APA Reviews

Pros

APA is a great place to work in terms of providing an excellent work/life balance and very good benefits including onsite gyms, generous PTO and classes such as lunchtime yoga and pilates. I do get the feeling that the executive office genuinely wants to provide a good environment for it's employees.

Cons

The cons are more to do with actual opportunities. Though this will greatly vary between offices since many operate autonomously. There is no real trajectory for advancement, just general categories of the Director level, the middle level and the assistant level. In many cases, getting to the Director level requires a PhD and specialized knowledge in an area of psychology, so it's not likely that someone who came to APA starting at the assistant level would reach the Director level (unless the took some years off to go back to school and get their PhD). I think that for many people coming in at the assistant or middle levels who are serious about their careers would likely find APA as more of a good base point. A place to work for a couple years and move on. The upside is that the salaries aren't bad, the benefits are great and all in all it's not a particularly stressful environment so it's ideal for people who aren't 100% career focused. This is a great place to work if you have a family and outside interests that you want to pursue. If you're the Type-A go-getter, wants to always finish ahead, competitive type, you'll probably get bored after awhile.

Pros

great location, good office space

Cons

poor communication, management was incompetent

Advice to Senior Management

share info and why you are doing stuff, not just "do it"

Pros

Beautiful building, nice people, good cause and mission

Cons

I worked there during a period of change and leadership was lacking

Pros

Access to some of the best, niche psychological research and with some of the most admirable psychologists in the field

Cons

Some of the employees were just so low-par. Hiring practices were not at all thorough. Position and job descriptions did not allow for taking initiative whatsoever. Consensus building culture led to too much inactivity.

Advice to Senior Management

Management should allow employees on all levels to feel appreciated and empowered. Too much bureaucracy not only reduced efficiency, but lowered morale.

Pros

Very good benefits. Not the best ever, but better than average. Pay was decent, but not spectacular. Some mid and upper level managers were the best I ever had.

Cons

Bottom line: if you're not a senior-level employee, you have no voice. If you are a senior-level employee, you can get away with murder and expect no consequences.

Advice to Senior Management

Please give lower level employees, who would like positive change to take place within this organization, a voice. Please reorganize human resources, especially on the senior staff level within this department.

Pros

Benefits, work-life balance, location, office space

Cons

Psychologists without management knowledge or experience are in charge. No attention paid to basic Management 101 principles. Very heirarchical and old school. Out of touch with newer ways of doing business.

Advice to Senior Management

Go back to clinical or research practice and get people who know how to run things to run your organization. New membershipo is down and it''s not just the economy.

Pros

- Good benefits
- 11 paid holidays per year
- Relatively laid back and casual work environment (almost comatose)
- Good location/metro accessible for after work fun
- Very nice building
- Enough youngish people (23 - 35) if you not married with kids to not feel completely left out

Cons

It's gotten harder and harder for me to be able to be reasonable about my expectations from an employer. The APA is a place you go if you want to be comfortable and complacent. They're not changing the world, they're a prestigious and widely-respected organization that coasts on the glory of past success. The DSM is the sacred text of mental health and will always be its cash cow.

There have been yearly layoffs since 2008 with more expected in 2010. Many people (like myself) have left and bailed on the sinking ship. Leadership is silent and appears apathetic. Since the APA is a medium-sized organization and it's not feasible to wipe out whole departments or programs, layoffs are political, based on things like how well someone is liked or how well they kiss @ss. Layoffs str poorly executed and happen between Thanksgiving and Christmas so there's high amount of anxiety between the September Component Meetings (when the Board meets) and till then, the WORST possible time to lay people off. There have been no merit increases in two years and cost of living increases have been discontinued.

I'm a woman and there are too many women at this organization. I will never again work at a place that's not more balanced between the sexes. There seems to be little objectivity in the workplace environment or advancement based on hard work, critical thinking, and problem solving abilities. Most people advance by jumping department to department or if they're the last man standing they're a director of something simply because they outlasted everyone else. The APA is very top-heavy because they've promoted people that have been with the organization with titles instead of anything meaningful. Certain positions within each department are the career ladder positions and the rest are stagnant.

Many people hunker down in their offices and never leave so there's not much communication other than through email, which is both a blessing and a curse. Some division directors are better power players than others and that shows in how much a division is touched during RIFs.

Workplace culture is blessedly laid back and casual. You could come to work in jeans everyday if your shirt is professional, you're well accessorized, and you're wearing nice shoes. Rosslyn is just over the Key Bridge from Georgetown which is good for happy hours. Further up Wilson Blvd is also more places for after work fun. Benefits are comparable to most other nonprofits in a similar league although the HR policies are horribly out of date. There has been a revolving door of HR directors with no one staying for more than 18 months since about 2005.

Advice to Senior Management

Communicate with your employees, people are hungry for information good or bad. Silence makes people more anxious and they're likely to fill the silence with unfounded rumor. Continue to have quarterly employee meetings if at all possible or at the very least emails that are truly informative about the state and condition of the APA. There are many loyal employees willing to ride this out with you if you just let them know what's going on.

Take note of workplace morale. Use other methods to motivate your employees and let them know they're appreciated. Don't underestimate the small things because you'd be surprised how far pizza and pop will go.

Empower your employees with professional skills. For example, bring someone in to teach people advanced PowerPoint or Excel. This is a low cost way of letting your employees know you're still looking after them and they are filled with more than just tomato sauce and high fructose corn syrup.

Pros

Great benefits, usually. This is one of the most benefits generous places that I've worked. There's a contribution to your 401k, even if you contribute nothing. They subsidize seated massages, yoga, and meditation classes, and provide tuition reimbursement.
The flexible work schedules and ability to work at home are great, too. If you are interested in the subject matter of psychology, it's the best place to work outside academia.

Cons

There's been a lot of recent restructuring, which has made people feel insecure. The organization has been hit by the lackluster economy, so there's been some feeling of doom and gloom among some employees.

Advice to Senior Management

Benefits are great, but more money is even better.

Pros

Time off, interesting subject matter, good benefits

Cons

Poor internal processes, lack of professional advancement and training, weak management

Advice to Senior Management

Look at strategic plan to make personnel and budget decisions; streamlining and re-structuring needed.

Pros

The association tries to create a work-life balance. It also tries to create a healthy workplace. Employees have the chance to take meditation classes and yoga. There also is a nap room. The health benefits are good, the mental health benefits are great--80 percent covered no limit on visits. Pay isn't so great. Andc. APA does encourage growth within the company. However, promotions are not always accompanied by a pay raise. Overall, it's a liberal place to work--good place for someone who is gay or transgendered. There are gay and lesbian employees in high positions. It is also very accommodating for those with physical disabilities. Great vacation benefits, 2 percent contribution to 401K and then a match up to 4 percent. Overall it was a good place to work, but some seriously dysfunction areas of the association have not been dealt with.

Cons

A good work culture that seems to be changing. Employees who are working with difficult management have virtually no place to go for help. Pay can be low.

Advice to Senior Management

When employees are dealing with a difficult supervisor, they should have an advocate outside of their department. HR should have an employee relations specialist who helps employees navigate these types of problems.