UNHCR reviews

3.8

72% would recommend to a friend

(841 total reviews)
avatar

António Guterres

75% approve of CEO

60% positive business outlook

UNHCR has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 841 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The UNHCR employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the ONG y Organizaciones sin fines de lucro industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

841 reviews
1.0
Jun 8, 2022

Fantastic mandate... horrible working conditions and management

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Mandate, context of intervention, field work are great. Good compensation and benefits but only for FTA/TA.

Cons

Horrible management in HQ: too many political games, poor communication, no vision and no guts. It can be very difficult for commited staff trying to do their best, working passionately as they are frequently not listened to nor trusted. People eventually stop trying to come up with solutions and follow their managers decisions silently...or they quit. Very frustrating experience when you know that the ultimate mission is to support people in need and instead of that you just see powerful managers prioritizing their careers. Poor HR support & advice (they are in Budapest far from your concerns). Career opportunities are limited without intense networking and competition is high for every position. Definitely a toxic working environment.

2.0
Dec 15, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Meaningful work International and diverse colleagues Regular training and learning opportunities Great health insurance coverage

Cons

UNHCR compels local staff in countries to take up G Level positions who carry out the SAME work as international staff, international staff gets paid international salary in USD while local staff gets paid a small local salary. Staff are treated as dispensable because there's always new recruits wanting to join UN agencies. UNHCR work can also be emotionally heavy, UNHCR needs to take more proactive steps to protect staff mental health.

3.0
Mar 30, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

UNHCR does what it can to help their staff, but there are still abusive managers in places far from their Geneva and Copenhagen head quarters.

Cons

There is a lot of affiliate work force that does the same or more than the amount of work of the UNHCR staff. However, they get less benefits and have less protection. While they do the same amount, they are treated like second class citizens. Middle managers and officers are bullying and verbally abusive to staff. However, management are often powerless to stop such abuses. There has been incidences if reporting to higher ups, but perpetrators are still in the system and nothing is done about their abusive behavior. Additionally, assistants, associates, and affiliates are hesitant to speak up due to repercussions. This has already occurred in a certain office in south east Asia. Managers are never reviewed by their staff, which should be common on practice.

Viewing 19 - 21 of 841 Reviews

Glassdoor has 1,321 UNHCR reviews submitted anonymously by UNHCR employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if UNHCR is right for you.