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American Red Cross

Is this your company?

It's possibly the worst time in the company's history to seek employment at the American Red Cross (Biomedical). - Employee of ARC Blood Services American Red Cross Employee Review

2.0
Mar 12, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Many positions are set at hourly wages: you are paid for your overtime. You are providing a valuable service to humanity. Co-workers and supervisors are generally amiable and helpful individuals. Employer matches 401K contributions up to 4% with an additional annual contribution.

Cons

The organization has been plagued by years of ongoing layoffs and cost-saving re-engineering programs. The (once generous) benefits are consistently being rolled back and/or discontinued: the pension was discontinued; health insurance costs nearly doubled in the last year and management is clearly attempting to steer employees into high-deductible, high-coinsurance, high out-of pocket plans; through a conveniently labeled "standardization" of national PTO policy, most employees recently lost 3, 6 or more days of PTO per year. It is increasingly difficult to advance in a company that is either laying employees off or discontinuing positions through attrition. Resolving pay-related discrepancies is notoriously difficult due to unresponsive HR, Payroll and ADP (third party contractor) staff.

Explore other reviews about American Red Cross

5.0
Jun 30, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great humanitarian mission, non profit

Cons

None, great place to work

1
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.

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