Pros
Mission-driven: it is clear that employees care about our work, and that binds us in moving toward impact. Flexible: I appreciate working from home and the flexibility it brings. There is also flexibility in the types of work I get to do, how I interact with other teams, and even with ideas. I love that we can continue to innovate, iterate, and improve. Super smart talent: my colleagues are bright! Their experiences are varied and interesting. Compensation and benefits: I appreciate that Upstream pays at the high end of the nonprofit range. Great benefits. It is obvious that senior leadership cares about work-life balance. The holiday shutdown week is a wonderful treat. I know some people have complained about the fast pace, but for me this job and Upstream overall have been the most reasonably paced employment I’ve ever had. I have the least stress I’ve had in over a decade. Things are always changing, but that is my experience of healthcare, and I’d consider our continual evolution a positive.
Cons
We are often building the plane as we fly it. We do not always make the best use of our resources. I think we could do more with less. Some of the structures we have set up can be siloed (although I’ve never met a company where this isn’t the case). I’ve seen significant strides on diversity and inclusion during my tenure and we still have a ways to go. While I recognize our work could be limited by addressing the full range of reproductive care, including abortion, it feels out of alignment with our commitment to bodily autonomy and patient choice to not provide technical assistance on preconception and pregnancy termination counseling and education.
