Black employees are less satisfied at work than all other employees

Apple had the highest overall company rating among Black employees at 28 workplaces, and Macy’s had the lowest, a new Glassdoor report finds.

Diversity and tolerance — Image: Benjaminec, Getty Images/iStockphoto

Black employees are less satisfied than all other employees at work, giving employers a rating of 3.3 compared with an average of 3.5, according to new research by Glassdoor. However, job satisfaction among Black employees varies widely by company, Glassdoor said.

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The research analyzed 28 employers, each with at least 15 ratings from US-based Black employees. When comparing Black employee ratings to a comparison group of people who self-identified as non-Black, the report found job satisfaction was lower at 11 of the 28 companies, according to Glassdoor.

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Alternatively, when Black employee ratings are compared with overall company averages displayed on Glassdoor (which include all employees and does not consider whether demographics were shared), job satisfaction for Black employees is lower at 21 of the 28 companies. Tech giant Apple had the highest overall company rating among Black employees with a 4.2 out of 5 rating.

By contrast, retail apparel company Macy’s had the lowest company rating among Black or African American employees in the Glassdoor sample, averaging 2.7 out of 5, Glassdoor said.

“It’s important to note that these averages are from preliminary data only and may not reflect patterns in the full workforces at these employers,” the company noted.

The company said it consulted with internal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) leaders and employee resource groups and experts to improve the product and economic research.

In addition to the new research, Glassdoor also launched new product features that it said offer a new level of transparency into the state of DEI at companies. The new features reveal employee-provided company ratings and salary reports broken out by specific demographic groups.

These latest additions build on Glassdoor’s ongoing public commitment to leverage its product and resources to help achieve equity in and out of the workplace, the company said.

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“We are just beginning to understand the complexity that makes up the employee experience. Glassdoor is delivering a deeper look inside the modern workplace by unlocking insights into how employees feel about diversity, equity, and inclusion and by displaying employees’ differing sentiment and pay,” said Christian Sutherland-Wong, CEO of Glassdoor, in a statement. “Increased workplace transparency can show us where we are strong and where we are weak.”

Transparency can also help job seekers find opportunities where they can thrive and support employers in creating more equitable workplaces and communities, Sutherland-Wong added.

Ratings and salaries by employee demographic groups

Glassdoor said it now gives job seekers, employees, and employers a deeper level of insight into the employee experience by displaying company ratings, CEO ratings, and workplace factor ratings by race/ethnicity, gender identity, parental or caregiver status, disability, sexual orientation, and veteran status.

Salaries are broken out by gender identity and race/ethnicity. For example, people can see and compare how Black employees at a company rate their company’s culture or career opportunities, how LGBTQ+ employees rate senior leadership at a company, or what the average salary is for those who identify as female, male, or non-binary in a particular role.

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Since it launched demographic information sharing during fall 2020, Glassdoor said it has collected about 800,000 demographic insights from 187,000 employees at more than 3,300 companies and continues to see more demographic growth. Employers including Walmart, Amazon, Target, Starbucks, and AT&T are among the companies with the most demographic information shared by employees.

Demographic information shared with Glassdoor is optional and displayed anonymously, the company added.

According to a Glassdoor Harris Poll survey, three in four employees and job seekers (76%) report that a diverse workforce is an important factor when evaluating companies and job offers. By displaying how different employee demographic groups rate their workplace experiences and pay, job seekers now gain a more personalized understanding of how people feel about working at a company, Glassdoor said.

It also offers a new level of transparency into the current state of DEI at companies, Glassdoor said, allowing job seekers to see and compare ratings and pay across demographic groups as well, revealing where similarities and/or differences may exist.

Glassdoor said its new features also provide employers with a deeper view into what’s working well and what needs improvement related to their own DEI efforts. Employers are able to see current employee sentiment levels and salary averages broken out by employee demographic groups, they can compare their data against other companies, and potentially leverage data points to help DEI recruiting efforts.