Company being driven to its knees by incompetent leadership and unprofessional work environment - Business Analyst - Strategy and Operations Rakuten Employee Review

1.0
Sep 2, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Nice office, onsite gym, and free Munchery if you stay past 7

Cons

First, read the rest of the negative reviews Rakuten has - everything they say is true. Leadership isn't very receptive to feedback and communication is oftentimes poor. There's miscommunication between Japan and US that obstructs business progress in the Americas. Things can change very fast, simply based off of a unilateral decision-making process. Employees have no drive and motivation to work hard, because the company is lacking in strong leadership to provide employees with a cohesive vision to fight for. People come in late and leave early all the time. I would recommend anybody looking into joining Rakuten to steer clear unless they want their career to fall into a black hole, at least until leadership changes.

Explore other reviews about Rakuten

5.0
Mar 25, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Rakuten Rewards has great life balance. Too bad the economy was getting rocked.

Cons

Don't really have any cons. I understand that the market's been hard so had to downsize the force, so that was kinda challenging. Hopefully AI will increase everyone's output.

3.0
Jan 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The company offers great benefits and perks, and the overall work culture can be fun and social. When I first joined, it felt like a positive place to work and a good environment to learn. It’s a solid company to start your career, especially if you’re early on and want exposure to the role.

Cons

While the experience started off strong, there was very little room for growth long term. Opportunities were not distributed equally across the team, and favoritism was noticeable at times. The same individuals were consistently praised for simply doing their jobs, while others’ contributions were rarely acknowledged. The team culture could feel very cliquey, and if you weren’t part of the “favorites,” it was difficult to be recognized or considered for new opportunities. Although leadership often spoke about internal growth and mobility, in reality those opportunities felt extremely limited. Once you’re placed on a team, it’s very hard to move into something new or grow beyond that role. This is a good place to start your career and gain experience, but not a place I would recommend staying long term. If you’re looking for growth, development, and mobility within the company, you may find yourself feeling stuck.

3
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