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American Red Cross

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Locally great. National level makes it tough to stick around - Anonymous employee American Red Cross Employee Review

3.0
Feb 2, 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Very committed staff! Tight-knit community within the local staff despite being from different departments. Management on local level is very supportive. Volunteers take positions very seriously and are some of the most dedicated people I've worked with. Work-life balance is considered, which is very helpful in an organization that focuses on disaster and high-stress situation. There is a true concern about not having staff burnout or get emotionally run down.

Cons

Lack of communication between NHQ and the local Chapter staff. There seems to be an "us" vs "them" mentality when it comes to delivering services. Difficult for Chapter staff to back the information put out by National, as information does not always accurately reflect what the organization actually does. As in any NPO it is difficult to expand scope of services if materials (whether it be financial, staffing, or space) is not available

Explore other reviews about American Red Cross

5.0
Jun 30, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great humanitarian mission, non profit

Cons

None, great place to work

1
2.0
Mar 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You feel connected to a larger mission, and go to bed knowing you did good work. Most of the volunteers are amazing people. The job is a good stepping stone to other disaster management jobs elsewhere. PTO policy is generous and Healthcare is decent.

Cons

You are INCREDIBLY overworked and GROSSLY underpaid. You get zero work-life balance. Even when you're not on call, you'll still get tons of calls from volunteers with questions and concerns. If a volunteer is unavailable to respond to a fire call or tend to any other responsibility day or night, you're on deck. You're salaried, so there's no overtime pay. Your pay barely covers the basic cost of living in today's economy ($40k-$50k). Diversity is bottom heavy, meaning there are lots of employees of color in entry level or lower management roles, but beyond that there's a steep drop off. Most of the volunteers are great, but the Red Cross is so desperate to keep them, that poor behavior and language (racist/sexist/phobic) is not properly disciplined or responded to, if at all. Employee retention is poor, especially in the Disaster Specialist role, because they burn you out so quickly without decent pay.

2
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