Pros
- An excellent mission, this is something that we desperately need in this country. - Their most recent strategic plan has a lot of promise...if leadership can get out of its own way. - Work from home ability is good. - Good pay IF you negotiate. They will low-ball you at first--theyre a nonprofit after all, that's how it works. Regardless, excellent benefits across the board. - If you have a good manager who can protect you from the whims and woes of leadership, gfy. If not, the HR team is responsive albeit hamstrung by leadership. - Somewhat self aware of the growth it needs to take; has invested in change management consultation and recently introduced a new system that ideally introduces all involved parties into new initiatives sooner into the process to allow for better planning and collaboration.
Cons
TLDR; Unless you don't value your dignity, or for some reason love being disrespected and frequently undervalued by your coworkers, tread boldly to make change or avoid at all costs -- this place does not practice what it preaches for its employees. ------ The org has grown exponentially in the past three years but it has not taken the steps that it needs to accommodate the needed foundation of support and strategy that is provided by its smaller, supporting teams. As a result, the org is very lopsided in output, and the largest department has a nasty habit of overpromising what it is capable of producing, and more often than not, puts the stress of accomplishing it anyway on otherwise understaffed, under-resourced, and underappreciated and undervalued team members. Leadership in this department, both executive and upper mgmt, take little accountability for their role in the stress and tension this causes, and instead delights in pointing fingers and playing the blame game against their respective colleagues--I have never been to so many meetings just to talk about who didn't do what without the person in question present and how they are not a part of something when they can't even communicate directly what it is that they are seeking for. This hostile environment extends beyond staff, and can be witnessed on a higher level within the executive leadership team, quashing any faith in making progress — it's tough to trust that people will respect you as a staff member if it's clear that they do not respect your boss. And it's VERY clear. They are not coy about it — the red flags are abundant once you've been hired. Despite many efforts to try to create new systems that support the smaller team in opposition to a large and demanding group, certain protected parties continue to exacerbate the problem without viable long-term solutions. They will wring a team dry with bandaid solutions until they get what they want, stave off useful information until the last minute, and then be confused as to why their grandiose and big idea that they did not effectively communicate with enough heads up to the actual teams that have to execute and promote the work flops. Active Minds talks a big game but at the expense of the mental health and well-being of its teams that support the work that they are doing. Morale is low across staff and management due to leadership's lack of accountability and inevitability to swoop and poop on a strategy or effort to change the status quo and further the strategic plan they have laid out. Furthermore, despite accomplishing the impossible through long hours that stretch into the weekend, stressful breakdowns, and unnecessary conflict brought about by micro-management, they refuse promotions, recognition, and compensational time that reflect the amount of output the team has produced. This is especially difficult to stomach when other staff members brag about not having anything to do during their weekdays or playing video games at work to pass the time. It is not fair, just, or equitable. It is promising that leadership has invested in change management consultation, but extremely clear that they are still resistant to the "being the mental health change" they want to see in the world. The contradictions could be dizzying at times — friends, family, colleagues from the very same organization, and my therapist have often compared this working relationship to an abusive romantic one. Good luck with making a change, or get out while you can.
