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American Red Cross

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HQ Senior Management & Board of Govenors Tragically Clueless - Anonymous employee American Red Cross Employee Review

2.0
1 Mar 2012
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Seriously, who wouldn't want to make a career out of helping disaster victims, military families, critically ill patients and school children who want to learn to swim?

Cons

HQ Senior Leadership, who seem to have no understanding of the grass-roots, volunteer-led (and volunteer dependent) nature of the Red Cross, have been floundering for the past 4 years. To field leadership, employees and volunteers, the leadership in DC appears tragically clueless. Extremely expensive, ineffective, counter-productive and stressful changes and consolidations have become the norm. Sadly, even with its amazing mission, I wouldn't recommend accepting a position with the Red Cross for the forseeable future.

Explore other reviews about American Red Cross

5.0
14 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Friendly people and good work

Cons

No cons for this company

2.0
15 Mar 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.

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