Chicago office - Interior Designer Gensler Employee Review

1.0
Feb 24, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Free food and parties, good location

Cons

The senior management in this office is despicable, incompetent, and unprofessional. Not a place to find respectable or even talented mentors, especially in Interior Design, unless navigating politics and learning to be fake & corporate is your goal. Also, the same designs are chewed up and spit out over and over. Every interiors project looks similar and trendy. Verbal abuse is rampant as well as manipulation and ignorance by senior staff in the interiors studio. Interior design project managers are disrespectful and will throw anyone under the bus to get ahead. Getting ahead here and being awarded a title is not a compliment to your values or character-rather an insult that you would become one of "them". In fact, a number of people here refused promotions and left the company. In the last year and a half about 50 people have quit. Don't bother working here. Overall toxic culture, abusive environment, lack of role models for personal integrity or good design.

Explore other reviews about Gensler

5.0
Apr 20, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good firm to work at

Cons

Nothing bad about the firm

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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
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.

4
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Gensler Response
5d
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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