The Worst Kind of Company - Anonymous employee Gusto Employee Review

1.0
Jun 22, 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

All the typical perks of a startup, free food, open work space, commuter benefits, etc. The free flight after a year is great, however, many people are fired or leave before reaching 12 months.

Cons

This is the worst kind of company, led by the worst kind of people. They preach one thing and do another. They smile to your face and treat you like crap when things get tough. The positive reviews they had early on were because they forced employees to fill out a review of the company during their onboarding process, well before the "honeymoon" phase turned into a cold reality: you're stuck in a job you hate, being overworked by people who don't care a lick about you or your family. Look at how the reviews have been trending for a while now.

avatar
Gusto Response
9y
Sounds like you had a rough time, and it saddens us to hear that you didn’t feel supported. We are very open to feedback, and learning about what felt inconsistent. In the past months, many efforts have been rolled out to address feedback from Gusties (including a task force to take action on feedback from companywide survey results (10 initiatives are underway as a result), revamp of compensation, iterations on performance management, piloting of L&D programs on feedback and for new leaders, etc). We continue to iterate and improve, as the company is evolving quickly, so our programs need to reflect that. We encourage folks to feel empowered to take time off, and talk to the People team if they do not feel supported in this. We had been asking for new employees to add Glassdoor reviews about their *interviewing* experience while it is still fresh on the mind. This feedback allows for us to evolve our candidate experience based on highlights and lowlights. We agree that asking a new employee to rate their experience at Gusto would not be beneficial.

Explore other reviews about Gusto

5.0
Jun 10, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Smart and friendly coworkers. Excellent team culture

Cons

Tunnel visions on AI a bit too much

2.0
May 20, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The product is genuinely good, too bad the same can’t be said for how they treat the people who sell it.

Cons

Leadership talks a big game about people-first culture but the reality doesn’t match. The Chicago office expansion felt like a poorly thought-out experiment, new hires were brought on without a clear long-term commitment, and layoffs came without warning, leaving people blindsided. Crossing a billion dollars in revenue and still cutting employees sends a clear message about where workers rank on the priority list. Remote work flexibility is also a glaring weakness. For a company selling HR software to modern businesses, their internal stance on where employees can work is surprisingly rigid and hypocritical. The “flexibility” messaging is mostly optics. The broader concern is the AI roadmap. The automation push feels less like an innovation strategy and more like a slow wind-down of the workforce. Employees aren’t blind to it, it creates anxiety and erodes trust. The culture of transparency they promote externally is largely a facade internally.

9
See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All