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Catholic Relief Services

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very poor culture - Anonymous employee Catholic Relief Services Employee Review

2.0
Jul 6, 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Many great people work here and the mission of helping poor is commendable. Benefits are fairly good and the physical work environment is also good. A nice renovation of an old building was done.

Cons

The overall culture of the organization is dismal. People are overworked, often asked to do two jobs for the pay of one. Very little respect is given to employees who do a good job or to older workers who have a depth of experience. It has become a place where the more you do, the more gets piled on you. Promotion depends not on what you know and do but who you know. People are brought in for interviews but management already knows who they are going to give the open position to, usually one of their buddies!!! Older employees are "encouraged" to retire as there is definitely a youth culture. Political correctness is overblown to the point of being restrictive! Management is not supportive of people they direct. The HR staff is inflated to the point of no one takes responsibility to actually support existing staff and questions are handed off to others - often 4 or 5 times - before an employee can get an answer...and often that answer is "go to the self help section on the intranet and you will find your answers." I worked at CRS for more than 15 years and saw the culture deteriorate from a warm friendly place to work to a cut-throat corporate culture where very little value was placed on employees with depth of experience. Sad as it used to be a good place to work. The way it is now, I would never recommend it to anyone as a good place to work. Too much stress, too little recognition for a job well done.

Explore other reviews about Catholic Relief Services

5.0
Jan 16, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

A positive organization to learn and grow in. This was my first employer in the international development and relief sphere and I found the org/it's people really encouraging of learning. They hire a lot from within and I saw many people have progressive roles.

Cons

There was a lawsuit about a gay employee not receiving benefits for their same-sex spouse, The org's hands are tied by the board made up of Catholic Bishops who unfortunately aren't moving on this issue.

3.0
Mar 20, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Remote work is amazing and flexible

Cons

Not enough staff so the work is broad

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