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 (497) , Sales Associate/Cashier (320) , Retail Sales Associate (297) , Donation Attendant (275) , Assistant Manager (203) , Store Manager (179) , Manager (132) , Processor (92) , Production Associate (87) , Employment Specialist (84) , Retail Associate (77) , 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 577 reviews)); "Great coworkers and understanding store manager" ((in 371 reviews)); "Flexible hours and good if you’re in school" ((in 209 reviews)); "They also were great for the employees" ((in 119 reviews)); "Good work environment to be a part of" ((in 116 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 899 reviews)); "Company keeps bad managers in power while the store can’t keep a staff BECAUSE of the bad management." ((in 262 reviews)); "Upper management does not care if you are trying your best" ((in 192 reviews)); "No training provided for positions that should have training." ((in 87 reviews)); "Low salary and not good working" ((in 87 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

(9,226 total reviews)

Catherine Meloy

49% 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

Compensation and benefits

2.8

Career opportunities

2.7

Senior management

Goodwill has an employee rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars, based on 9,226 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

1.0

Sep 19, 2014

I love working with our clients, but supervisors and upper management are hard to deal with.

Life coach

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

I like working with our clients and assisting them with increasing their independence within the community. I can connect with some of the other staff I work with. There is usually not a problem with changing your schedule or asking for time off.

Cons

Pay is very low compared to the upper management. CEO does not follow the mission and is very money-motivated. Staff are not usually listened to.

3.0

Sep 7, 2014

It's a job meant for the able bodied and strong willed.

Cashier

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The good thing about working at goodwill is the steady pay. I also worked with some friends I'd gone to high school with which was enjoyable. Typically, with two weeks notice, you will get whatever requested time off you need. So long as the dates you ask for are not too much or too often.

Cons

The managers at my location seemed to be on a power trip. Very often a manager would come up to you and ask you to preform one task, then a few minutes later ask for something else to be done. Normally that'd be no big deal, but later on that day you'd get scolded for an incomplete task regardless as to whether you pointed out that you weren't finished with your original assigned task before being moved elsewhere. I had a stalker follow me around my store that my managers did very little about. It wasn't until he left me a love letter that anything was taken seriously. Like any retail store customers can be quite a handful. I once had a video game thrown at me because our return policy didn't allow for them to be returned. I also knew of another girl who had the same thing happen to her only she got shoes thrown at her head.

2.0

Aug 19, 2014

Not a good experience. I worked with the wrong team.

Assistant manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The company is a good company but the manager responsible for training me had some moral issues.

Cons

Working with a manager who was more concerned about interacting with the female employees than operating the store.

Viewing 187 - 189 of 9,226 Reviews

Jobs at Goodwill

Lead Processing Worker

Lead Processing Worker

Goodwill

Goodwill reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

I love working with our clients, but supervisors and upper management are hard to deal with.

It's a job meant for the able bodied and strong willed.

Not a good experience. I worked with the wrong team.

Jobs at Goodwill

Goodwill reviews FAQs

Want the inside scoop on your own company?

Bowls

Followed companies

Job searches

Jobs at Goodwill

Goodwill reviews FAQs