store can’t keep a staff BECAUSE of the bad management." ((in 261 reviews)); "Upper management does not care if you are trying your best" ((in 196 reviews)); "The staff is usually all special needs with no training." ((in 96 reviews)); "High favoritism" ((in 86 reviews))

What are employees saying about Goodwill layoffs in 2026?

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

Goodwill reviews

3.2

46% would recommend to a friend

(9,238 total reviews)

Catherine Meloy

50% approve of CEO

39% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.6

Diversity & inclusion

3.0

Culture & values

3.0

Work/Life balance

2.8

Senior management

2.8

Compensation and benefits

2.8

Career opportunities

Goodwill has an employee rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars, based on 9,238 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Goodwill employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the ONG y Organizaciones sin fines de lucro industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

9K reviews

3.0

Jul 29, 2014

Goodwill itself is a contradiction

Donation attendant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

First, the pay is amazing starting off. Goodwill is very generous with hourly workers. It is a great place to work considering heavy customer service and being one on one with the public a lot. The work is NOT difficult. The work is quite easy and steady making your day go by faster. Very helpful and kind people that work at the corporate sites.

Cons

Politics, if you don't kiss butt working there don't expect to advance. Goodwill loves people without minds to do whatever they want them to do. If you step on the wrong persons toes don't expect to have your job for too long because there is favoritism with managers and employees. There is also ALOT of pressure to get numbers and money in the door. If your store isn't making a certain amount of money, they are forced to cut some employees.

2.0

Jul 20, 2014

Desperate last resort

Donation attendant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Not gonna lie, but the bosses are mostly amazing, the head manager does keep her temper. It maybe okay as a High School student's first job but other than that, it is an "okay" job.

Cons

Hours are very flexible, other parts of management are not really the most fair. They can schedule you for full time for the entire year and still call you part time. Often during the other three seasons other than summer that you will get scheduled the morning shift due to its high student to adults ratios.

1.0

Jul 6, 2014

Started Out As A Good Social Program But Is Now Morally Bankrupt

Afraid to say

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

There are some good people in the rank and file. Some people with disabilities are helped. The retail stores did offer great bargains for lower income families but that is not is getting to be less so as they take on new goods and want to compete with Wal-Mart.

Cons

Lower than average pay for most employees because of the non-profit services, but many Goodwills offer little real work training and use trainees to make money. The people served count is very misleading. Nepotism and cronyism is out of control. Policies and labor law are taken as suggestion only by many supervisors. Nothing is uniform. GII is just a franchiser interested only in the fees they receive from the territories and in lobbying in Washington. The individual Goodwill organizations are only as good as their top executives, and too many of them are there for the money coming from retail, not the service to people in need.

Viewing 463 - 465 of 9,238 Reviews

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Goodwill itself is a contradiction

Desperate last resort

Started Out As A Good Social Program But Is Now Morally Bankrupt

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