employer cover photo
employer logo
employer logo

American Red Cross

Is this your company?

Constant harassment and incompetence - Blood Collections Specialist American Red Cross Employee Review

1.0
Sep 21, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Perhaps there are better jobs outside of the collections department. Many people who start in collections stick with it long enough to work in a different department and seem happy, but very few people work long-term in collections.

Cons

I heard jokes and offensive comments about women, jews, rape, black people, hispanics, etc without fail every single week from staff there. Several from my trainers, one who expressed that "men are just better than women" to a group of trainees, including myself. I spoke up about it and nothing was done. I came from a hospital background and found that most instructors had no technical knowledge of how blood products are actually used medicinally. My instructor fell asleep on the first day of teaching us about our job at the company, and his boss came in the room and thought it was funny. No one in management could figure out where one employee (who had to commute for mandatory training) was supposed to clock in, and the issue was not resolved for months. When I got fed up and quit there wasn't anyone to actually quit to that day, so I sent an email to their concerns group about why I was quitting. HR routinely leaves every friday, and sure enough they were gone before 2 pm that day, so I couldn't even quit to them.They sent me a letter saying I had been terminated for not showing up, the next week, even though I had quit and told them so. The sheer incompetency of every single department was apparent to me while working there. The additional week meant they subtracted 400$ from my remaining checks (their insurance is EXPENSIVE and not good). My first check was full, for one week of work, but every check after that retroactively subtracted additional pay for benefits, even though I didn't have my cards yet. When I called to ask how to get my money back for the last month of checks no one knew who to talk to. The collections department is not allowed to have breaks longer than 30 minutes, even when working long shifts, which seems as though it is illegal.

Explore other reviews about American Red Cross

5.0
Apr 16, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

My experience working with the Red Cross has been great. The work is fulfilling and the people are passionate. Benefits are good - Kaiser is $6 a month!

Cons

There is work life balance, but there is an expectation to work nights and weekends.

3.0
Jul 9, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-Meaningful, mission-driven work that makes a real impact in people's lives during times of crisis. -Flexible remote work when not actively responding to disasters. -Volunteers are the heart of the organization. Many are passionate, dedicated, and genuinely enjoyable to work with. -Building strong relationships with volunteers creates an incredible support system. Many go above and beyond to help staff because they recognize the workload and truly care about the mission. -Unique opportunities to gain experience in disaster response, emergency management, crisis management, leadership, and volunteer management. -Deployment opportunities that provide exceptional professional and personal growth. -Every day is different, offering a wide variety of experiences and continuous learning. -Strong sense of teamwork and camaraderie during disaster operations.

Cons

-Inconsistent accountability for poor leadership and management behaviors. -Toxic relationship dynamics that overlook behaviors. -High burnout and chronic turnover; many employees do not remain beyond two years. -Unsustainable workload paired with unrealistic expectations. -Leadership often prioritizes metrics over employee well-being and long-term program sustainability. -Staff are frequently expected to fill operational gaps caused by declining volunteer capacity instead of receiving additional staffing support. -On-call responsibilities can feel like being available 24/7. Even when not officially on call, staff often receive calls from volunteers needing guidance, assistance finding disaster responders, or language support. -Employees who speak a second language are frequently relied upon across multiple territories for translation assistance without corresponding workload adjustments. Although translation services exist, using them is often discouraged, placing additional burden on bilingual staff. -PTO can be difficult to fully utilize because work continues to accumulate and responsibilities often remain waiting upon return. -Compensation does not reflect the workload, level of responsibility, or work-life sacrifices expected. Salaried employees often work well beyond 40 hours without additional compensation. - Recognition and incentives appear to be uneven across departments, while frontline disaster relief staff often carry significant operational demands with limited comparable rewards. -Diversity is more visible in entry-level and lower management roles than in senior leadership.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All