Pros
-Co-workers are like family. Gossip/cattiness etc. is non-existent. -Potential for long term employment- just don’t expect advancement or a raise. -Learn a tremendous amount about the workforce field, child care services, other non-profits. -WSA partners with so many commendable organizations. -Ability to work without being micromanaged. Treated as an adult. -Stellar benefits. I did have to take medical leave twice and staff were very supportive and I’ll always be sincerely grateful for that.
Cons
Money is always their bottom line. I had to take a medical leave, and the fiscal/accounting dept. gave me an amount to pay out of pocket for benefits for the time I was out. I wrote a money order for that amount and provided it. I did my due diligence- I had to take a borrow from my 401k which I didn’t want to do, take a loan and work a second job to come up with this amount. Later, I am told the number was miscalculated. They then proceeded to give me three other amounts and I could never be sure they knew they had the right amount or would have charged me more later. Additionally, due to an HR mistake, I had to pay back wages from a previously medical leave. They were deducting a few hundred from every pay check to make up for their mistake. I ultimately compromised because I loved my job and wanted to figure it out and put it behind us. But after my second medical leave, they told me I still owed a few hundred and had to pay it out of pocket within 30 days and no compromises would be made. They also failed to alert me there was a two week elimination period before receiving disability benefits. I didn’t have that happen the first leave because of whatever the HR mistake was, and I didn’t have paperwork about the disability because they filed everything on my behalf. Due to this, I had no idea or I would have prepared for that fiscally ahead of time. I wasn’t advised til later from others this is a standard thing for disability. So ultimately, I lost an entire paycheck, still had wages overdue I was paying off, then they wanted a few hundred more out of pocket within 30 days. It was an absolute nightmare and caused me personal financial ruin. Additionally, they ignored my requests for a position review. I was hired as a general administrative assistant, but within 3 months, the CEO sent out an email updating my job duties to those of an Executive Assistant type role. Now I don’t have a degree, so I wasn’t even expecting the minimum of what an Exec Assistant’s salary is, but I knew I still deserved a good amount more for my duties. I worked on an array of very difficult projects over the year I was there and only wanted to be properly compensated in alignment with my duties. I was told several times that I was “invaluable” and “irreplaceable.” I know I was a rockstar at my job. But at the end of the day, rather than compromise on these issues and work things out with me, or hear my requests for the position review, they said goodbye and deleted all my credentials within 24 hours. I always told people who say, “You will always be replaceable at a job,” that it isn’t true and the right job WILL value you because I thought I had found that. Come to find out, that is sadly untrue. I very much loved my job and adored my co-workers. Highly disappointed and sad at the outcome of this job separation.