Does Essence pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Essence employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.6 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Essence. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Essence?

77% of Essence employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Essence 3.7 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.0 for culture and values and 3.7 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Essence?

Media Activation Executive (25) , Media Planner (24) , Director (23) , Media Activation Manager (22) , Associate Director (17) , Account Manager (16) , Manager (15) , Account Director (14) , Account Executive (11) , Senior Media Activation Executive (10) , Assistant Media Planner (9) , Senior Account Executive (8) , Business Director (6) , Media Planning Manager (6) , Activation Manager (5)

What are the pros of working at Essence according to real employee reviews?

"Great and hugely impressive people and culture" ((in 95 reviews)); "People are great" ((in 76 reviews)); "Benefits are good with soft stuff like massages and yoga to all" ((in 22 reviews)); "good work life balance and social" ((in 21 reviews)); "Great team and flexible as we worked as a family" ((in 20 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Essence according to real employee reviews?

"congratulatory behavior is rampant (and encouraged by management) despite zero innovation nor thought leadership at many branch offices." ((in 22 reviews)); "Long hours and stretched team" ((in 18 reviews)); "Salaries are low but I guess that's the case for all agencies" ((in 16 reviews)); "Senior management is aware but takes no action." ((in 13 reviews)); "If you don't have a good manager, then it makes it very difficult for you to change teams or roles which is also probably the reason why you wanted to switch in the first place" ((in 12 reviews))

What are employees saying about Essence redundancies in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Essence redundancy and their outlook for job security at Essence in 2026.

Essence Reviews

3.8

77% would recommend to a friend

(641 total reviews)

Kyoko Matsushita

89% approve of CEO

68% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (641 reviews)

Ratings by demographic groups

Ethnic group

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Essence has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 641 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Essence employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Media and communication industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

641 reviews

5.0

29 Jul 2025

Very hard work, but great company to work for

Account director

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Everyone at Essence is super smart

Cons

Very hard work, long hours, demanding clients

5.0

6 Aug 2024

Good to work

Programmatic account manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Best culture, good colleagues, amazing office, lots to learn

Cons

Salary isn't great, difficult to move teams, understaffed

5.0

11 Feb 2024

The best place I've ever worked

Learning and development manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Essence, before it was taken over by GroupM, was the best job I've ever had. The founders of the company were highly visible within the org and, even better, had time for everyone, no matter what level they were. Leadership had no ego to speak of, every decision was made with integrity, and you were surrounded by people who were passionate about doing good work.

Cons

Since GroupM, all the pros are gone.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 641 Reviews

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