Consider Your Options - Anonymous employee Population Services International Employee Review

Leadership regularly brings up low morale, low pay, long hours, bullying, toxic work environment, complete and total lack of HR in staff meetings but when it comes to making changes that would help address the root of the issue nothing meaningful is done. At first it was refreshing to see the CEO talking openly about these issues but years later I am just tired. Once leadership collected feedback but in the meeting to discuss the results we were told that none of the reasons we cited were accurate—we were not upset because of pay, burnout, toxic work culture—but because of office renovations. The conversation ended there. When employees expressed anxiety over job security (low cash problems due to COVID/bad management). Leadership’s response was to cut the conversation short saying we ‘should be adults’ when talking about these uncertainties. The message was clear ‘don’t complain if you are afraid of losing your job because that would make you look immature.’ Meanwhile rightsizing is coming. Bad management is rampant (and top heavy). There are managers that belittle, ignore, even yell at their staff. Others dump all the actual work on their staff with no guidance or support. Their names are known but if anyone asks that is not a trusted confidant you better not say anything for fear of retaliation. PSI has a non-retaliation policy that is a farse (see other glassdoor reviews of people who went to HR to with legitimate complaints of harassment only to be put on a performance improvement plan and let go). Given that HR is just as bad or worse at simultaneously doing nothing and being mean about it, it is not a surprise nothing is being done. Reminders of how lucky you are because ‘hundreds of people applied for your job and you were chosen’ with the unspoken and ‘hundreds more will apply when you are gone’ just to let you know that if you are upset about working conditions you can easily be replaced. Junior staff created a committee to bring complaints of harassment, bullying and low pay to leadership (notice they bypassed HR). The response was ‘PSI pays the market rate’ as if underpaying employees is acceptable because other organizations also do the same. The harassment was not addressed. The toxic work environment is so bad that people have exchanged stories about where the best place to cry is so often that it is common knowledge even if you do not need to. Turnover has been high which makes an organization already difficult to navigate even harder. There are no systems, no accountability, feeble attempts at keeping records and an attitude of ‘that’s not my job’ that permeates way too many interactions. There is a paralysis in decision making. It is literally no one’s job to make a decision. Because almost all work is done by lower level employees who do not have decision making authority, they find themselves running around like chickens with their heads cut off until even minor issues are escalated to the Vice President level (that isn’t too impressive, we have at least 10 of them now) where people who really shouldn’t be weighing in on the day-to-day have to get involved. People say ‘good luck’ when you tell them you are going to X person’s office because they have had to pull teeth to get X person to do their basic job functions. Racism from DC staff towards field staff is well known (see other glassdoor reviews). Expats (white, mostly Americans) who live in the countries we work yell at staff, make unfair demands to their time and say racist things. “These people cannot learn,” “these people are lazy,” “they will never understand,” “you have to hold their hands to get anything done.” Worth noting, many of these same people cannot be bothered to have a working knowledge of the 2nd (sometimes 3rd, 4th or 5th) language that local staff uses in the office. They cannot do basic daily tasks in the country they live in such as go to the market or catch a taxi on their own. If you are not sure why someone would move to a country where they do not like the people it's probably because they make 90k+ a year (with many making much more than 100k a year), plus 40% of their salary in cash benefits (that’s tax free), their kids tuition to exorbitantly expensive private schools are paid for, they get to go home 2 times a year on company/project funds, etc. In these countries drivers usually make around $500/month in salary and every expense report they submit is closely scrutinized because god forbid the guy making $6,000/year get an extra $20 in per diem (“those people are always out to take advantage of the system”). The positive reviews on glassdoor look like higher level staff (the one scolding people for leaving bad reviews was funny). They are generally happy because they make more money and are shielded from the worst of the office politics. Not surprisingly they often stay longer. Before you accept a position at PSI, read more of the reviews and really consider where you are in your career. I would not join PSI unless you are starting as a senior manager. It is not a place to grow your career.