Horrible Legacy Management Severely Undermines Otherwise Good Company - Associate Editor Springer Nature Employee Review

1.0
24 Nov 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great internal resources for knowledge sharing, networking, and professional growth. Many smart, creative, helpful colleagues ready to help or talk. Opportunities given to professionals without specific experience in publishing.

Cons

Note: I was placed on "performance-based" probation 7 WEEKS after start date and TERMINATED a couple weeks after that, simply because my team is managed by a poisonous duo who effectively crushed my career at a giant publisher because they didn't like how I fit as the new hire on their team. I was told by HR upon termination that I was not being fired through any fault of my own and they would not appeal any Unemployment Insurance claim; this was delivered as a kind of apology for the behavior of my two bosses. It seems that your experience at Springer Nature is entirely dependent on whether the senior management on your team is any good, which seems to be uncommon. In my case, it was the worst management I've ever seen or been victim to in a professional environment. Vicious, intolerant, guileless, and untrustworthy. It felt like working in the USSR, except somehow an even more bitter and cynical culture/mood. To summarize my awful bosses: Remote management team, who haven't worked with others in a meaningful context in decades and don't reside anywhere near the New York offices, are straight up clueless in terms of interpersonal relationships and team-building in the workplace. They proudly convey a mean-spirited, bullying, highly micro-managerial, "discipline and punish" mindset that was explained as "old school" and "how they were brought up in the industry". I have no idea who or what school of thought they were referring to, but they regularly ridiculed the senior management from other teams for not "earning" their seniority the way it is supposed to be earned because those managers/directors had reached milestones at a younger age than they had. I could go on for a lifetime, but AVOID any role at Springer Nature that is seemingly always on job boards or, after speaking with an HR Recruiter and asking questions about the vacancy, it is a position for which they've had trouble finding the right candidate. Ask as much as you can about the composition of the team and try to get on one that isn't full of cynical "old-school" types who are protecting their tenuous, dusty hold on their respective teams until they can retire in 5-7 years. Also, the pay is quite low.

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5.0
8 May 2026
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CEO approval
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Pros

Amazing company to work for and great people

Cons

None so far, everything has been lovely

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Springer Nature Response
1w
Thanks for sharing your thoughts from our New York office. We have a great team; our purpose and culture continue to be 'stand out' and some of the reasons so many colleagues stay with us longer term. We are collaborative and progressive and everyday we contribute to learnings for generations to come.
3.0
12 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good to work and get experience

Cons

Not great to grow there

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Springer Nature Response
1w
Thank you for sharing your review. We kicked off our second Career Growth Week so far this year with a focus on feedback which underpins growth at every level. Alongside the flagship sessions, colleagues took part in a wide range of virtual events across the week. These included popular sessions like building skills through feedback, Forward Talk, AI-powered feedback, “expert” careers and mentoring panels, the Facilitation Marathon, and a LinkedIn personal branding workshop, as well as practical learning through the Level up: boost your skills and Talent Attraction sessions. Perhaps look out for the next one which will be in a few months time. Colleague development is core to our organisation.
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