PBS Reviews

3.9

74% would recommend to a friend

(338 total reviews)
avatar

Paula A. Kerger

94% approve of CEO

45% positive business outlook

PBS has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 338 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The PBS employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Media and communication industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

338 reviews
3.0
26 Jun 2020

Great, but Problematic at times

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Working at PBS was a good experience. I loved my co-workers and the other employees that worked there. There are a lot of lifers there who have been there 8+ years. Super-friendly staff and supportive coworkers. One of the best work environments that I have ever worked in when it comes to the people there. The work/life balance is flexible and they are understanding of when things pop-up. We're all humans who have kids, houses, spouses and families, and they treat you like it.

Cons

The major downside of PBS is that 90% of the upper management are white. There is hardly any diversity when it comes to 'positions in power.' Their audience is underserved communities (whom are a majority of BIPOC), and most of the PBS staff are white and can't really relate to living in an underserved community. It rubbed me as an almost 'White Savior' mentality. They do great work there, but at times I felt that the white voices drowned out the minorities that worked there. It would have been great to see more people of color in higher positions and more upward mobility. One of my co-workers had to work under a boss who was problematic; Would use micro-aggressions and belittle them in front of contractors, and also would gaslight them whenever they brought up these issues. This issue was pushed to the side by upper management and never dealt with. The same boss would do it to other minorities on other teams in meetings and it was also pushed under the rug. For being a non-profit that serves underserved communities, it's my hope that they do better when it comes to diversity & inclusion trainings for their staff, deal with prejudices amongst their staff and hire more people of color in management positions.

1.0
3 Mar 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great work/life balance and you can feel proud about the quality content the org produces

Cons

Many things others have said are true - low pay, difficult to advance, lack of innovation, passive aggressive employees, etc. But even worse than that, the culture is extremely toxic. Many managers are rude and disrespectful to staff, yet are still supported and even promoted by management. For people of color, the situation is particularly bad. I repeatedly heard other employees making racist and insensitive comments without any concern about professionalism or what is appropriate in the workplace. This may have been specific to the digital/marketing department, but the fact that this behavior was allowed to persist for so long speaks to the values of the larger organization.

3.0
25 Oct 2015

A good place to start a media career

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Extremely positive brand reputation, enthusiastic co-workers, relatively easy hours, decent benefits. PBS (I'm referring to the main headquarters in Crystal City) is a great place to start a career in media. If on the right team, you get a fair amount of autotomy and you can feel proud to be creating a quality product. Most co-workers are easy-going and good natured.

Cons

Confused/muddled overall strategic direction, weak upper management, absurd waste in certain areas (e.g. bad content and platforms) but penny-pinching in others (e.g. salary). As the rest of the media world is trying to rapidly innovate in a changing landscape, PBS always feels a few steps behind. Well-intentioned managers with poor strategic vision tend to delay and ruin projects. Lots of mid-career folks just parked at an easy job while raising kids. HR seems to ignore management quality issues that have led to high turnover rates in certain departments.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 338 Reviews

Glassdoor has 470 PBS reviews submitted anonymously by PBS employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if PBS is right for you.