Gusto
What's the Company Culture Like at Gusto?
Frequently Asked Questions
Gusto's culture is centered on helping small businesses succeed while creating an environment where employees can do meaningful work, grow professionally and feel supported both personally and professionally. The company's mission is to grow the small business economy with technology and heart, and its culture is designed to support that mission through customer focus, collaboration, continuous learning, inclusion and long-term thinking. Employees are encouraged to take ownership of their work, invest in one another's success and build products that have a meaningful impact on business owners and workers across the country.
- Mission-driven and customer-focused: Gusto's culture starts with its commitment to helping small businesses thrive. The company emphasizes that employees are not simply building software, they are helping business owners hire, pay, insure and support their teams. This mission creates a strong sense of purpose across the organization and helps employees connect their day-to-day work to meaningful customer outcomes. Customer Obsession is one of Gusto's core values, reinforcing the importance of understanding customer needs and building solutions that improve their lives.
- Values that encourage ownership, ambition and continuous improvement: Gusto's culture is guided by values including Customer Obsessed, Dream Big Then Make It Real, Raise the Bar, Learn Fast, Repeat and Act with Bold Conviction. These values encourage employees to think ambitiously, move quickly, learn from experience and take responsibility for outcomes. The company emphasizes balancing innovation and experimentation with thoughtful execution, creating an environment where employees are empowered to contribute ideas and drive meaningful change.
- Collaborative and people-centered: Collaboration is a major part of how work gets done at Gusto. Employees regularly work across functions including engineering, design, product, customer experience, operations and go-to-market teams to solve problems and improve customer experiences. The company emphasizes open communication, knowledge sharing and mutual support, with a culture that encourages employees to learn from one another and work toward shared goals.
- Built around trust, flexibility and autonomy: As a distributed company, Gusto places a strong emphasis on trust and flexibility. Employees are empowered to do their best work while balancing personal and professional responsibilities. The company maintains hub offices in Denver, New York and San Francisco and uses intentional gatherings to support connection and collaboration while maintaining flexibility in how work gets done. This approach reflects Gusto's belief that strong outcomes can be achieved while giving employees meaningful autonomy.
- Focused on belonging and inclusion: Gusto invests in building a workplace where employees feel respected, valued and empowered to contribute. Employee resource groups, inclusion initiatives and community-building programs create opportunities for connection and support across the company. Gusto emphasizes that building a diverse and inclusive workplace helps the company better serve the diverse small businesses and communities that rely on its products.
- Growth-oriented and learning-focused: Gusto encourages employees to continuously develop their skills through mentorship, feedback, leadership development and challenging work. Employees are encouraged to take ownership of their careers, pursue growth opportunities and expand their impact over time. The company promotes a culture of learning and improvement, where employees are supported in developing both professionally and personally.
- Commitment to AI fluency across the organization: Gusto is actively investing in AI-driven product development and embedding AI fluency as an expectation across roles. Employees are encouraged to develop comfort and capability with AI tools as part of how work gets done, and the company views AI fluency as a core competency for the workforce it is building. This investment shapes both how Gusto serves its customers and how employees are expected to grow and contribute over time.
- Employee testimonials: Employees frequently highlight thoughtful coworkers, supportive managers, meaningful work and a strong sense of mission. Employees often describe Gusto as a place where people genuinely care about one another, where collaboration is highly valued and where teams are united around helping small businesses succeed. They also commonly reference opportunities for growth, learning and making a real impact on customers.
- External signals:
- Gusto has earned recognition from organizations including Great Place to Work, Fortune and Inc. for workplace culture and employee experience.
- Gusto has earned recognition on multiple Best Places to Work lists and highlights the company's collaborative culture, flexibility, employee benefits and commitment to employee development.
- Employee review platforms frequently cite Gusto's mission, supportive coworkers, collaborative environment and values-driven culture as positive aspects of the employee experience. (Glassdoor; Comparably)
Bottom line: Gusto's culture is best described as mission-driven, collaborative, customer-focused and growth-oriented. Employees who thrive at Gusto are often motivated by helping small businesses succeed, enjoy working with thoughtful and supportive teammates and appreciate a culture that combines high standards with flexibility, inclusion and continuous learning.
Gusto's Candidate Tradeoffs
If you’re weighing whether Gusto is the right fit, these are the core tradeoffs to consider.
- Gusto places greater emphasis on mission-driven work and meaningful impact than on prioritizing top-of-market compensation.
Gusto Employee Perspectives
What are some examples of ways your company supports or advocates for the LGBTQIA+ community beyond the month of June?
Our dedication to supporting and advocating for the LGBTQIA+ community is a year-round commitment filled with positivity and inclusivity. In partnership with our PRIDE Affinity Group, we proudly host a diverse array of events such as a speaker series, where distinguished individuals share their experiences and insights, fostering inspiration and empowerment within the PRIDE community.
We also recognize the importance of intersectionality by collaborating with other Affinity Groups to ensure that our events and initiatives are inclusive of all identities and experiences. We raise awareness by shining a spotlight on and commemorating significant milestones such as National Coming Out Day and Transgender Day of Remembrance, ensuring that every member of the LGBTQIA+ spectrum receives the visibility and recognition they deserve.
Moreover, we continuously offer enriching educational opportunities through workshops, training sessions and resources, cultivating understanding, allyship and equity throughout our organization.
How does your company support and empower the LGBTQIA+ members of your team?
We’re all about empowering our LGBTQIA+ team members by fostering an inclusive and engaged culture. One way we achieve this is through our selection process for Affinity Group Co-Leads. We encourage colleagues from all corners of the organization to step up and express interest in leading any of our Affinity Groups. This inclusive approach ensures that diverse voices are heard and valued in our decision-making processes.
Additionally, we provide comprehensive benefits tailored to the needs of LGBTQIA+ employees, including healthcare coverage that encompasses gender-affirming care, mental health resources and family planning support.
The results speak for themselves: our approach has brought about genuine connections, transparency and authenticity. It’s all part of creating a vibrant sense of belonging for LGBTQIA+ members and allies alike.
Describe how your ERGs are structured. What factors, such as steering committees and leadership support, play a role in upholding these groups?
At Gusto, our nine affinity groups are a central part of how we build belonging and strengthen our business. These groups bring together members and allies around shared identities and experiences, guided by two co-leads, a community clerk and an executive sponsor who ensures the group’s perspectives are heard by leaders across the company. As program manager, I provide continuity, align their efforts with company priorities and make sure each group has the resources and confidence to lead. This structure empowers employees, fosters collaboration and drives meaningful impact across the organization.
How do the company’s ERGs ensure employees play a role in the decision-making process? What opportunities do team members have to share their opinions and ideas about initiatives and policies?
Our communities provide multiple ways for employees to communicate and engage, including Slack channels, monthly group meetings and a dedicated monthly touchpoint with me for all group leads. These forums provide us with a clear view of the overall culture, highlight areas where we can improve and enable us to adapt initiatives as needed. Employees’ ideas and feedback directly inform programs, policies and initiatives. As a program manager, I help ensure these conversations are productive, aligned with business priorities and drive meaningful impact across the organization.
Share examples of some of the initiatives offered by one or more of your company’s ERGs. How do these opportunities enable employees to connect, learn and grow together?
Our ERGs create opportunities for employees to connect, learn and grow in ways that truly reflect the needs of their communities. Families with Gusto hosts mentorship circles and speaker events tailored to different family experiences, Juntos with Gusto offers sessions on financial literacy and Women with Gusto organizes virtual events like a breast cancer awareness walk. In one thoughtful initiative, the 40-plus with Gusto group provided resources for non-drinkers heading into the holiday season, ensuring all employees felt seen and supported. This is just a small glimpse into the work of our nine groups, whose engaged initiatives empower members and allies to build connection, share knowledge and contribute meaningfully across the company.
What makes you feel supported and valued at Gusto on a day-to-day basis?
On a day-to-day basis, a big part of feeling supported comes down to trust and collaboration. At Gusto, there’s a strong sense that people are trusted to do their best work, and that shows up in how teams operate.
Engineers are encouraged to share ideas, challenge assumptions, and contribute to decisions, regardless of title. That kind of environment makes people feel like their perspective actually matters.
There’s also a strong culture of teammates helping each other out. Whether it’s jumping in to unblock someone, offering feedback on an idea or sharing context across teams, people are genuinely invested in each other’s success. That combination of trust, openness and support is what makes the day-to-day experience feel both collaborative and rewarding.
How does your team prevent burnout while still delivering meaningful work?
Preventing burnout is a two-way street. As leaders, we have a responsibility to create psychological safety so people feel comfortable raising concerns early and often, especially when unexpected curveballs come up. At the same time, it’s important for individuals to speak up when something starts to feel unsustainable.
Product development rarely moves in a perfectly steady line. It tends to come in peaks and troughs — moments where teams are pushing hard to deliver something meaningful, followed by periods where things stabilize again. The key is making sure those peaks don’t become the constant state.
If someone is experiencing a lot of peaks, we should talk about it. If someone feels stuck in the troughs and isn’t feeling challenged, we should talk about that, too. Part of my role is helping teams find that sustainable middle ground so people can do great work without burning out.
Ultimately, we’re not looking for people to work 50-hour weeks to succeed here. The goal is meaningful impact delivered at a pace that people can sustain over the long term.
What’s one way Gusto shows appreciation that genuinely resonates with employees?
Great question. There are table stakes when it comes to working at any tech company — competitive salary, strong benefits and opportunities for career growth. Those things are expected, and rightly so.
What really differentiates companies is their reputation for how they treat people. I’ve been working in software development for over 25 years, and honestly I didn’t fully understand what a truly people-first company looked like until I joined Xero in 2014, which shares a lot of cultural similarities with Gusto.
At companies like Gusto, the “people-first” philosophy isn’t just something you see on a slide or a careers page. It shows up when life happens. If someone needs time or space to deal with something outside of work, the company genuinely supports that. That kind of trust and respect tends to be reciprocated. When people feel supported as humans first, they’re naturally more invested in the success of the company and their teammates. That’s certainly been my experience.
What People Are Saying About Gusto
-
Collaborative & Supportive Culture: Colleagues are described as learning‑minded with thoughtful engineering leadership and strong onboarding that supports day‑to‑day work. Some teams highlight peers who help each other grow and recognize contributions tied to the mission.
-
People-First Culture: Employee resource groups and Belonging initiatives are positioned to help people feel seen and connected. Company materials emphasize inclusion as a core part of the employee experience.
-
Fair & Equitable Treatment: Total-rewards and benefits are framed as clear, supportive programs intended to help every employee thrive. When executed well, these offerings reinforce that people are cared for and valued.
Gusto's Benefits
Employee feedback used to shape policies and strategy
Encourages autonomy and ownership from employees
Managers offer consistent feedback loops
Quarterly engagement surveys to gauge employee satisfaction
Has employee-led culture committees
Offers Employee Resource Groups
Offers wellness initiatives designed to combat burnout and mental fatigue
Provides employees with ability to schedule focus-time blocks
Provides onsite meditation space
Works with employees to create a sustainable work pace
Defined values and mission statements
Engineering team utilizes pair programming
Hosts in-person all-hands meetings
Leadership encourages open, transparent debate
Leadership is transparent and communicative
Mistakes are treated as learning opportunities
Open office floor plan to encourage communication and collaboration
Policies promote a low-ego, team-driven culture
Prioritizes mission-driven work in decision-making processes
Prioritizes real-world impact of work in decision-making processes
Async-friendly policies, culture that encourage work flexibility
Offers a remote work program
Provides work from home flexibility
Utilizes a hybrid work model
