Hostile environment with a wonderful mission
Pros
The mission of the organization is admirable-- you can feel good about the advocacy work being done and feel like you're part of an effective advocacy community. The day-to-day work was interesting, provided some room for learning new skills and was a valuable experience. Junior staff rallied together to help boost morale for one another in spite of the work environment.
Cons
The communications department was extremely hostile. The organization overall did not have a healthy or positive culture-- morale was always low. Staff felt overworked and drained, and did not feel their time or effort was valued. There was little collaboration among departments at the leadership level- mostly conflict, belittling and ineffectual leadership. There was constant conflict among department heads, making collaboration almost impossible (though very necessary with such a small staff). There was no opportunity for advancement (or clear path to it) or acknowledgement of a job well done. It was clear staff were expendable and could be easily replaced. Leadership does not seem to care about the high turnover, but I hope at some point they realize the current environment is not sustainable.