Thomson Reuters

Great work life balance and benefits. Pay is less than other companies and the disparity can become huge in locations such as LA, SF or NY. I traveled a lot for Thomson Reuters and found that there was a lot of pressure to stay in low cost hotels rather than in safer, higher priced hotels. This limitation was especially hard in large cities where the travel limitation would price you out of hotels that had strong security, etc.. Sometimes, I would pay the difference out of my own pocket. For the most part, Thomson Reuters is an old school boys network with token women in marketing and other “female friendly” roles. For example, the head of Diversity Affairs (People) is an older white man. Female mentors and diversity in general is scarce., especially as you rise through the ranks. I often found at meetings I would not be heard initially, until my idea was restated by a male colleague. I realize this is not unusual in business, so I learned to communicate in a non-threatening but firm way that helped me get my point across more often. I have made it my mission to look for younger female colleagues to coach and mentor.

TR seems to have its priorities all mixed up. It’s actually pretty difficult to explain the vision or purpose of the business, I’m not entirely sure what they are trying to be. Many of the senior leadership in my dept were empire building, more staff less output and had zero leadership skills. I had a manager who was a school teacher, nothing wrong with that in principle, except that she treated us all like we were her children in class with micro-management and demeaning remarks and that special brand of bullying used by insecure adults on children only, because an adult can choose violence or to leave… I left.

Progression in your career, no matter how hard you work, means leaving or having a friend higher up. There is a huge lack of direction and leadership, all of which is evident in their now annual restructuring and redundancies.

It often feels like a boys club. Decisions are made at the top of the food chain and reasoning doesn’t get passed down. Constantly changing priorities and initiatives and deadlines make it feel like you never know why you’re doing what you’re doing, or even that there’s a well thought out path to doing whatever you’re working on. It’s pretty disheartening. There are also few female mentors – I agree wholeheartedly with the person above who said that the few female leaders there are are too busy trying to prove themselves to mentor any other females in my part of the company. That being said, work/life balance is solid and they are super flexible with work schedules. Perfect if work/life balance and a solid paycheck are your number one priority. There are little pockets of culture change, but those can only go so far.

The work-life balance excels at Thomson Reuters. Incentives include flexible schedule, telecommuting/remote workplace, 12 weeks full pay parental leave, and a generous amount of vacation. I was fortunate enough to be noticed by the right mix of people at the company which lead to my promotion. Hard work and dedication is rewarded through commission and annual pay increase. The company does make a point to try and boost equality by recognizing and rewarding female and minority workers

Pay and benefits were good. Culture in my area was horrible. Micro-manager, lazy staff, finger pointing, work dodgers, all the stereotypes you see in a Dilbert cartoon brought to life. Sycophants and ass-kissers abound. I left within 6 months because 1) I have skills, 2) I’d rather be unemployed that work in an environment like that, and 3) life is too short to be mired in that corporate bullshit.

TR is probably one of the most family friendly companies I’ve worked for in my career and the benefits were also competitive when I was there. The culture was a bit strange. There were people who advanced easily in their careers there. However, there were just as many employees, who seemed equally qualified, who despite great efforts literally could not advance. Sadly, it seemed that advancement depended heavily on a manager’s advocacy and support of their direct reports and less on the merits and capabilities of the employee. As for strong female leadership in the company it seemed average compared to other large companies in the Twin Cities area.

I’ve been in the legal division for 15 years and have seen a growing trend each year, to be more focused on diversity, work/life balance with flexible work hours and the advancement of women. For the 3rd consecutive year, Thomson Reuters earned a perfect 100 percent score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI). They still offer great benefits including 401k and ESPP. Highly recommend TR as an employer, with locations around the globe.

TR (specifically ONESOURCE division) is a great place to work if you are focused on a work / life balance (more balanced to life). I never had to work late, and the job was not stressful at all. However, there was absolutely no career advancement, and no focus on your career period. There was no mentorship, not many female leaders, and definitely no positive female role models. All the females I worked with were completely focused on themselves and too busy wooing over the men to spend any time empowering women. I would not recommend working for TR unless you definitely know you are only there for a paycheck and not much else, because it’s really all it was good for.

TR is a great place to work if work life integration is a priority – more than career advancement (at least in the Bay Area – as field positions are few) (If you are willing to relocate to Minnesota – there are plenty of opportunities.) I transitioned out of practicing law in SF, in hopes to stay in the industry – but in a more flexible position where I could be there for my family, and do work that makes me feel relevant and keeps me around people I enjoyed working with and work I know. I get to do this now.