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 been stable over the past 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 3.6 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at United Nations?

Intern (400) , 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 169 reviews)); "The people are great and passionate about what they do" ((in 157 reviews)); "a good salary and traveling by plane" ((in 145 reviews)); "Great for CV and great colleagues" ((in 137 reviews)); "Good work environment for beginners" ((in 86 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 107 reviews)); "Management is poor" ((in 49 reviews)); "No job security at all" ((in 26 reviews)); "These are universally applied across the board and direct managers have no power to override them." ((in 25 reviews)); "Long hours and a lot of work" ((in 21 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

4.3

Diversity & inclusion

4.0

Culture & values

3.9

Work/Life balance

3.9

Compensation and benefits

3.6

Senior management

3.6

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

4.0

Mar 2, 2011

A great job, if you can endure the bureaucracy and monotony

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The UN is a prestigious name, and it offers a secure job with great benefits. Working with different people around the world and dealing with global issues in the job is a special experience.

Cons

I often felt frustrated because things and changes took forever to be done. Meetings really didn't expedite anything and many of the upper-level officials (UN or UN-related organizations) are quite apathetic and political, and that's just not right in a place like the UN.

3.0

Oct 14, 2008

A fair review of UN work

Director

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

International atmosphere and excellent for languages and you're indirectly contributing to resolving world problems and sometimes country conflicts.

Cons

You can be shipped out to ANYWHERE on the planet at short notice, and not necessarily a place of your choice or that you'd ever think of taking a day's vacation in! It's better if you are multilingual, otherwise you're pretty limited in your contacts..

1.0

Oct 12, 2024

A place where narcissists can thrive

Program manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Unqualified people can have a long secure and comfortable lifestyle with lots of business class travel. They can fail upwards one promotion at a time, followed by a sweet pension at retirement. There's zero accountability if you wish to waste resources, terrify your staff or hire incompetent people. You can tell people at parties that you "work at the UN".

Cons

It's really amazing how many senior managers seem to have little respect for the mission of the organization or its staff. Some of these people seem to be truly oblivious or in denial to how bad things are... Claiming that things are highly successful despite all evidence to the contrary. Ignoring all advice from highly paid consultants and professional staff. Insisting that brain-dead cronies are highly qualified and deserving of their positions. There's also an undercurrent of meanness and cruelty to many managers that seems in part to force out anyone competent or who cares.

Viewing 142 - 144 of 2,244 Reviews

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Jobs at United Nations

Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Intern

Wien

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PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT OFFICER, P3

Wien

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Programme Management Assistant, G5

Wien

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Consultant (GLOZ99/Anti-Corruption)

Wien

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Passenger and Cargo Control Programme (PCCP) Intern

Wien

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