A Minority Report - Recensione dipendente - Content Writer presso BibleProject

Over the course of three years at BP, the company’s culture shifted, in small bits at first, so perhaps only noticeable to some. I would liken the culture (now) to a tech start-up with major emphasis on growth, reaching more people, making more content, increasing numbers and patrons (i.e. money), etc. During the first SOA of 2023, the push for numbers and growth was the main emphasis, justified by reaching the world for Jesus (i.e. with BP content). There is also a culture of “fandom” amongst many employees. That is, many of the employees are huge fans of BP and “just happy to be there,” or amazed that they get to work there. This creates a rose-colored glasses phenomenon throughout the staff. Employees don’t notice things, or don’t really care because their previous jobs were way worse, so “in comparison,...” Or, perhaps, they choose not to care or to be aware. Employees might not realize (or care?) that almost three or so years has gone by without a raise or a promotion, even though they had excellent performance reviews. Or they might not notice that the dynamics within their team are not healthy. They are just “happy to be there.” BP showers employees with welcome gifts, free coffee or tea every month (although this has been eliminated), end of year bonuses, etc. always emphasizing their value of “Generosity.” This fandom mentality leads to employees overly trusting those in power (i.e. the exec team) and blind belief in the company’s “perfection” or that the company always acts in a right and just way. Whenever I would bring up a concern, I might find one or two employees who shared my concern, but most didn’t or responded with, “I mean, can’t complain compared to my previous company.” Or “they must have their reasons,” or “That’s just the way things need to be for the good of “the project.” There are some employees who might adamantly agree with your assessment, call out all of the issues within BP they’ve seen and experienced, but can’t or won’t do anything about it (other than complain to friends). The company, overall, has major structural issues. Management overall is poor. The chain of command is murky, at best. Who runs things, who is actually pulling the strings/has power remains a mystery. I can’t count how many times I was reassigned and told, “We talked” and “we” decided that you will now do _____. There is an ever elusive “we” who gets whatever they want at the company and makes major decisions, and the “us” at the bottom have zero say in what happens. It was also difficult to know who to talk to when issues arose. For example, when I ran into issues with my manager, it was unclear who I needed to talk to. There wasn’t a clearly defined chain of command. BP claims to have an “upside down” pyramid of hierarchy, but that is completely untrue. When I brought this “upside-down pyramid” claim up with several employees, they all laughed. Unless by that, they mean that the minority in charge “at the bottom” have all the power and are the basis of all control of the majority at the “top.” The teams are very siloed off, which they tried to improve upon by the implementation of “squads.” This could have been great for many, but I was not put on a squad, and was increasingly siloed off from the rest of the teams. I began working at BP during 2020 when all employees worked remotely. This created a false idea that BP worked really hard to make remote workers feel valued and included. After the office re-opened, it became obvious that BP catered to in-person employees. They received more perks (free breakfasts, lunches, etc.) while remote employees were never provided even an attempt at an equivalent. This also played into the favoritism at BP. You can definitely become an “out of sight, out of mind” employee. Remote employees run the risk of being left out of things, and not privy to the relationships and “boy’s club” that occurs when you are in person. I struggled with significant health issues during my time at BP and missed several in-person meetings. This, of course, was not my fault or choice, but I believe it worked against me. Remote work became increasingly lonely, and when I (and others)would remark on this during employee surveys and such, nothing was ever done about it. There are people (both men and women) who move seamlessly up the ladder, and there are others who are overlooked and ignored. There are people who get praised all the time for their work, and there are those who work really hard and never get any recognition. Those in power positions are overwhelmingly white and male. Not surprising, as the company was founded by two white men and is based in Portland, OR. Similar to the city of Portland, BP is strongly against racism, but is unaware of its own racism. It is strongly against sexism, but is unaware of its sexism. This is not to say that “everyone” and “everything” at BP is racist and sexist, that would be absurd. It isn’t. But the uneven distribution of power, favoritism, and “boys’ club”/”evangelical bro code,” inevitably lead to instances of sexism and racism. Microaggressions and subtle racism and sexism are still racism and sexism. And my personal experience as a Black female at BP, was one where I experienced both. Tim and Jon do not run the company, the exec team does, and more so the COO. They protect Tim from all the company issues so he can research and pump out more content. Tim is highly averse to conflict, which he would tell you himself, so he does not get involved with the ugly sides of the company—he tends to plug his ears. Jon does whatever he wants, and the company indulges his various “genius” whims, so in that sense he does run the company. Employees are at the mercy of his new ideas, whether good or bad, and whether or not they suddenly no longer include you. The CEO is a bit of a puppet, albeit a well-meaning one, and the COO his puppetmaster. I would not be surprised if the COO becomes the CEO later on, as it seems he is vying for it. You can take a look at his past employment, for a peek into his background. He has said and done countless sexist and racist things, many of which the exec team and others are privy to. However, they don’t care. There are many women and Black women who can share their “[name of COO] receipts,” and I’d encourage you to listen to them. And to know that the people in charge know about it. They know. Speaking of sexism, if you are not one of the favorites, I'd be leery of getting pregnant while at BP, or start looking for another job. You may or may not last long. They prefer you when you're useful. BibleProject doesn’t really know what it is. It’s not really a “Christian” company, in the sense that it doesn’t have a statement of faith or require employees to sign off on codes—which is fine, statements of faith are hard and don’t necessarily mean anything. BP does not require employees to be followers of Jesus, also fine. BP also doesn’t require people in leadership positions to be followers of Jesus—which, personally, I find a bit tricky. BP doesn’t have a sexual ethic code, but created one for only one specific team, years after the fact in order to get rid of an employee (which is illegal). When I started working at BP, someone described it as a place where non-Christians could work, but they had to be cool with it being a company that loved Jesus. But it seems more like BP accommodates to non-Christian staff members than to Christian ones. For example, former employees told me they were not allowed to pray in meetings, and SOAs turned from including occasional teachings from Tim and prayer to vague moments of silence, imagining that we were all one, and/or poetry readings. I am not saying that finding a balance here isn’t difficult, and I applaud BP for trying. It’s just complicated. And it can feel super murky, especially when knowing what to expect from the company or figuring out how to interact with people. For better or worse, there are certain “standards” or expectations you have from a company that in some way, shape, or form claims to follow Jesus and wants people to experience the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus. But when the underlying feel is super corporate and tech-start-up-y and “but don’t actually talk about Jesus because it could offend someone”...it’s just kind of confusing. In my opinion, money and power are driving BP now. A company once marked by rest and “Jubilee” (e.g. Summer 2021) is marked by obsession with growth and numbers. The company’s staff retreat in 2023 was announced to be a “working retreat” in order to reach goals. That is not a retreat. Employees who still work there told me they had to work the entire time. I reached out to BP about this when I was still there, and no one ever responded. Sabbaticals were taken away from employees (which are becoming more popular in secular companies) Growth. Numbers. Money. Even if you look at how BP has re-titled their videos/content on YT. It’s all clickbait-y. At an event this summer, an employee who works in investor relations told the audience to click play on any new video when it premiered on YT, even if they didn’t watch it, because that bumps up the numbers and visibility. A previous employee once told me that the CEO once said in a leadership meeting that if he were to look at a sunset and find issue with it, the issue must be with him, for the sunset has no issue. The CEO and the executive team see BP as the sunset. And BP sadly wants people who find no issue with it, who never question the execs’ decisions, who never bring up concerns, etc. If you do, you might be digging your own grave. Managers who are “Yes-men” or “Yes-women” are ideal. My manager was/is a total “yes-man,” and will go along with whatever the “we” wants. He wouldn’t stand up for anyone on our team if it meant going against what the powers wanted. If you have a mind of your own, you might not do well at BP. If you smile and nod at whatever Jon Collins or the COO want, then you’ll likely do alright. I believe BP doesn’t mind giving women and POCs a seat at the table. However, we are not given a voice at the table. We cannot share our opinion at the table. We cannot share our experience and what it’s been like to only report to white men in power who maintain impunity regardless of their actions or performance, at the table. Time and time again, there is a clear trend of the experiences of women and POCs at BibleProject: if we speak up, we are asked to find a table in a different company. But the male leader who plays chess with the exec or goes to the pool or sauna parties, regardless of performance, is kept and even elevated. I don't believe it's entirely intentional, but POCs can be tokenized at BibleProject. We are in the background of video shots. We are the “Verse of the Day'' on YouVersion. We are the employees invited to a BibleProject event. We are Classroom students. Not that adding the look of diversity is a bad thing, but it's definitely an appearance more so than a reality. BP wants the appearance of diversity while maintaining white normativity. It's all optics. HR recently conducted an internal investigation (that they requested, not the employee) and, when asked by the employee if a 3rd party would be better, HR told the employee that she had "prayed about it" so she could do it. The conclusion of the investigation never once addressed the employee's initial complaint, ignored over ten women's stories and experiences, and landed the HR rep a spot on the exec team. BP announced to the entire staff that they did this investigation and that all the claims were "unsubstantiated." But the investigation completely ignored the actual claims and falsely attributed claims to the employee that she had not made. A current employee said he had brought up the employee’s claims with multiple people and was stonewalled each time. The investigation benefited those in power, but no one who BP actually hurt. And they've owned up to nothing. BP has gaslit over 10 women, at least, in the process. Women and POCs might be ignored in meetings, say something that is ignored or "not real" until a white male says the same thing. Women may surpass white male employees in effort and excellence, but the white male will not lose his job.