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Human Rights Watch

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Human Rights Watch reviews

3.2

62% would recommend to a friend

(179 total reviews)
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Kenneth Roth

57% approve of CEO

33% positive business outlook

Human Rights Watch has an employee rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars, based on 179 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Human Rights Watch employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Nonprofit & NGO industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

179 reviews
2.0
Oct 7, 2015

Very disappointing experience

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Be a part of human rights mission, interesting people to meet, convenient location.

Cons

As many associates, I started as an intern and after a couple of months got hired full-time associate. As an Intern: from the first day no one would acknowledge you, even though I was super outgoing and friendly because I wanted to work as an associate at HRW. Sometimes they will forget you even exist - however, it can depend on the department you are working at, some were fun to work at. Most of the time you will sit at the computer on the conner and sometimes days without human interaction. The hardest part for me was to ask for clarifications as I often got a reaction like I was stupid. Folks at my department didn't appreciate positive atmosphere and communication, interaction with other departments. As an Associate: No appreciation for your hard work, No interest in your development - basically you just devote yourself for 2 yrs and then they will discard you. A lot of difficult people to deal with (because of their title) who will not acknowledge you nor say Hi or Good Morning. HR is a joke, don't trust them as they represent company interests and not yours. Some associates were forced to have an exit interview. During one of the HR events, associates were told: "If you feel stressed about work, lack of appreciation and motivation, then figure out how to deal with it or just leave". Relations between associates and higher title folks are based on fear, at least in my department. Overall, I was hoping for better experience because this is Human Rights Org - shouldn't we be more respectful, courteous to each other? How can we fight for Human Rights when people at work here at HRW don't feel/treated like human beings?

2.0
Feb 6, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Honestly, the name is amazing. I was constantly in awe of the fact that I worked at Human Rights Watch.

Cons

You would be amazed how much money, talent, and opportunity a poorly managed organization can waste. Easiest way to tell? HRW has an $80 million operating budget. Try to think of how on earth that kind of money could be effectively used by a team of less than 500 people. *I worked in a satellite office, so many of the following concerns might not apply if you get a job in New York.* If you're support staff, you will not have work-life balance. You will probably not be trained effectively, you'll be thrown into the deep end, you'll have a to-do list that gets longer and not shorter, you will have difficulty navigating an organization that is massive, bureaucratic, siloh'd, and suffering from consistent turnover. You might even work underneath someone who has no business managing. Additionally, the support staff has a formal union, which I would consider a red flag; if an organization treated their employees fairly, there wouldn't need to be a union. Support staff doesn't have upward mobility; promotions and raises are non-negotiably every two years; and your salary will be difficult to live on.

4.0
Mar 5, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Exposure to fascinating issues and people. If a coordinator or associate, your superiors will expect you to move on in two years and will do everything to help you get to your next job goal. Four weeks' paid vacation. Your colleagues become your best friends. The associates and coordinators spoke 90 languages between them all (and we were under 30).

Cons

Terrible pay and terrible management. Big job dissatisfaction amongst coordinators and associates. Everyone is overqualified and underpaid and stuck doing terrible admin work, with exciting projects given in tiny doses to keep everyone from going on strike. The union was always involved in some fight or another about getting folks overtime pay.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 179 Reviews

Glassdoor has 325 Human Rights Watch reviews submitted anonymously by Human Rights Watch employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Human Rights Watch is right for you.