APPRISE Reviews

Unfortunately, the upper management's abusive behaviors makes this an unbearable workplace for many despite all the benefits. When I started at APPRISE, I was quickly in a position where I was regularly reprimanded for the quality of my work, often in a very impolite and unprofessional way. At first, I thought this was my fault. Then, I started talking to my coworkers and quickly realized they had similar concerns. I felt like I was very often blamed for mistakes that were ultimately the result of lack of communication and vague instructions by the management, and many coworkers shared this impression with me. Moreover, I found the office environment stifling and very uptight. There was a work schedule that everyone had to adhere to, which is often not the case for consulting and non-profit jobs, as there is usually much more flexibility as to when you can be in the office, provided you complete your work. I also felt micromanaged in many other aspects of how and when I did my work. In my opinion, this boiled down to the CEO's insecurity that work won't be completed unless all aspects of the employees' office presence were strictly controlled. This highly authoritarian management style of the CEO became even more obvious when the CEO was not of the office. You could tell that the employees felt much more relaxed and even happy these days, and some were even longing for the CEO's absence. The management did not show any willingness or serious effort to welcome feedback or improve upon workers' recommendations. The management grossly mismanaged their pandemic response. I and many of my colleagues were concerned about their response but we felt like our concerns were met with disregard, minimization, and scare tactics. When he management created a "recommendations dropbox" in a half-hearted attempt to request feedback many employees were too scared to use it in fear of facing repercussions. Ultimately, this is a very unhealthy, toxic, and oppressive work environment. Having worked in multiple office settings, I have never been in one with a more authoritarian, stifling, and oppressive boss. My experience working there was the most convincing case anyone could make to me for workplace democracy.

As other reviewers have said, the two co-founders lead through fear rather than love. For people who take criticism very personally, the stress is overwhelming and work becomes a hostile place. I have a thicker skin and didn't mind the criticism so much -- but I realized how little respect, responsibility, and trust I was really getting, so I quickly left once I found a better opportunity. The people who last a long time at APPRISE seem to be okay tolerating an environment where they are routinely disrespected. The workplace culture also does not reflect the exciting set of issues we work on (helping the poor! saving the environment!). There is a sense that rigor and accountability are important -- after all, APPRISE mostly does program evaluation work -- but there is no larger sense of being part of something meaningful.