employer cover photo
employer logo
employer logo

American Red Cross

Is this your company?

Love my job, despise how the company is run - Anonymous employee American Red Cross Employee Review

2.0
Jun 11, 2015
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The majority of our donors are great and friendly people who want to donate out of the kindness of their heart. Most of the employees are very friendly and easy to get along with. The Red Cross will train you how to do the job, there is no medical background required to be a phlebotomist which is great.

Cons

The insurance is garbage. The insurance is even worse if you are in a non union position. The union is the only thing keeping the wages high, and locally and nationally they have been trying to destroy the union for years. The Red Cross is going through a very rough patch as a whole. Google, "NPR Red Cross" to find the investigative story about how they wasted $500 million in Haiti, and likewise with Katrina and other disasters. They are constantly "Restructuring" the organization, which means they are eliminating a lot of positions in order to save money, they even just eliminated nearly every CEO position in the company to make up for the $100 million deficit in 2015. I absolutely love my job, but hate the way the company is run. I could go on for a long time, but simply put: The American Red Cross is a "humanitarian" organization that treats its employees horribly.

Explore other reviews about American Red Cross

5.0
Mar 30, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Flexible schedule, ability to choose healthcare provider, merit awards

Cons

Lack of transparency from leadership, favoritism towards those in their leadership programs

2.0
Mar 15, 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.

1
See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All