Pros
The major positive? Summer Search employees get to award free trips and college scholarships to underprivileged students, and to work with really good-natured students, but at the cost of entering an emotionally unsafe and unhealthy work environment. Another positive? Some of the employees are, at their heart, smart and well-meaning people. Unfortunately, the culture of this organization teaches even these good people to treat students and other employees poorly at times. Another positive? Summer Search tries to create a “warm and fuzzy” work environment where everyone feels cared for and supported—“like a family” they will say. But in truth, the “warm fuzzies” of “sharing, caring” and self-disclosure are practiced in very unhealthy ways (see Cons below). While they provide mentorship and support for struggling, low-income students, their mentors do not receive training to even listen properly to students, and some of them resort to amateur psychoanalyzing, asking leading questions, jumping to interpretations and false attributions, or making strong “suggestions” about what a student should think or feel. While not all mentors practice these behaviors, enough of them do that would raise the alarm of any ethical counselor, therapist or responsible professional that works with youth.
Cons
To echo one reviewer's comments, employees are indeed treated with disrespect and disregard by Summer Search management. And to rebut another reviewer who tries to dismiss any negative comments by using his/her own pejorative--painting former employees as “disgruntled”--this website is intended for all kinds of reviews, positive or negative. And just because a review is negative, it does not mean it is false. The management has no idea how to give and take feedback in professional and appropriate ways, resulting in a very negative work environment. The management freely makes assumptions about people as if they can mind-read and size up anyone psychologically, giving the subsequent message that it’s okay for employees to do the same to each other. They expect their employees to share highly personal information with the aim of having employees experience “personal growth.” It is nor personal growth, nor is it a measure of an employee’s ability or willingness to practice “self-reflection.” It is intrusive, if not abusive, and probably unethical of them to require that employees participate in weekly “check-ins” where management asks about and expects employees to share personal issues (things a person probably would share only with his/her spouse, best friend, family, etc.) as if these were weekly individual therapy sessions. In any other workplace, you would never expect to have to reveal personal information to your direct supervisor (someone who writes your job evaluation). Because employees are sharing so much deeply personal information with each other, the potential for using that information in unprofessional and unhealthy ways against each other is high, and actually happens with far too much frequency. They laugh off the notion that they are doing “therapy” with either the employees or students, saying that they are not therapists, so they are not practicing therapy. This is ridiculous, circular “logic.” If they are not therapists, then they are trying to practice without a license, which is unethical, if not illegal. It is unethical for Summer Search to intentionally seek to extract personal information from either employees or students as if anyone in the organization were entitled to know. Sometimes these check-ins begin with the intention of supporting employees when dealing with students’ issues, but the check-ins quickly devolve into much less about how to help the students, and become more about the employees’ own personal life, whether this is warranted or not. Any personal information is then incorporated into an employee’s evaluation, blurring the lines even further between what should a discussion of one’s professional work performance and what is one’s personal and private life. Their “feedback” is not professional, it is personal, and they feel they have every right to say such things in the name of one’s “personal growth” and getting one to “reflect.” Even at staff meetings, people are routinely expected to share their personal life and feelings as if these meetings were group therapy sessions. Most employees come to Summer Search with good intentions to help needy kids, but instead, they unwittingly and unknowingly end up acquiescing to this intrusiveness, for the sake of assimilating to the culture and norms of the organization. When an employee expresses discomfort or disagreement with this work culture, the management assumes that he or she is either “reluctant to be emotionally vulnerable or to trust others,” or that it is a sign of “deeper issues” that need to be “worked on.” Other employees who follow management’s lead make these assumptions about each other as well. These kinds of assumptions are crazy-making and even manipulative because it makes the employee believe that there is something wrong with him or herself, not the management’s own behavior. Management is fond of asking their employees to “reflect on your impact on others,” but they do not take responsibility for their own behavior or their own contribution to a situation. They jump to unsubstantiated conclusions about employees, as if they were experts at psychologically sizing up people and telling others what their “issues” are. Unfortunately, some employees may not be aware that these practices are unprofessional and ultimately lead to an unhealthy and emotionally unsafe work environment. Employees may only sense that it is uncomfortable or unpleasant to go to work or to deal with management. However, it is likely that these are all the reasons why Summer Search has a poor history of employee retention. All of this is true in more than just one Summer Search office, so beware. I would not trust Summer Search with my own children, and I would strongly recommend against anyone working at this organization.