I feel compelled to leave a review after seeing so many of my colleagues speaking out, and so desperately trying to be heard after months and months of feedback being ignored internally.
38 Degrees is about to hire for a new CEO and new campaigner roles — please, please think carefully before applying for or accepting these roles.
38 Degrees’ organisational culture is in crisis, and it has been for a while. Staff turnover is extremely high - around half of the entire campaigns team has progressively left in the past 12 months. New starters routinely leave before their probation period ends. Of the staff who are left there now, many are absolutely desperately looking to leave.
The approach by management is hostile and aggressive, and trust between leadership and staff is dismally low. Staff pay rises have been slashed, despite the organisation returning a large surplus — while at the same time, the CEO’s salary has been increased 25% to be up to £100,000. Leadership at 38D (which *absolutely* includes the board and board chair) have repeatedly failed to listen to staff who have raised concerns — staff are trying to escalate their concerns, leadership refuse to engage or deny what they’re raising, and the staff members eventually have no choice but to eventually resign in frustration.
Every organisation is institutionally racist, but 38 Degrees’ lack of investment in both anti-racism campaigning and policies says it all about how deeply entrenched the systems of oppression are at this workplace. When racism has been called out, both privately and in all-team sessions, it has been met by denial, and a refusal to engage with or rectify the issues.
As an organisation, 38 Degrees are failing to do the hard work when it comes to dealing with oppression. In fact, what we're doing is one step worse - we're making the public statements when there's external pressure (i.e. George Floyd), and then failing to follow through with anything substantive. We are consistently centring the voices and perspectives of those who need it the least — of older, wealthier and white people.
This organisation has no impact in the real world, and simply just churns out populist, centrist petitions and non-stop fundraising emails. Being a campaigner here is soul destroying — like being at a worse, more impotent version of change.org.
I think our model borders on being fraudulent at times — as we constantly ask our (older) members for money, and then almost never actually do campaigning other than just engaging and reengaging our email list with meaningless petitions.
I remember reading a message from a woman who was so poor, but she had decided to donate her heating allowance to 38 Degrees. It broke my heart — I became a campaigner to help people like her, not to mislead them into giving us donations. It really is soul destroying.
If you’re thinking about applying to be the next CEO — this is the model of campaigning and 5 year strategy that you’re going to inherit and need to implement. It’s running an organisation like a business, designed to hit unrelenting income goals — not a venture trying to make the UK a fairer and more equitable place.
I would not recommend working here to anyone.
