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

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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

4.0

Oct 22, 2009

Chief of section

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The UN has a really good reputation and provides a very good compensation package. In many areas you can really contribute a lot to change people's life around the globe.

Cons

Lots of red tape seems that prevents you from doing your job. There are never enough resources to do a good job of anything. And of course lot's of politics.

4.0

Sep 4, 2009

beaucracy at the extreme

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Low pressure Easy going Excellent Benefits This is a great place to work if you are not concerned about career advancement

Cons

Difficult to actually get anything done Advancement is difficult Benefits are not uniform, depending on nationality Fairly biased based on your managers nationality, but that is to be expected

4.0

Jun 3, 2009

Programme Assistant

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The UN offers great benefits. Medical/Dental/Vision insurance plus pension (for every $1 contribution, the UN gives $2 matching). 6 weeks vacation per year which can be carried over up to maximum of 60 days; 65 days certified sick leave per year plus 7 uncertified sick leave. Work life balance is supported as well as compensatory time off. Professional staff receives post adjustment allowance in addition to base salary. The UN offers dependency allowance for children; spouses and secondary dependence i.e. parents in form of additional compensation to all staff.

Cons

Though benefits are great and salary is competitive, without MBA, general support staff regardless of years of experience and knowledge of the job, are not given opportunities to compete for professional posts.

Viewing 2233 - 2235 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

Wien

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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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