Pros
Seeing clients improve is so fulfilling. Being able to have snacks during shift is helpful (because the pay is so poor).
Cons
I look back on this job fondly as the worst job I have ever had. It was an abusive workplace, plain and simple. This company blatantly violates labor law--many colleagues took up smoking cigarettes just so they could get a break during the day. You technically get a lunch, but it's not actually a break--meals are when you're monitoring clients the most closely. I remember my coworker had a high fever and was only allowed to go home when she vomited--and yes, the higher ups were openly annoyed with her for being sick. Staff consistently lacked support from higher ups, which placed clients in dangerous situations. I'm thankful there wasn't an extreme emergency, as someone could have gotten seriously hurt. Hopefully processes have changed and the house is more well-staffed, otherwise this place is a lawsuit waiting to happen. I remember being reprimanded for being a supportive presence for clients--I'm still confused about that feedback to this day. Whenever you raised valid safety concerns, management would often punish you with more work and responsibilities (without added compensation, of course). Management was cliquey and interpersonally hostile, even to clients, which was shocking to witness. I know we were working with adolescent girls, but I never expected that adult leadership would engage in petty bullying and gossip like that. It was so detrimental to the clients too, as they had no recourse to deal with leaders who decided to target them. The managers at the time were openly condescending and demeaning, sometimes making wild accusations about staff members without any foundation in the truth. I almost left the social services field entirely because of this place. I have never experienced a team that was so rude, dismissive, and dysfunctional, and I pray I never do again. I sincerely hope the leaders who made our lives so hellish have had a change of heart, or at the very least, a change in careers. This was not a workplace that cared. This was a workplace that completely burned out so many promising coworkers and wrecked their self-esteem.
