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 184 reviews)); "The people are great and passionate about what they do" ((in 158 reviews)); "a good salary and traveling by plane" ((in 151 reviews)); "Great for CV and great colleagues" ((in 130 reviews)); "Good work environment for beginners" ((in 81 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 110 reviews)); "Management is poor" ((in 51 reviews)); "bad managers" ((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 22 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

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

3.0

Dec 22, 2010

It's so bureaucratic and disorganized that many potential great work becomes marginalized.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

good benefits and personal time off. Meeting people from around the world.

Cons

Due to how the employee assessment and organization policies were set up, it has created a highly political and hypocritical culture. Many staff seems to forget the vision and mission of this humanitarian organization which aimed to improve the conditions of humanity. One would think that working for the UN was about making a difference.

2.0

Aug 8, 2010

Faking United while truly a Divided Nations

Graduate intern

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Benefits are ok, supporting the traveling

Cons

High bureaucracy, resistant to modern technological changes

4.0

Jun 9, 2010

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Working in an extraordinarily diverse environment with people who are personally and professionally committed to making the world a better place is as uncommon as it is fulfilling. There is great prestige associated with working for the UN, though this perception is not quite the same in the US as it is elsewhere.

Cons

OCHA, compared to other UN organizations I've worked, has never managed to carve out a clear role for itself in the UN System. The organization is poorly managed, and its direction shifts when its leadership changes, so consistency is poor. Information sharing within the organization and between OCHA and other agencies is also poor.

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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Human Resources Assistant - temporary, G6

Wien

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INTERN – Data, Analytics and Statistics Section

Wien

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Biodiversity and ESD Project Specialist - Level A

Wien

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Consultant (Legislative and Policy Research)

Wien

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