Does American Red Cross pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, American Red Cross employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.2 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at American Red Cross. This rating has decreased by 1% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at American Red Cross?

50% of American Red Cross employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated American Red Cross 2.8 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.3 for culture and values and 3.1 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at American Red Cross?

Phlebotomist (170) , Account Manager (112) , Volunteer (103) , Mobile Phlebotomist (83) , Disaster Program Manager (68) , Intern (59) , Manager (55) , Disaster Program Specialist (50) , Donor Recruitment Representative (45) , Collections Specialist (43) , Instructor (42) , Lab Technician (40) , Team Supervisor (40) , Director (39) , Supervisor (38)

What are the pros of working at American Red Cross according to real employee reviews?

"The Red Cross volunteers are great people to work with and the chapters function much like a family unit." ((in 433 reviews)); "Good benefits and meet lots of cool donors." ((in 233 reviews)); "Great Coworkers and Supivisors" ((in 104 reviews)); "They’re training was good for those who never had phlebotomy experience before and even for those who were already a phlebotomist." ((in 87 reviews)); "Very predictable and such great staff" ((in 76 reviews))

What are the cons of working at American Red Cross according to real employee reviews?

"Poor management led to poor results for the program I was working on" ((in 326 reviews)); "Pay is low and when disaster strikes you have to be willing to man shelters with the volunteers." ((in 293 reviews)); "Long hours and often with short notice due to emergencies." ((in 135 reviews)); "No work/life balance (it's required that you still check and respond to emails while on PTO)." ((in 129 reviews)); "leadership is poor and not supportive" ((in 109 reviews))

What are employees saying about American Red Cross layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about American Red Cross layoffs and their outlook for job security at American Red Cross in 2026.

American Red Cross reviews

3.3

50% would recommend to a friend

(4,606 total reviews)

Gail McGovern

68% approve of CEO

48% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.8

Diversity & inclusion

3.3

Culture & values

3.2

Compensation and benefits

3.1

Career opportunities

2.8

Work/Life balance

2.8

Senior management

American Red Cross has an employee rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars, based on 4,606 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The American Red Cross 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).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

5K reviews

2.0

Dec 2, 2014

Disaster Services, The Real Disaster...

Disaster specialist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Disaster volunteers are wonderful to work with. Great opportunities to assist disaster clients locally and work alongside others who believe in the mission.

Cons

Staff is under appreciated and constantly on edge due to organizational changes every 10-16 months. Decisions made at the national level do not take into account geopolitical issues at the local level and are therefore creating problems between regional staff and local partners. I heard too many complaints about Red Cross closing offices and eliminating local staff, creating an impression that Red Cross is no longer there for the COMMUNITY. Very poor work/life balance, and with the hours you are expected to put in during normal day to day operations, you would expect a reasonable salary. Yes, it's a non profit so you can't expect to make it big, but managing disaster operations in 8+ counties and making less than half what a single counties emergency manager makes is ridiculous.

1.0

Oct 1, 2014

Gail McGovern is driving it into the ground

Chief executive officer - regional

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The organization has an amazing mission and does amazing work for the people of the country and the world.

Cons

Gail has hired so many cronies from around the country that it is becoming such a horrible organization to work for. They are laying of 30% of the people, not treating them with respect or honoring loyalty. They mismanage everything. No one is happy. Everyone is looking to leave and Gail hasn't been fired. Any other company or organization would have cut the head off the snake. They ask the staff to do more with less and less and they expect staff to give all of their time and have no life. I have been in the non-profit world for 20 years and would say this is the most awful place I have worked.

4.0

Aug 8, 2014

Great mission! Not so great execution!

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Everyday your heart will sing about the incredible difference that you're making in the world. It's astounding, the level of impact and reach to communities and people in need. The work we do makes a difference.

Cons

Layered with red tape; stodgy, complicated and cumbersome systems; lots of silos; lots of starting and stopping; lots of plans are made only to abort them about 3 months; lots of nepotism and politics - must fit into the click; lots of rounds of layoffs; extreme lack of innovation and training

American Red Cross Response

11y

Thank you for your review. We appreciate your high praise for our mission and the difference we make in the community.We also thank you for addressing your concerns about day-to-day difficulties in functionality. We do recognize that there are many processes in our organization that can be streamlined. Some initiatives to do so are currently in progress, while others are being evaluated and developed. Your feedback has been heard and will be passed on to our leadership team.

Viewing 13 - 15 of 4,606 Reviews

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