A "good" place to work. It used to be a "great" place to work. - Executive Director, Technology Morgan Stanley Employee Review

4.0
19 Mar 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

James Gorman is an ethical and extremely competent CEO. Generally intelligent colleagues, although this is less true than it used to be. If you land in the right team or area, you'll be working on cool tech. Great benefits. Truly working to rectify under-representation of women and PoC in senior positions. DEI initiatives are sincere and effective. Excellent work-life balance.

Cons

Poorly implemented forced-ranking and culling has made the work environment increasingly office-political from once being fantastically collaborative. This has a negative impact, but senior technology management seems ideologically aligned with dog-eat-dog (because senior tech management has also exempted itself from it) and so seems blind to the downside it has created. Increasingly bogged down by an "Agile transformation" and regimentation that in fact is simply layer upon layer of new bureaucratic process and changed labels for everything. It's so far from what agility actually means that it's a bad joke. Promotions are less about merit and more about what team you happen to land in. I worry about what will happen when James Gorman leaves. Next layer of management is not nearly so inspiring.

Explore other reviews about Morgan Stanley

5.0
8 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good company , great package, nice environment , culture friendly

Cons

None I could see to thrive/ work here

3.0
30 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Very good co-workers, Great technology stack. Lot of new technologies and integration with current work.

Cons

They dont even give you a MS cup. They ask you to buy it for 5$. So cheap! Management big on "Giving back", Immediate managers do not like it and are not supportive. Lay off employees twice a year to show profits. Only worried about shareholders and clients. Don't know the criteria for lay-off. So, you are always worried if it is your turn. They boast about mental health and wellness. No good, when they layoff employees like this. HR = Horrible Resources. When you are laid off, they shoo you away as if you are a fly. You feel miserable. They themselves say - "We are better than Facebook or Oracle. We dont fire you at 6 AM over email." Gosh! What a comparison!

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