The London School of Economics & Political Science
3.9 out of 5 stars.
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The London School of Economics & Political Science Reviews

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United Kingdom42 reviews

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4.0Work-life balance
3.7Pay & benefits
3.4Job security & advancement
3.1Management
3.6Culture

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Dynamic and supportive

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My experience in the department of Health Policy was great. I have been working in a team with research associates and had been given a training prior to the start, which was helpful to accomplish the job tasks successfully. Everyone is very supportive even though the environment is wuite busy.
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Meh

Worked at LSE for a long time in various student halls, with a mixture of part- and full-time work.Initially the job was quite enjoyable, lots of friendly staff and colleagues who actually cared, but more recently the management structure has changed and it's very obvious that the big wigs sitting in campus have been instructed to make cuts as now there are no Christmas or Summer residence staff parties now, can't even get coffee pods for the espresso machine in the staff kitchen!Most of the managers I worked under tend not to care about what happens at the front desk unless something goes wrong, or their boss is around. One making it explicitly clear by saying they have nothing to do with what happens at the front desk and that the tasks are our responsibility yet is very eager to get on the teams backs when things aren’t going well and is very occupied at their desk on the phone (not business related) and listening to news. No job security or chances of progression. I have been on a zero-hour contract from the beginning and was never once spoken to about signing a proper contract or about any sort of progression. There are yearly reviews with the manager but realistically it’s all a load of rubbish just to satisfy the big wigs on campus, and none of this will ever result in a pay rise or bonus or even a thank you for your service.Overall, unless something changes with the staff making the decisions on campus, I would not recommend working at front of house reception for an LSE hall. The job pays well for sitting there and doing nothing, and is probably not a bad first - 
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Long term job

A place you can work in a relaxed environment with plenty of training and support and opportunities. Can be challenging at times at peak seasons that is when the school is open 24/7

Pros

Lots of opportunities

Cons

Salary
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Catering Assistant

Catering department used to be a good place to work at the LSE, but the introduction of the zero hours contract from 10 years ago has decrease the staff conditions. Also, the constantly use of favouritism from managers toward the staff has increase the discrimination and inequality to the staff, usually based on friendship. From three years ago the department has goes down dramatically. I left in 2016 but I keep in touch with colleges from the LSE catering department. It is sad that staff that were working for the LSE catering department for more than 20 years left from one day to other because they are not able to cope with the management pressure. I hope that the LSE catering department will be able to offer to the staff what this department used to provided a good environment and a great place to work in.

Pros

Free lunches for catering staff, good environment at the University

Cons

staff favouritism, zero hours contract, moving staff from rush hour to rush hour
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productive and relaxed environment

typical da at work is a fun and relaxed environment learned how to used complex in-house database fun and young team support and assistance provided for work force

Pros

flexible hours

Cons

lack of communication
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Great environment

A great environment to work in although moral can be low due to constant changes and reactive culture rather than proactive. Good benefits and working hard to make the culture more inclusive.

Pros

Great team and co-workers

Cons

Too much bureaucracy
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Rewarding and demanding work sector

The reputation of the LSE is well deserved and attracted a lot of media attention. Generosity from staff as well as students - but Higher Education demanding sector. Much expected from staff

Pros

Events and overtime

Cons

Long hours
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Curate's Egg - good in some places, rotten in others

Individual colleagues are great and supportive. If you get the right line manager you'll have a significantly better experience. However, it is difficult to progress and get promotion because of internal processes. I feel there are issues still around diversity, blame and bullying culture. The School is trying very hard to fix them, but cultural and organisational change at the School is very difficult and very, very slow - senior management have a poor grasp of change management so restructures are often painful and badly handled. It can be incredibly difficult to get things done, which can be very frustrating. It's a shame also that so many poor management practices are tolerated, as that also holds the organisation back. Developmental training opportunities for admin staff have increased and improved markedly in the last year or two, but unfortunately the School still has few mechanisms to allow people to progress. And the HERA salary review system stifles progression and wages, particularly for those in admin or who have reached the top of their salary band. The benefits are good, work hours are generally flexible which makes for good work/life balance, leave is amazing and the pay is OK for the sector. Education is a rewarding environment to work in, the LSE is a prestigious institute that draws people from all over the world, and at a personal level you will work with some amazing and inspiring people. It would be ideal for someone coming for a couple of years as part of their onward career journey.

Pros

Benefits, holidays, work colleagues, training opportunities, work hours and work/life balance

Cons

lack of progression, slow pace of change and poor management
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Studied in LSE

Excellent professors and staff. Amazing facilites. Very good and strategic location in central London. Studied an MSc in Law and Accounting focusing mainly on financial law.
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Fun place where to work with nice colleagues. Absence of a strong management.

Nice place where to work coz some nice people working there. But management is totally absent and unskilled. No way to growup. They offer Zero hours contract with first payment after two months. You work for an University but don't expect that skilled management.

Pros

Staff, extra hours, free weekends

Cons

management, contracts, payment.
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Jobs at The London School of Economics & Political Science

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Overall good organisation

Overall a good organisation to work in, work life balance is good, though job advancement is poor and can lead to dissatisfaction with the job.Workplace is a friendly environment, not too strict, very good benefits for staff

Pros

Good benefits for staff, work/life is good

Cons

Poor advancement/promotions
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Supportive and vibrant workplace

LSE treats its professional support staff with a high level of respect. they make good allowances for illness, appointments and have an excellent culture around supporting staff and helping with their development. I've only worked at LSE for a few months but working for them is excellent and fun.

Pros

Supportive management

Cons

None!
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Organized Workplace

The initiative is very organized and fighting for a great cause. The goal is to reconnect the citizens to the European Union which is needed after the Brexit.

Pros

Great Colleagues

Cons

Short Hours
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Excellent!

Excellent! It is a great place to work and I really enjoyed my time at the summer school. I have no complaints about the University whatsoever. Go for it!

Pros

Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!

Cons

None
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Student

Im a student here, work life balance is good, great faculty, good teaching methods. Practical and theory combined to make learning fun an interesting.
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Very productive

Would love to do it again. It was an eye opening experience in the world of sales to students, and I got to work with someone who made it very comfortable for me.

Pros

Short hours

Cons

Low wages
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great supportive environment

i had the chance to work closely with the head of accounting department on a research paper. He was amazing and very supportive. I mainly worked flexible hours and we met almost once every two weeks. Great mentor

Pros

support

Cons

na
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Good place

A good place to work. The office was in a good location and the people are very helpful. Great environment and the perfect place for young professionals. Room for internal promotions.
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summer fun

This job was amazing and 6am starts, met lots of americam students only bad thing was that it didn't last longer. learned food safety and hygiene and met amazing people.

Pros

free lunch

Cons

early starts
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Nice workplace

There is flexible working which is useful and creates a relaxed culture (ie. you don't get into trouble if not in at 9am on the dot). People on the whole are friendly but there is hardly any progression in a lot of areas.
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Useful Experience

Enjoyed my time teaching at the LSE. Gave me experience in teaching and leadership. I was able to work independently, set my own schedule, and teach by my own methods.
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Overall rating

Based on 48 reviews

Ratings by category

4.0 out of 5 stars for Work/Life Balance
3.7 out of 5 stars for Salary/Benefits
3.4 out of 5 stars for Job security/advancement
3.1 out of 5 stars for Management
3.6 out of 5 stars for Culture

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