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 (399) , Consultant (142) , Internship (130) , Administrative Assistant (59) , Project Manager (46) , Research Assistant (30) , Political Affairs Officer (24) , Officer (23) , Political Affairs Intern (19) , Security Officer (18) , Team Assistant (18) , Analyst (16) , Director (16) , Economic Affairs Officer (16) , Finance Assistant (15)

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

"stable happy versatile good benefit" ((in 178 reviews)); "The people are great and passionate about what they do" ((in 164 reviews)); "a good salary and traveling by plane" ((in 142 reviews)); "Great for CV and great colleagues" ((in 133 reviews)); "Good work environment for beginners" ((in 80 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 109 reviews)); "Management is poor" ((in 51 reviews)); "No job security at all" ((in 25 reviews)); "It is hard to have toxic managers held accountable due to the nature of the org" ((in 23 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))

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

(2,244 total reviews)

António Guterres

75% 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 2,244 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

1.0

Apr 15, 2021

Consultant at the UN - interesting job but questionable working conditions

Policy consultant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

often exposure to interesting work, and international networks

Cons

Most junior people are employed as consultants because it is cheaper, however are de facto doing the work of much better paid staff. As this type of consultancy is common practise but legally not permitted consultants often find themselves in a semi-legal environment which infringes on their own employment rights.

4.0

Jan 4, 2021

United Nations Career - Procurement Officer

Procurement officer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

-Exposure to international, politically-relevant affairs -Contribution to social, economic, humanitarian improvements for vulnerable societies -30 days paid annual leave + 7 personal days + additional certified sick days -Colleagues bring a wealth of cultural diversity -Good benefits and entitlements for hardship duty stations

Cons

-Poor career growth opportunity from General Service to Professional level -Overly bureaucratic causes bottlnecks in delivering operations -Lack of empowerment for staff in making judgement and decisions.

5.0

Jul 22, 2019

A great place to build a career

Economic affairs officer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Excellent work-life balance, great benefits, fantastic colleagues, rewarding work.

Cons

Kafkaesque bureaucracy with byzantine rules in every imaginable setting can leave you feeling lost and hopeless.

Viewing 103 - 105 of 2,244 Reviews

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