Does United Nations pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, United Nations employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.9 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at United Nations. This rating has decreased by 2% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at United Nations?

77% of United Nations employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated United Nations 3.9 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.0 for culture and values and 3.5 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at United Nations?

Intern (398) , Consultant (142) , Internship (130) , Administrative Assistant (59) , Project Manager (46) , Research Assistant (30) , Officer (23) , Political Affairs Officer (23) , Political Affairs Intern (19) , Security Officer (18) , Team Assistant (18) , Director (16) , Economic Affairs Officer (16) , Analyst (15) , Finance Assistant (15)

What are the pros of working at United Nations according to real employee reviews?

"stable happy versatile good benefit" ((in 184 reviews)); "The people are great and passionate about what they do" ((in 158 reviews)); "a good salary and traveling by plane" ((in 151 reviews)); "Great for CV and great colleagues" ((in 130 reviews)); "Good work environment for beginners" ((in 81 reviews))

What are the cons of working at United Nations according to real employee reviews?

"The internship is unpaid and probably with rooms of improvement regarding the plan for career guidance" ((in 110 reviews)); "Management is poor" ((in 51 reviews)); "bad managers" ((in 25 reviews)); "Too much bureaucracy and almost impossible to get promoted.It is hard to do things differently due to the bureaucratic nature of the organization." ((in 22 reviews)); "Long hours and a lot of paper work" ((in 19 reviews))

What are employees saying about United Nations layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about United Nations layoffs and their outlook for job security at United Nations in 2026.

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United Nations

United Nations reviews

4.0

77% would recommend to a friend

(2,241 total reviews)

António Guterres

74% approve of CEO

57% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.2

Diversity & inclusion

4.0

Culture & values

3.9

Work/Life balance

3.9

Compensation and benefits

3.6

Senior management

3.5

Career opportunities

United Nations has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 2,241 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The United Nations employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Regierung & öffentliche Verwaltung industry (3.6 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

2.0

May 30, 2014

Bureacracy

Team assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Important work is being done; working hours; benefits for certain category of staff

Cons

If hired as a local hire, cannot apply for international professional jobs for at least 5 years (become elligible after passing an exam); some people just don't care about work; transparency on paper frequently leades to lack of it in reality (many vacancy announcements are put out there with a candidate in mind).

1.0

Jun 20, 2013

Professional dead end

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Until the most recent hiring freezes and cuts, a relatively stable job.

Cons

The organization is run as a giant patronage mill. There is no accountability, especially of management, whom are free to be abusive to staff and hire cronies without any risk of reprisal. These same managers often hire people of below average intelligence because they'll do what they're told and are just happy to have a job. If you went to graduate school, don't expect to use your education. Do expect any number of menial tasks. Oh, and if you dare suggest a better way to do things, such as how the rest of the world actually has done things within the past 20 years, you'll be shunned professionally.

5.0

Mar 10, 2011

Good, smart, well-meaning people in a complex beauracracy

Professional staff

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

--Benefits are very good. -- Vacations are generous -- Excellent mix of colleagues from around the world -- Good treatment of women -- Quality work/life balance -- A good cause, obviously

Cons

--You must be a master of working the beauracracy. --Salary is decent but you surely could use more disposable cash to live in Gotham.

Viewing 58 - 60 of 2,241 Reviews

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Jobs at United Nations

Human Resources Assistant (temporary), G6

Wien

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Human Resources Assistant - temporary, G6

Wien

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INTERN – Data, Analytics and Statistics Section

Wien

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Biodiversity and ESD Project Specialist - Level A

Wien

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Consultant (Legislative and Policy Research)

Wien

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