researcher

registered nurse

clinical laboratory scientist

clinical research coordinator

senior associate director

National Jewish Health

The mission of this organization is genuinely meaningful, and many of the employees are talented, hardworking people doing their best under challenging circumstances. Unfortunately, the workplace experience often feels very different from the image presented from the outside.

Turnover is one of the most noticeable issues. At times, it feels less like a workplace and more like a revolving door set to fast-forward. New faces arrive, experienced employees leave, and remaining staff are left wondering whether they should learn everyone's names immediately or wait a few weeks just to be safe.

As staffing challenges continue, workloads naturally increase for those who remain. However, support, recognition, and opportunities for advancement do not always seem to increase at the same rate.

Management has developed a unique leadership style that somehow combines micromanagement with limited awareness of larger organizational issues. Employees may find themselves documenting when they arrived, where they are, and what they are doing, while bigger concerns affecting morale and retention continue to go unresolved. It can sometimes feel like leadership knows exactly where everyone is located but has absolutely no idea why everyone keeps leaving.

Communication is another challenge. Employee concerns are discussed frequently, meetings are held, feedback is collected, and action items are created. Unfortunately, meaningful change can occasionally feel like a mythical creature—often discussed, rarely observed.

Consistency and accountability also appear to be works in progress. Policies and expectations can feel unevenly applied, creating frustration and making it difficult for employees to feel confident that everyone is operating under the same set of rules.

The culture can be challenging as well. Gossip and speculation often travel faster than official communication, which creates unnecessary tension and undermines trust between employees and leadership.

Career growth opportunities appear limited, and employees looking for advancement may find themselves gaining additional responsibilities long before they gain additional opportunities.

The most frustrating aspect is that many of these issues seem solvable. The organization has dedicated employees, important work, and significant potential. However, until leadership places the same level of attention on employee retention that it places on employee monitoring, the revolving door is likely to keep spinning.

I was excited to become a Health and Wellness Coach for the Tobacco Quitline. Helping people learn to stop smoking using research-based Motivational Interviewing over the phone seemed like a dream come true. 

Unfortunately, the Health Initiatives department is operated like a factory and treats the Coaches like workers on an assembly line. 

Intake scripts were long and confusing to participants, yet coaches were marked down for making any wording changes. New scripts would be deployed, but those of us on the floor had no way to provide input to correct or improve deficiencies. 

Coaches were trained then launched to the floor. In a two month period, my supervisor met with me only once, on the day I resigned. 

Fellow coaches were incredible people. Providing encouragement and a caring soul to caller after caller. Wonderful work by compassionate and articulate people!

Dealing with people with mental health issues, addictions that often began as pre-teens, and helping people overcome smoking was extremely challenging and rewarding. 

It's unfortunate that such a beautiful system has been turned into an incredibly high-turnover system, where coaches are seen as disposable commodities that can be plugged in and replaced as we quit in dismay. 

I can't understand how National Jewish Health allows this to happen. It goes directly against the innovative approach that started Health Initiatives.

Work-life balance
Work-life balance at National Jewish Health is a typical 9-5 place unless you're in management. Most people leave their work at work and leave home and home.

Pay & benefits
My pay and benefits at National Jewish Health are nothing to brag about. Grown adults not even making $40k/year. Health insurance that costs hundreds of dollars to add family members to.

Job security and advancement
In terms of job security at National Jewish Health, I think that it could be better. At the beginning of COVID, we were furloughed with 70% pay (which was generous). Unfortunately, from June - August we were expected to take 80 hours of unpaid furlough OR use vacation time. Less than halfway through the summer months, 40 positions at National Jewish were cut. It definitely makes you think they care more about profits than employees.

Overall
My experience working at National Jewish Health is a mix of good and bad. On the one hand, a lot of employees do show up to help patients. But the institution itself does not care for its employees. This is shown in the lack of affordable health insurance for families, the unpaid furloughs we have been subjected to, and that if an employee is exposed to COVID but remains asymptomatic, they are expected to continue to report to work despite the fact that current guidelines explicitly state that asymptomatic carriers are incredibly dangerous. There is also very little in terms of bereavement leave which was conveniently updated prior to a world wide pandemic.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part of working at NJH is definitely the patients we see and some amazing coworkers!

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part about working at NJH is the constant pressure to do more with declining resources. There is constant understaffing, leading to untrained and improper staff being put in the position of caring for patients they should not be. Management is not receptive to staff concerns and complaints. Consequently, turnover is very high and patients are the ones who really suffer.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment and culture is dismissive within this company. Rather than address real issues, management makes its staff feel completely replaceable. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Arrive, attempt to clock in, but wait for computer to warm up and wake up.  Gauge from speed & rhythm of staccato clacking in hallway what mood my boss in today as she goes for coffee. Prepare for pts to be seen today and drs in office Make f/u calls and respond to messages from overnight and end of previous day. Throughout day, see patients as needed and provide prescribed treatment and/or teaching. Address any pt questions/concerns. Between pts, complete assigned tasks, monitor caac phone, refill clinic supplies, clean pt. rooms, etc.

I can only speak for the research side of NJH, but I cannot recommend anyone work here. This is where you go when you don't have the intelligence or people skills to make it in real academia. PIs are utterly incapable of managing either people or projects. Consider this: there is equipment here which has been broken for 40 years, which is blocking critically-needed space, but has never been removed or fixed because in four decades, no one has been able to agree on a plan. That's NJH in a nutshell. Vertical communication never happens, unless something needs micromanaging, or a PI feels the need to express contempt for their employees in a more explicit manner. There is a severe lack of research ethics: at NJH, GCP is whatever they can get away with. It's also worth noting that I was extensively lied to during the interview process: the job I was assigned after hire had essentially no relation to what was described prior to that point, none of the opportunities I was offered were actually real, and the expectations placed on me were so far below what I was told that I couldn't really believe it for a while. I learned nothing here. The hardest part of the job was not quitting (until I did), and the only enjoyable part was the camaraderie I found with other people just waiting to leave.

What is the best part of working at the company?
People seem really committed to the mission. The people I work with are very smart but don't make me feel beneath them. I am treated like a part of the team. Pay has increased and I don't pay anything for my medical benefits but I know that people with families pay something. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
There is always a lot to do and the company is not huge so a lot is expected of a few people. My managers are really supportive but working around patients can be hard. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It can be really stressful but I know that I am making a difference for patients. I feel like I am part of something bigger than myself. I have moved up a few times since I started. I get to help train new people. A lot of people stay here a long time and I am never bored. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I work with patients, doctors and nurses everyday. I am usually one of the first people that patients see. Working with sick people can be hard but I try to remember that I am helping them even when they are frustrated by their medical condition. My job is different day to day which is good unless you want a lot of consistency and an easy job.

National Jewish Health was an incredible place to work, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a career with a strong sense of mission, good work-life balance, and the potential to make lifelong friends. I was there for over 14 years and enjoyed career growth throughout this time. 

The organization's patient-driven mission is palpable throughout the workplace, and it was inspiring to be part of a team dedicated to making a positive impact on the lives of others.

The culture at National Jewish Health was also rewarding, with a strong emphasis on collaboration and respect for one another. I formed some incredible relationships during my time there, and I still keep in touch with many of my former colleagues.

One of the things I appreciated was the excellent work-life balance. My management was supportive of my personal needs, which allowed me to balance work with my role as a mother without feeling guilty about it. 

I would recommend National Jewish Health to anyone looking for a meaningful career with an organization that truly cares the impact it has on the world.

Awful management who does not care and who does not represent the employees. Management tries to run the department as a call center, yet does not understand that this is one on one coaching with people who are often times have mental health issues or worse, therefore setting limits, creating bogus standards, and micromanaging things like call length and break times is not conducive to the motivational interviewing that is actually effective in helping people quit tobacco.

The problem is the top management itself - very corrupt, they play favorites and move their friends up in line, even though many aren't qualified to even be coaches themselves. Coaches and customer service representatives are let go frequently for little reason, and management loves to fire them. Turnover is high.

The position itself is fairly rewarding, but management takes that satisfaction in providing behavior and lifestyle change and makes it about call length, volume, and the time in between calls.

Pathetic

Pros
Help patients with very difficult conditions that have not been successfully treated elsewhere. Good research. Benefits are basic, not great and medical limited to Kaiser.

Cons
A toxic work environment among marketing and development where most lower level employees feel uncomfortable, unappreciated, and undervalued. Upper management, VPs and CEO, have subtle forms of poor communication, setting people up for failure, mismanagement, missed deadlines and an air of hostility. 

Uninspired management, no sense of teamwork.

Arrogant, paternalistic work culture. If you like being bullied, marginalized, manipulated and lied to by managers this is the place for you. Managers are not held accountable for their behavior, and employees are always blamed if there are any issues. Human Resources is very non-responsive.

What is the best part of working at the company?
I felt proud to be working at NJH due to its reputation and level of care.  I liked my job.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
My supervisor was unprofessional when he said disparaging things about me.  When I had Covid and was out for five weeks, he never called to see what was wrong.  Said nothing when I returned.  Micromanaged me.  He treated the younger employees much better.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The other coaches were professional and friendly.  Supervisors and others in higher positions didn't care about you as a person.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I sat at my cubicle in a call center answering calls for the Quitline.  I assisted people enrolled in the smoking cessation program in quitting the use of nicotine.  I provided them with education and suggestions and ordered quitting products based on their needs and wants.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Researcher 3 salaries reported	$54,167 per year
Registered nurse 3 salaries reported	$39.00 per hour
Clinical laboratory scientist 3 salaries reported	$24.33 per hour
Clinical research coordinator 5 salaries reported	$25.80 per hour
Senior associate director 1 salary reported	$100,000 per year

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