World Animal Protection Reviews

This organisation is constantly trying to prove to itself that it can do the job it purports to do, but fails in almost every way. Working here was a daily professional and personal slap in the face. As for work environment, you will observe adults behave like spoilt children after following the example set by senior management. Hard workers, late stayers and those with the most relevant sector experience will be bullied, exploited and demoralised, as they watch those in bed with the CEO promoted. I’ve never worked anywhere else with such a high turnover rate, or so many taking stress leave to recover from doing their office-based jobs. Do yourself a favour and work for a charity that cares about its employees, recognises effort, and applauds genuine passion for the cause. Steer clear of this soul destroying black hole in the animal welfare movement, where supporter donations go to die.

It’s very difficult to paint an excessively bleak picture of the state of WAP at the moment because despite the oft promised and hoped for “light-at-the-end-of-the–tunnel”, it never comes. What is also extraordinary is that the Board, who promised all the right things about wanting to be more involved, recognised that they had let people down, etc etc are either not bothered or (more possibly) oblivious to the ongoing misery which characterises the working environment. They may be helped in this regard by having a very artificial perspective on the State of WAP since it is all neatly and soothingly fed to them through the mouth of the CEO, now practiced in the art of explaining away any murmurings of discontent as the necessary and expected ripples issuing from the restructure (aka Night of the Long Knives). He offers up this silence as being an indication of support for the programme of change. In fact, what it represents is yet another manifestation of the fear of speaking out which has paralysed the organisation over the past two years and enabled the CEO to impose his authority. Those brave/suicidal enough to hold a different view were, almost without exception (and by the most extraordinary coincidence..), the same ones who were victims of the ‘restructure’. These were talented people who in many different ways helped the organisation become successful, dynamic and creative – winning campaigns, awards, helping animals. They may have had their flaws and/or egos but none were so great as to warrant the quite appalling way in which they were treated. But then the CEO has a long track record of shafting work colleagues. Far more flawed is the logic of getting shot of high achievers and replacing them with ranks of nodding dogs, who will answer the call of either master or mistress. What is ironic, is that having disposed of the services of some of these long-serving members of staff, on the basis that their work somehow didn’t “fit” with the new public face of WAP, work is now being done which pretty much replicates it. Bears were ‘out’ when the miscreants wanted to campaign on them, but now they are gone, you can’t move for them. But like everything at WAP right now, you don’t have a voice, you do what you are told and you don’t express a contrary view or opinion. Not only is it pointless, but you have a mortgage or rent to pay and shoes to buy for your kids and that kind of concentrates your mind.