The worst place to work - Anonymous employee Ashoka Employee Review

1.0
Jul 31, 2017
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Flexible work/life balance. Fellows because everyone just loves the fellows.

Cons

Ashoka was considered a groundbreaking organization back in the 80's when it brought management thinking into the non-profit sector to create social entrepreneurship. However, today Ashoka combines the worst aspects of the corporate world and the nonprofit sector. You will deal with all the invented jargon, unfulfilling work, and cold workplace culture of the corporate world with the disorganization, low pay, and directionless strategy of the nonprofit sector. Executive-level staff exhibit absolutely no leadership nor social-emotional intelligence, they have no accountability and "empower" junior and mid-level staff to be "entrepreneurial" so they can take credit for their work when the results are successful but have no problem throwing them under the bus to save themselves when it's not working out. You come to Ashoka believing that you'll be doing important work that will change the world, but within weeks you'll cruelly realize that you're only there to fulfill the disconnected CEO's utopian fantasy. There's a lot more which can be said about this organization: prominent 2-tier system of employees, inability to discover growth opportunities, lack of organizational vision, overpaid and underperforming senior staff. All this has been touched upon in prior reviews and doesn't need to be expounded upon.

Explore other reviews about Ashoka

5.0
Nov 26, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Very open culture, room for you to innovate and implement diff ideas

Cons

Understanding Ashoka jargon was hard to figure out

3.0
May 29, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

good work life balance, and wonderful coworkers

Cons

Top management is very resistant to changes

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