Playworks is founded on four core values, two of which are respect and inclusion. As a Playworker who grew from a Coach to a Site Coordinator (see my review for that position by searching “Playworks Rock(s-Paper-Scissors)!”) to a Development Associate, I have never felt more disrespected and excluded in an organization. This clearly demonstrates the difference between the work on the ground versus the work in the office. Those in leadership positions often make decisions based on their own interests rather than the benefit of the organization and staff. In my positions as a Coach, which I entered into mid-year, and as a Development Associate, which I entered at the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year, I did not receive proper training, making it beyond difficult to know if I was executing my responsibilities correctly. Given the “all work no play” and “you should know this by now” attitude of the regional office, I never felt comfortable or confident in asking questions, which ultimately led to projects being completed later than expected or working 60+ hour weeks with no compensation or overtime. Let me know that this position was hourly. In my last 8 months with the organization I submitted 3 HR reports, reports that shared feelings of harassment. These claims were addressed three weeks after I was laid off and three days before my final day.
I would argue that I was an employee who bled the mission of Playworks, living and breathing it day in and day out. I was someone who wished to grow internally. During my working in program, I applied for a Program Manager role three times and a Manager of Quality position once and was never able to advance despite my success in previous roles and experiences. Then approximately 6-months after my transition into development, the NorCal leadership team decided to restructure. The restructure included ideas I had proposed to our local Executive Directors and our Regional Executive Officer. I was 100% blindsided when they went through with the changes, which unbeknownst to me, resulted in my layoff. This was after an event where I brought in $25K+. Even though I demonstrated success for 10 months, it wasn’t enough to rejoin the team when I applied for one of the new development positions. Why? Well note here that the team provided no growth or learning opportunities.
