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?

78% 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 165 reviews)); "The people are great and passionate about what they do" ((in 156 reviews)); "Good salary and experience overall" ((in 152 reviews)); "Great for CV and great colleagues" ((in 129 reviews)); "Good work environment for beginners" ((in 87 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 50 reviews)); "These are universally applied across the board and direct managers have no power to override them." ((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 21 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

78% would recommend to a friend

(2,244 total reviews)

António Guterres

75% approve of CEO

58% 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

Jan 18, 2014

Great experience in spite of the bureaucracy.

Project coordinator

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The United Nations is a really interesting place to work. There are also a lot of opportunities for international travel and good mentors.

Cons

I found that there was quite a lot of bureaucracy to contend with during my time at the United Nations. The amount of time it takes the Human Resources Department to process employment applications is a huge drawback.

3.0

Jan 11, 2014

You hit the ceiling pretty quickly

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The benefits are amazing--so much so, that they leave the staff feeling too entitled.

Cons

Everything else -- Management, unequal benefits for managers compared to general staff, politics with jobs, imbalance in workloads across organization, erroneous job descriptions, people going on leave for months at a time

4.0

Jan 8, 2014

UN Country Office varies completely on who the director is

Program manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Lots of autonomy given to country offices in the UN system, excellent opportunity to work with government toward impact at scale.

Cons

Highly political. Often the appearance of delivering results (i.e. spending down the budget) is more important than the results themselves.

Viewing 2167 - 2169 of 2,244 Reviews

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Jobs at United Nations

Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Intern

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PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT OFFICER, P3

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Passenger and Cargo Control Programme (PCCP) Intern

Wien

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Intern - Programme Management

Wien

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National Consultant (Anti-Corruption)

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