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Upwork

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Upwork Reviews

Updated Jun 7, 2023

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Found 360 of over 461 reviews
4.1
78% Recommend to a Friend
Upwork President and CEO Hayden Brown
84% Approve of CEO

Found 352 of over 461 reviews

4.1
78%
Recommend to a Friend
84%
Approve of CEO
Upwork President and CEO Hayden Brown
Hayden Brown
127 Ratings
Pros
  • "work from home is the benefit in terms on earning(in 34 reviews)

  • "Provides you an opportunity to get a remote work(in 25 reviews)

  • Cons
  • "It's hard to find good employees(in 6 reviews)

  • "Don’t believe what they tell you about growing pains(in 8 reviews)

  • More Pros and Cons
    Pros & Cons are excerpts from user reviews. They are not authored by Glassdoor.

    What people are saying about Upwork

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    Ratings by Demographics

    This rating reflects the overall rating of Upwork and is not affected by filters.

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    1. 5.0
      Current Employee

      accountant

      Jun 7, 2023 - Internship 
      Recommend
      CEO Approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Pay good amount of money

      Cons

      no learning in this part time job

      Be the first to find this review helpful
    2. 5.0
      Current Employee

      Upwork

      Jun 15, 2022 - Software Developer 
      Recommend
      CEO Approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Work is flexible for time and location.

      Cons

      Work is hard and not as reliable.

      Be the first to find this review helpful
    3. Join the Upwork team
      See Our Latest Jobs
    4. 4.0
      Former Employee

      Good employer

      Apr 4, 2022 - Administrative Assistant 
      Recommend
      CEO Approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      good experience and challenging everyday

      Cons

      not to much for a career growth

      Be the first to find this review helpful
    5. 5.0
      Current Employee, less than 1 year

      Good

      Oct 21, 2021 - Data Entry in Toronto, ON
      Recommend
      CEO Approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Timely salary, Good working culture

      Cons

      Lots of pressure, too mcuh work

      Be the first to find this review helpful
    6. 3.0
      Current Employee, more than 3 years

      Highly Ambivalent

      Dec 25, 2016 - Anonymous Employee 
      Recommend
      CEO Approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Fantastic and experience team of dedicated and team-oriented members.

      Cons

      Organization is very compartmentalized. Info not shared well across departments and teams, leading to duplication of efforts and needless 'reinventing the wheel', a waste of time and resources. Technology platform can be challenging/buggy, but is improving.

      5 people found this review helpful
    7. 5.0
      Current Employee, more than 1 year

      Good

      Jul 16, 2019 - Web Developer in Toronto, ON
      Recommend
      CEO Approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Relaxed and work honestly to deliver software.

      Cons

      Not get other benefits. just work from home and enjoy

      Be the first to find this review helpful
    8. 2.0
      Former Employee, more than 1 year

      Lost and Listless

      May 26, 2023 - Product Manager 
      Recommend
      CEO Approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      - Upwork provides real economic opportunity to freelancers around the world. Look at some of the reviews here; a lot of the positive ones are from people who clearly found work THROUGH Upwork and love the company as a result. This is a good thing, but it distorts their reputation on Glassdoor because those people don't actually work FOR the company. - WLB was good before I left. - The company's raison d'être is worthwhile.

      Cons

      - The C-suite has been a revolving door over the last year except for the CEO. She is the constant during this downturn and, as others have pointed out, deserves to be let go. I can't believe activist investors haven't demanded that she be fired as the stock price is in the gutter and guidance is only getting worse. - Generative AI represents a real threat to the company. There is no compelling reason to hire a logo designer, contract for data entry, etc. in the future if AI can do it for you. Based on current trends, this company will struggle to integrate any type of compelling AI into their product while it eats away at their core value prop to customers. - Ancient tech stack that makes work impossible. - Testing methodology is slow and incremental improvements are treated as huge victories. They miss the forest for the trees.

      Continue reading
      2 people found this review helpful
    9. 3.0
      Former Employee, less than 1 year

      Good perks, tough KPI targets

      Jun 5, 2023 - Account Executive in Chicago, IL
      Recommend
      CEO Approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      There were a lot of in-office perks, competitive pay, good benefits, and at the time (2019) the concept of companies hiring remote talent was new and intriguing to clients.

      Cons

      The culture of the sales team was pretty competitive and cold. At times it felt like a popularity contest with management. My direct manager got let go for some reason soon after I started, and then I was eventually let go for missing dials targets (but being well above revenue targets) a couple months in a row. I was never put on a performance plan. Almost half of my book of 16 businesses were either international in crazy time zones, or were accounts that I was told I couldn't call because the last rep who had them harassed them too much. It made it difficult to hit my dials without harassing my contacts, but after the initial conversation with my new boss about not hitting dials, I exceeded the dials target the next month (and again exceeded revenue goals), but I was still let go. Just seemed like they didn't want me there anymore after they already fired the person who hired me.

      1 person found this review helpful
    10. 1.0
      Former Employee, more than 1 year

      Disaster

      May 12, 2023 - Senior Account Manager in Chicago, IL
      Recommend
      CEO Approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Cool office in Chicago, great commuting benefits, and free lunch daily for in office workers. Very good health insurance that started Day 1 of employment.

      Cons

      Very, very poorly run company. They say they are software, but really this is just a staffing play. They also pitch themselves to big prospects as a true business process outsourcing solution, however it only has that in place for one company, and only because Upwork took over an existing BPO that was already in place. Biggest problem is the CEO, she simply doesn't know how to run a business. Perfect example of the Peter Principle, except she kept falling up into jobs beyond her competence level. The ENTIRE C-Suite besides her & the CLO has turned over in the last twelve months. Despite revenue increasing 3x during her tenure, the company is worth less than it was when she took over. Huge layoffs last week - 137 on May 3, then another 78 "hybrid corporate" employees the next day. As mentioned elsewhere, they had everyone sign separation agreements, then rescinded them & cut the payout amount significantly. They're now pressuring people that haven't signed the updated agreement to sign ASAP - I received several calls earlier this week basically begging me to sign it. They're actually dangling "if you sign immediately we'll accelerate the severance payout to you," basically trying to entice people that need the cashflow to signoff.

      Continue reading
      15 people found this review helpful
    11. 5.0
      Current Employee, more than 3 years

      Skilled and Supportive Colleagues

      May 15, 2023 - Site Reliability Engineer in San Diego, CA
      Recommend
      CEO Approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Upwork is an exceptional platform that has enabled me to work with highly skilled professionals from various parts of the world. My colleagues are dedicated, professional, and always willing to lend a helping hand whenever needed. They are courteous, and their communication skills are top-notch. What's more, Upwork has enabled me to earn a good salary that is commensurate with my skills and expertise. This has been instrumental in improving my overall financial well-being, and I have Upwork to thank for that. The working hours are flexible, which helps me maintain a peaceful work-life balance. I can work at any time of the day or night, which is particularly helpful when juggling multiple projects or tasks. This flexibility also helps me meet deadlines without having to work through the night or compromise on the quality of my work. The organization of Upwork is excellent and user-friendly. Navigating through the platform is a breeze, and finding projects that suit my skills is easy. What's more, payment processing is smooth and efficient, which helps to avoid any delays or issues with payments. Overall, I highly recommend Upwork to anyone looking for a flexibly structured and convenient freelancing platform. This platform is truly remarkable with great colleagues, helpful support, good salaries, flexible work hours, and an excellent organization.

      Cons

      I have nothing to share about this topic.

      Be the first to find this review helpful
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    Upwork Reviews FAQs

    Upwork has an overall rating of 4.1 out of 5, based on over 461 reviews left anonymously by employees. 78% of employees would recommend working at Upwork to a friend and 62% have a positive outlook for the business. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

    According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Upwork employees rate their compensation and benefits as 4.0 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Upwork. This rating has decreased by -3% over the last 12 months.

    78% of Upwork employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews. Employees also rated Upwork 4.2 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.1 for culture and values and 3.8 for career opportunities.

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    Glassdoor has 461 Upwork reviews submitted anonymously by Upwork employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Upwork is right for you.