Pros
I enjoyed and got along well with my co-workers; they were the main reasons I stayed for as long as I did. Free membership.
Cons
In the four years that I worked at the Y, not one time did I receive a yearly review of job performance. They pay the absolute minimum per hour and that amount never increases. There were never any raises, so there wasn’t much of an incentive to improve. There was an extremely high turnover rate for supervisors/directors. All of my supervisors ended up quitting. They would constantly delegate their work to others, such as training a new employee, which was never compensated for. Directors were very hypocritical. Why have rules about the process of doing things when every time an employee tries to follow them, the director steps in and disregards it? They all just do what they want anyway, but then criticize when something is done wrong. Maybe it wouldn’t be wrong if you gave your employees clear direction. Communication was horrible, in my direct department, and in other departments to member services. Member services was responsible for knowing about all programs and upcoming programs, but how were we expected to know these things when the other departments never communicated new or changed programs. Directors were very disconnected when asked about their programs and did not seem interested in assisting their employees. There was no room to advance within the organization. At one point, I was interested in moving up at The Y, and had tried many times to make a meeting with my director so we could set up a career plan, her idea. She constantly canceled and rescheduled; ignoring emails and blowing me off when I tried to speak with her. Very disappointing. I worked part time, but was not allowed to work more than 34 hours per week. They constantly hired, even when it was not necessary, taking away hours from the rest of the staff. Not a set schedule at all, some weeks I might have been scheduled 30 hours, and others, it would be cut down to 12 for no reason at all. Schedules were also always late. An overall disappointing work experience, I regret that I stayed for so long. I worked at 2 different YMCA branches, both with very similar experiences. Things got better when I left and experienced a positive work environment elsewhere; actually seeing what it was like to have a place of business operate smoothly and appreciate their employees.