PETA Reviews

My coworkers at PETA were some of the kindest and hardest working people I've ever met so it's a shame that the corporate/employment side of the organization is all around terrible. I have never worked in such an unprofessional environment in my life and am honestly surprised the place is still "functioning" today. Some of my concerns (that were never addressed) include but are not limited to the following: - I can only recall 2 weeks within my entire career at PETA where I only worked 40 hours a week but was never recognized for my unpaid overtime. It only got worse when I eventually moved into management and was informed that coming in late after working weekends was not an option. Even when not a manager, they expect you to be on e-mail and essentially on-call around the clock and will be scolded if you don't. - I didn't take a full sick day for YEARS because there was never anyone to cover me and I always felt like I was going to be fired otherwise and yet the H.R. department had the audacity to send out an e-mail saying we should be taking less sick time because we're compromising the welfare of animals. This was particularly upsetting because I know that most of my coworkers worked around the clock and had no life outside of their jobs. - Promotions are rare and subjective. You can work your butt off, get nothing but good reviews but no career path or raise is ever promised. I knew people who were there for 5-6 years with no growth. - PETA asks its staff to donate money way too much. It's bad enough that people already don't make a lot of money there but they'll often ask staff to use their tax returns to donate to PETA, help with bail fees, etc. The president even sent out an e-mail saying in order to be considered real activists, we need to conserve every dollar possible and compared us to a woman living on a mattress on the floor. She needs to stop making her staff feel guilty for just trying to live normal lives. - Many of the staff in upper management are rude in their communication and are out of touch with reality. Others are untrained and often try to overstep into areas that they have no knowledge in, so their changes and input just create unnecessary work and waste peoples' time. - Some staff members spy on you and instead of talking to you directly, they report to the president like the organization is some sort of a cult. There was once a staff member who visited another PETA staffer who apparently hadn't cleaned her litter boxes frequently enough. Instead of talking to her directly, she contacted the president who then sent out a mass email to all of PETA shaming her in front of everyone. - PETA also struggles to understand what it takes to keep staff. If people are paid so low but the offices are located in some of the most expensive cities in the world, you'd think they would just let people work remotely to save money so they can stay longer and then PETA would SAVE money. However they do not allow that at all and then hold it against people when they leave. - The way they treat people who leave really turned me off, too. Some managers take it personally and will talk down to you when you leave claiming it's nothing to be proud of since you've "left the fight." They even say managers can't be a reference for former employees when applying to jobs!

1. Do you feel like middle and upper management are treating you like garbage? They are. 2. Do you feel like you are getting mixed and contradictory messages and directives from middle and upper management? You are. Example: You get hurried angry directives ("Do this NOW!!!") then within a day or so get the exact opposite directive? ("Why did you do that?? NEVER DO THAT!" And you're like.... You just asked me to do exactly that. ?? It's not just you. From what I've experienced/seen/heard it's happening to everyone. 3. Do you feel you have not been told your role or have not been trained? You haven't been! A lot of people at PETA are not trained and are not told the expectations of their job. This leaves them feeling afraid and ashamed because they do not have goals or expectations to meet. 4. Do you feel like the light, creative spirit and energy within you is being drained? It is! I loved working at PETA for much of my time there, but the toxicity drained me, and I know there is somone reading this who is wondering, "Is it just me? Is this my fault?" because they are so desperatly unhappy... If you are scrolling reviews because you think you should quit, but feel you should not, let this review be your PERMISSION to quit. It is not just you-- It is the culture at PETA. Your heart may be broken right now, but it will heal, and remember that the people who are belittling you are just imperfect people who are probably very scared of failing and of the responsibility of leadership. This does not make their mistreatment of you okay, but thinking of them that way may help you forgive them. You got your "dream job" at PETA and now it is a nightmare... ? I am sorry. It is alarming and devastating to feel this, but the reality of the situation is PETA is not your "dream job" ! You "climbed that mountain" (had an idea that PETA is your dream job, applied, then you got the job. Yahoo!), then you saw it for what it REALLY is (a real place that has good points and bad points, and maybe too many bad points for you to stay), so you'll need to turn around (maybe it is time to quit), and you don't know what that means about you (did you fail? Will there be another mountain? Will people think poorly of me?) If you quit, you are back at square one, and you might think "Did I give up on my dream?" NO! Finding out that PETA is not your dream job is getting you closer to your REAL dreams... so dig deeper to discover what those are. Animals need your real dreams to come true. Maybe it's more rewarding work at another charity.... Maybe it's Grassroots work... maybe you need to run for office.... Maybe you need to learn more about the systems that keep the meat industry running before you even know the next "mountain"... Maybe you need to quit PETA and do something else.