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American Red Cross

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Decreased Morale and Lack of Innovation - Anonymous employee American Red Cross Employee Review

1.0
21 Mar 2023
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Being part of an organization with a long-standing history of providing humanitarian aid to those in need is a formidable mission.

Cons

Working at the American Red Cross humanitarian organization is highly respected, yet it may not be the ideal workplace due to the low salary and long hours. The demographic is mostly caucasian with long tenures, resulting in a lack of innovation. Highly skilled workers may feel limited by the structured hierarchical system, which can hinder creativity. Additionally, the multiple layers of management between upper and lower-level staff often lead to a lack of transparency and visibility into the decisions made by executives. This can leave employees feeling in the dark and not as invested in the organization, resulting in decreased morale. In short, the American Red Cross is a respected organization but may not be the ideal workplace due to issues with salary, innovation, and job satisfaction.

Explore other reviews about American Red Cross

5.0
4 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good work life balance, fair pay and great work environment

Cons

Not a lot of upward mobility unless you find a different role in the organization. It’s also hard to switch between departments

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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