Good company but huge bureaucracy - Anonymous employee Shell Employee Review

3.0
16 May 2012
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Financially strong, lots of opportunities, sophisticated environment, international, fundamentally sound in its attitude to people overall, pretty talented people and genuine concern for employee safety.

Cons

Big bureaucracy, slow, dull, opportunity for creativity and initiative very limited. Senior management pretend to care about people but care a lot more about politics - probabyl no worse than other big corporates though. Senior management are bright and mostly competent, middle management not much better or worse than other large corporates. Politics an dplayign the game matters a lot, and individualism is not generally welcomed. Pay is good and most of the employees do not understand how well off they are (in that respect) relative to the real world. A lot of cynicism among employees who feel pretty remote from the decision-makers.

Explore other reviews about Shell

5.0
8 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Shell is a wonderful company to work for. They truly support your continued development and many employees have been here for 20+ years. The work culture is one that provides a feeling of true psychological safety.

Cons

There are lots of meetings.

4.0
3 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Early career engineers are given significant ownership and exposure to complex operational challenges. Strong focus on safety, technical development, and collaboration across disciplines. Opportunities to work on high-impact projects, interact with senior leadership, and contribute to decisions affecting major assets and infrastructure.

Cons

Workloads can be demanding, and priorities can shift quickly based on operational needs. Decision-making processes can be slow due to organizational complexity, and geographic mobility may be necessary for certain career opportunities.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All