Refusal to change - Support Worker Venture People Employee Review

Client-facing work is highly rewarding and meaningful, particularly when supporting people through complex or challenging situations. Frontline teams are generally strong, supportive, and committed, with staff consistently working hard for clients despite ongoing pressures. There is a clear sense of shared purpose within teams, and many colleagues are passionate, skilled, and genuinely care about the quality of the service they provide.

Middle management frequently micromanages team leaders, often treating them and their teams with a lack of respect and failing to meaningfully involve them in decision-making. While “consultation” is talked about, it often feels performative rather than genuine. There are also some very unrealistic and unreasonable expectations placed on all staff, especially considering the low pay and lack of sick pay. There is a clear clique culture: staff are either part of the inner group or excluded from it. Those outside the clique who challenge decisions or express disagreement can find themselves marginalised, openly bullied, with pressure increasing until they eventually leave. This culture appears to contribute directly to the consistently high staff turnover across many services. The clique creates a bottleneck between frontline staff and senior management, meaning concerns are either filtered out or ignored altogether. Alternatively, senior management does not appear to meaningfully engage with the reasons people leave.

Other recovery workers welcoming and supportive. Warned newcomers of poor management.

Managers do not care about their staff and are unafraid to express this. Unresponsive to even significant issues. Do not listen to staff. Badly paid. Client documentation not updated since 2024. Client support stagnating and often seemingly unnecessary. Poor communication from management. Unprofessional appearance. Not behaving as if genuine.