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 183 reviews)); "The people are great and passionate about what they do" ((in 156 reviews)); "a good salary and traveling by plane" ((in 146 reviews)); "Great for CV and great colleagues" ((in 137 reviews)); "Good work environment for beginners" ((in 84 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 112 reviews)); "Management is poor" ((in 51 reviews)); "These are universally applied across the board and direct managers have no power to override them." ((in 24 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 at the workplace" ((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 5, 2010

Finance Assistant, United Nations

Finance assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Benefits, benefits, benefits -- as in 6 weeks vacation, full pension, great health insurance. There is much prestige that comes with working for this organization.

Cons

The stratification of staff is rigid and unforgiving. There are two main categories for staff, assigned upon entry and based on how you apply: General Service/Local Staff and Professional/International Staff. General Service (GS) are assistants and lower level technical staff. DO NOT CONSIDER THIS TO BE A GOOD ENTREE INTO THIS ORGANIZATION if you aspire to be more than a top level assistant. In otherwords, if you aspire to be a Programme Officer, you will not achieve this by entering as an assistant. You must enter as a "P" staff to have a career.

4.0

Apr 20, 2010

Good work-life balance and reasonable conditions

Economic affairs officer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Work-life balance. Multicultural and pleasant colleagues.

Cons

Low incentives for promotion. Pay as compared to other international organisations.

2.0

Jan 11, 2010

Too much bureaucracy...not enough transperancy

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

There is a great image associated with the United Nations, and the level of pay and vacation time is great, assuming you are allowed to take it.

Cons

Management is unaware of what goes on, and seems to live in a dream world. There is little to no opportunity to move up.

Viewing 2230 - 2232 of 2,241 Reviews

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Jobs at United Nations

Human Resources Assistant (temporary), G6

Wien

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Intern – Cybercrime (Intergovernmental services)

Wien

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International Anticorruption Consultant

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Consultant on Gender and Anti-Corruption Investigations

Wien

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International Consultant (Support the assessment of Transnational Organized Crime and the Nexus with Counter-Proliferation Financing in Southeast Asia)

Wien

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