Really not what it used to be - Principal Software Engineer Workday Employee Review

2.0
28 Mar 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Still some hard working engineers hanging on with the hopes of a culture turnaround. This company wouldn't last a day without them. Good people but in roles they shouldn't be in.

Cons

When I joined, I only knew my manager. What used to be great was an almost flat hierarchy where all team members came together to solve problems and the only person asking me for an update was my manager. Now even the Senior Director will reach you directly to ask you about something you worked on and so will everybody in between. The direct low level managers are hand puppets that the Director and above control. These were mostly developers or automators who failed at becoming good engineers OR just didn't like the technology but somehow managed to score in interviews OR pull the right strings to become people managers OR can thank Workday's diversity goals (true story!). All they do is look at dashboards, scoreboards and make sure no work goes unassigned. Primary reason for no career growth for aspiring engineers. Meetings have gotten awful with everyone trying to give their 2 cents and ultimately adding no real value to conversations. Every effort is to make yourself look good because if you are not valuable, you become an easy scapegoat or get pushed aside. Not a fun place anymore and now just a race to get ahead of the other instead of working towards common goals and delivering features that wow. We also have a new wave of product managers who really have no true sense of product ownership and need a lot of hand holding and reliance on engineers to get their work done.

Explore other reviews about Workday

5.0
19 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Work life balance is very good

Cons

Too much org level changes

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Workday Response
4d
Thank you for sharing your experience at Workday. We're delighted to know that you've been making the most of your time with us and have been benefiting from a good work-life balance. This feedback is incredibly valuable as it helps us provide an even better working experience and benefits for our Workmates.
2.0
24 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great culture at the peer to peer level. Excellent learning opportunities, good benefits and great name for resume.

Cons

Pretend to be transparent but a lot of smoke & mirrors. Significant cuts to comp plans & commissions that resulted in challenging pay cuts. While salaries were not reduced the OTE is no longer achievable and it’s a difference of thousands monthly, can’t even sell stock because it’s tanked. That being said, we’re disappointed in comp and stock but grateful to be employed because It’s no longer a matter of if you’ll be laid off but when.

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