The worst company culture in the UK - Anonymous employee NBCUniversal Employee Review

1.0
Nov 28, 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The brands/merchandise (which is almost not seen anywhere in the actual building) and the company name which does not live up to it's expectations

Cons

This company has the absolute worst company culture in the UK and is filled with depressive disturbed people. The former is a very big concern that apparently is not being handled the right way and makes it very difficult to work with the people around you or to deal with the extreme mood swings on a daily basis. I have seen grown people behave like 4 year olds and even talk in toddler voice and this is not even being frowned upon by Management and HR. People here are also very very rude to the point that many just walk away. Having a door slammed in your face and not receiving a thank you after holding the door for someone is very normal. The turnover of people resigning is very high and people even seem to walk away from pay rises and promotions. Lying, cheating and deceiving is applauded by HR so don't bother knocking on their door. The level of experience in the HR department is also very far from what it is supposed to be and since they cant seem to find qualified permanent staff to run this department they fill HR with contractors who obviously do not care as this is not their permanent job. Walking into this company on a daily basis is mind numbing and makes happy and healthy people depressive. The ratio of diversity is very very low as you can easily count the non white people on your two hands. The rule of thumb comes out of the USA and even though american policies do not work in the EU, they decide what happens either way which brings with it absurd delays and massive profit loss. The competition in the market is highly adored to the point that it seems they want to replicate the big D by hiring all their staff at whatever cost necessary. This of course makes it a very boring wannabe replica that clearly does not work. Contractors fill all the gaps for which they fail to find permanent staff that is just not willing to work here and keeps resigning. What annoys me the most is that it is a waste of time to bring your good energy, healthy mind, perseverance, knowledge and creativity to work, only to deal with mentally disturbed management that will knock all of the above down just because they are dealing with their mood swings again. Such a weird company, it's unbelievable.

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5.0
Jun 24, 2026
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Pros

Good environment and location. Easy to assimilate

Cons

Expensive area and not a lot of growth potential

3.0
Jun 29, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

NBCUniversal is full of smart, funny, talented people who genuinely care about the work. I learned a tremendous amount there, especially about programming, production, audience strategy, brand management, budgets, talent, internal politics, and how a major media company actually functions when the glossy press release meets the spreadsheet. The brands are still powerful. NBC, Peacock, Bravo, USA, SYFY, E!, and the broader portfolio have real history, real audiences, and real cultural weight. When the company is aligned, it can move beautifully. You get exposure to major shows, high-level conversations, complex productions, and the kind of institutional knowledge you cannot really get anywhere smaller. It is also a place where you can build real taste and real judgment. You see what works, what almost works, what dies in a conference room, and what somehow survives three leadership changes and a budget cut.

Cons

The biggest downside is instability. NBCUniversal has been through major structural change, including the cable network spinoff into Versant, divestitures, reorganizations, and significant layoffs. That kind of uncertainty changes the job. You are not just doing the work. You are trying to understand which version of the company you work for this quarter. Decision-making can also be slow and heavily layered. There are a lot of smart people, but sometimes too many of them need to bless the same sentence, deck, cut, budget, or idea. The result is that good work can get sanded down, delayed, or rerouted through a maze wearing a lanyard. The company also asks people to do more with less, then less with less, then somehow make it feel premium. That is exhausting. Especially for employees who care deeply and are trying to protect the creative, the business, and their own sanity without being handed a map.

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