Facebook’s reputation as one of the most preferred employers is fast dwindling. According to the recently released Glassdoor’s “Best Places to Work” list for 2020, which is based on anonymous employee reviews, Facebook is placed at No.23 out of the top 100 organizations.
Glassdoor released its annual rankings based on employees’ anonymous reviews and ratings, albeit Glassdoor’s “proprietary awards algorithm” determines the actual rankings.
Facebook’s ranking has been steadily declining in Glassdoor’s list of top 100 organizations since 2018. While Facebook stood at No.1 in 2018, it fell to No.7 in 2019. But this year, Facebook has finished at No. 23. Ever since Facebook had marked its entry into the list in 2011, it had been consistently ranking in the top 10, except for 2015, when it had finished at No.13.
However, according to a spokesperson from Glassdoor, Facebook still holds an overall rating of 4.4, which is well above the site’s average of 3.5. Besides, making it to Glassdoor’s top 100 list, is “an incredible honor” for employers in itself, noted the Glassdoor spokesperson.
Despite Facebook’s reputation of providing “legendary” employee benefits, the drop is being seen as a direct result of controversies faced by the social media giant in recent years.
The last time Facebook raked at No.1 on the list in 2017, Glassdoor wrote: “Facebook is legendary for its perks. Free meals and snacks, onsite health and dental centers, laundry services and four months of parental leave are among some of their most notable benefits.”
In the last few years numerous cases of users’ privacy breach and investigations including the infamous Zuckerberg trial by the Congress have taken their toll on Facebook’s reputation as a favored employer.
According to a report by CNBC earlier this year, post the Cambridge Analytica scandal, recruiters have struggled to lure candidates from top-tier universities. According to Glassdoor, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s employee approval rating has also taken a dent over the last year, plummeting from No.16 in 2018 to No.55 in 2019.
Ironically, Facebook isn’t the only tech company to have received disfavor from jobseekers. Google and Apple too have ranked lower than last year. While Google dropped from No.8 to No. 11, Apple’s rank fell from No.71 to No.84.
Now coming to the brighter side of the picture, a few tech companies did manage to top Glassdoor’s list for 2020. HubSpot finished No.1, consulting firm Bain & Company at No.2, DocuSign at No.3, fast food chain In-N-Out Burger at No.4, and Southwest Airlines at No.10.
