Pros
The main pro was that it was very easy to find colleagues to connect with due to the complete burnout most people experienced that not only affected their work performance but also their own mental health. They "rewarded" us with random PTO days throughout the pandemic as a courtesy statement for not actually caring about our suffering mental health. But hey, what increases cash flow and gets the call out of the queue, right?
Cons
For a non-profit organization that boasts about how much they are contributing to suicide prevention and overall mental health wellness, they couldn't care less about the well-being of their own employees. Many of my colleagues came to me with similar levels of burnout, because even after attempting to receive help from supervisors and upper management, we were essentially told to suck it up and keep helping people. We were heard, but no one in positions of authority listened, as it would take too much effort to make effective change. Additionally, they continued to take on more crisis lines throughout the pandemic, despite the subpar training that went into new hires. As a crisis intervention specialist with a few years of experience, many new hires told me I helped them understand how to take the calls and document them correctly far better than any of the training. Also, if you are anyone in a minority group, you should stay clear. Yes, they are in Portland, and yes, one or two members of the LGBTQ+ community are in positions of power. However, if you are anyone with two or more minority groups, such as female, non-binary, gay, person of color, etc., you will most likely not get very far if you want something other than a crisis intervention specialist position. Another main point I will discuss is the lack of communication. No one knows how to do anything, really, because communication across the board is completely dismissed. No one is ever on the same page as to how to perform follow-up calls, what chains of hierarchy to go through, or even how to request time off. Oh, and speaking of that, there are so many different forms you must fill out in different spots to request time off, that when it is actually all submitted, it may not be within the time frame the person in control of the schedule wants it for that particular day, so you will be denied. And even if you do come to an agreement in an email that a certain day is to be off, half the time you will still be expected to show up on that day.