Whether you’re applying for a new job or just searching for gossip, Glassdoor is a great place to start looking into for insider info. In a previous post, Blue Tent reviewed hundreds of anonymous postings about dozens of progressive organizations in hopes of finding some common experiences among the left’s professional workforce (see that story for our caveats about the limits of Glassdoor reviews).
While the bad reviews always stick out, plenty of supposed current and former workers also sang the praises of their employers. Of those with the highest average reviews (Glassdoor allows ratings between one and five stars), Blue Tent gathered those with at least 10 postings (many of these organizations have even fewer), and picked five of those to highlight as some of the best big-name progressive workplaces according to their anonymous reviews.
5. Common Cause
Average rating: 4.0
The 50-year-old good government nonprofit is one of the country’s leading liberal watchdogs, and according to one Glassdoor review, “Common Cause is the gold standard in public interest lobbying groups.” While that endorsement sounds like it may have been written by the organization itself, Common Cause’s 27 reviews are overwhelmingly positive, with current and former employees praising the quality of its work and the organization’s inclusive use of interns. Like those for many progressive organizations, reviews of Common Cause often cite the important issues the group works on as a highlight. While some reviews critique management for unsteady workloads and trouble communicating, most posters were still very positive about their experience.
4. UAW
Average rating: 4.0
The United Auto Workers, based in Detroit, Michigan, is one of the country’s biggest and most influential unions. As one of our previous Glassdoor stories noted, union workers more frequently cite good salaries and benefits. The UAW is no exception here, with positive reviews noting solid pay, insurance, flexibility and vacation time as perks of the job, along with the joys of solidarity, another frequent positive from union workers. There are also plenty of negative mentions of “office politics” (again, frequent for unions) but the good seems to outweigh the bad by quite a bit.
3. Drug Policy Alliance
Average rating: 4.3
We’ll refrain from any jokes about why people at the Drug Policy Alliance are usually in such a good mood, and focus instead on what’s actually mentioned in their Glassdoor postings. Along with claimed perks like free lunch on Fridays, current and former employees of the anti-drug war group say that the simple nature of the work itself is the best thing about the job. As one of the few big-name organizations leading the way in fights over the war on drugs, employees of Drug Policy Alliance get to work on “cutting edge” policies that are “exciting” and “engaging.” One positive review also noted that the organization also has a strong “self-starter culture” that rewards the intrinsically motivated, but can make starting out tough. Another reviewer pointing to trouble in paradise notes: “Elevators required to take smoke breaks.” Well, no office is perfect.
2. Innocence Project
Average rating: 4.3
Working on behalf of innocent people facing life in prison or even death row doesn’t sound like very pleasant work. But thanks to good benefits and passionate colleagues, working for the Innocence Project is one of the best progressive gigs around, according to Glassdoor. The 28-year-old legal advocacy and criminal justice reform group offers a good professional environment and effective training for younger lawyers, according to its online reviews, with work that is about as personally meaningful as one could imagine. The impact of the work, however, also appears to be one of the few drawbacks of working at the Innocence Project. Losses are much more personal, with one former employee citing the personal trauma that came when a client they believed to be innocent was executed. When the stakes are that high, losses are a true burden.
1. MoveOn
Average rating: 4.3
Long known as a nerve center for online progressive activism, MoveOn has built—according to Glassdoor—one of the very best workplace experiences of any organization on the left. Current and former employees cite great pay, benefits and attention to work/life balance among the best parts of working at MoveOn. Key to MoveOn’s success, posters write, is the group’s entirely remote workforce, allowing staffers to live wherever they like and work from home, subsidized by home office stipends and “wellness benefits.” The one catch, as many of us have learned, is that remote work can be a bit lonely, and syncing schedules is also a challenge when half of your co-workers live in a different time zone. Nevertheless, MoveOn tops Blue Tent’s list of the best-rated progressive workplaces according to Glassdoor.
Did we miss a great workplace? Do you or someone you know work at one of the above groups and have qualms with the online reviews? Get in touch and let us know.
