J-PAL Reviews

Nothing much. Its improving day by day

I worked as a manager here for over 2 years and boy, was this an unhappy place to be. First, I need to clarify: this is a huge organization. There are offices all over the world. I worked in the Cambridge office. The overall executive director of this organization verbally abuses his employees to the point that they literally cry (this did not happen to me, but to many others). It is remarkable to see this type of treatment tolerated in a modern-day workforce, but it is allowed because it is really not that out of line with the culture. The culture, is, in general, extremely hierarchical. Employees lower down the ladder are directly devalued, to the point that it is assumed they are not going to stay for over two years. Managers are also not treated very well, and there is little actual room for advancement. During my time at the organization over half of the managers left. Several others left in the months after I departed.