field inspector

specialist

analyst

manager

full stack developer

Alberta-Energy-Regulator

I appreciated the benefit plan, time off (vacation/flex time), and having the option to work from home. 

I found there was a lot of In-efficiency in workflows and processes that led to endless frustration and re-work. Instead of taking a solution focused approach or using a proven technique, many seemed to default to doing things in a familiar and unproductive way. Decisions were often short sighted and my attempt  to provide constructive feedback/input/ideas ini a respectful manner  were quickly shut down. It seemed that when  things went wrong, instead of trying to understand what happened the focus seemed to turn more on who was to blame.

I experienced burnout, high stress, high pressure and high workload issues and was not the only one going through this. I believe a great deal of this could have been significantly reduced if steps had been taken to deal with workplace in-efficiencies (i.e. working with outdated systems/processes, constant re-work, in-effective communication, in-effective meetings, not managing poor performance, etc.)

The culture was toxic at times based on my personal experience and observation. When concerns were raised, management either glossed over the concern or went into denial despite clear warning signs of the negative impact it was having (high absenteeism, low engagement,, disrespectful behaviors, etc.).

I was micromanaged. This removed any level of trust I may have had with my manager along with any feeling of psychological safety, not to mention the negative impact to self confidence and self-esteem. 

Communication was siloed,, which often led to misunderstandings and lack of clarity which further added to the stress level and amount of re-work.

Performance feedback from my manager (constructive and positive) did  not happen on a regular basis, if at all.. This left me feeling  undervalued, under-appreciated for the work that I was doing.. Poor performance on the team was not effectively managed, which led to an increased workload and feelings of resentment and frustration..

I saw bullying and harassment and unprofessional behaviour occurring and raised my concerns but nothing was done to address it. I was left feeling that it almost seemed to be normalized.



Some will love the AER working at the AER while some will hate it.

Work at the AER is conducted with no deadlines or accountability and therefore productivity is incredibly low and the pace as slow as it gets. As with many organizations like this, promotions are almost exclusively tenure-based as opposed to merit-based which breeds a culture where there is no incentive to work hard or efficiently resulting in a culture of complacency and laziness.

If working in an environment with a relaxed work ethic, no deadlines, no team accountability, and no expectation to ever work overtime even if the job isn't done sounds like something that suits your personality, you will love working at the AER. On the other hand, if you strive for excellence, take pride in your work ethic, expect accountability from teammates, or expect meritocracy, you will despise working at the AER and should avoid it unless desperate for work.

Another benefit of the AER is getting 25 earned flex days per year in addition to 3-5 weeks of vacation, meaning you work extra hours in exchange for additional time off. Of course what this really means is work the same hours and get the extra time off anyway as there is no honesty or accountability, or enforcement of this policy so it is widely abused. Does 8-13 weeks of vacation per year sound good to you? Then you will love the AER.

Salary is slightly lower than external comparables, however you will work about half as hard as you do at the comparables so accounting for that, plus the unmatchable benefit and timeoff programs, compensation per hour is higher though with a lower dollar ceiling.

In summary you will love the time off and benefits, but spend every day at work completely embarrassed at the lack of work ethic grown adults are okay with.

Many good people with practical technical experience who are held back to deal with bad management decisions.  Too many people still work from home and leaders are scared to do anything.  Competent leaders are few.  Half leaders have no technical experience and they have final approval on work with companies.  The ineffective leaders protect each and do not help anyone having more experience.  These leaders tell you to blame HR, budget and government for everything because they don’t want to do paperwork to advance you or get raise for you.  AER bosses carry on with culture of fear and the privileged ones get support. Everyone else is targeted as not playing the game.

The AER is a smart, fast, dynamic company that is making great strides in energy regulation. The work the company produces is top notch but the challenge with the AER is the culture and leadership.

The philosophy at the AER is to create a group culture with full participation, equality and collaboration. This is an excellent idea. What occurs in practice is unfortunately far from that. The leadership styles displayed at the AER are top down, directional, constrictive, not positive, blame based and confining.

Despite a great many number of talented, and exciting coworkers the leaders, managers and higher ups make working for the AER stifling.

Worked there for over 15 years, it was great at first and started going downhill starting 2008. Lack of communication, favoritism, NEPOTISM, no appreciation. The only good thing about this place was the nice building and some sort of work-life balance which started to diminish with new management. 
No accountability for mistakes made by previous and current executive leadership even when after being investigated by auditor general.
A manager gets demoted and and an admin with no previous experience takes her place! 
I would stay away at any cost, find a job that appreciates you, supports you and mostly values your efforts.


Working for the Alberta Energy Regulator, every day is different. Core business day to day functions change constantly with new and exciting projects/issues/software's etc.. All employees work as teams to collaborate ideas and put forth their best to create the best we can of whatever is the piece of work being worked on at that time. 
Management is always their to help their employees succeed and grow to their fullest potential, offering what they can and have an open door concept. 
I enjoy working with all aspects of the business and learning different core functions.

AER was fantastic - great downtown location right on the +15, beautiful building, free coffee & hot drinks, zero-waste facility. I also really appreciated the attention to internal communications - that went a long way towards building a strong culture. Things went completely awry once the details of i-Core became public - not sure how it turned out as I left shortly after. If they were able to get things back on track, then I imagine it would become a great place to work again.

I turned down a few other roles external to the AER before taking this senior leadership role on. The politics at senior executive leadership levels, the corruption, and the historical way of doing things (i.e., do what industry wants under all circumstances) was more then I had expected and more than what I had encountered before. It was not a diverse, inclusive, nor innovative culture. Recent removal of the Board, CEO, EVPs and some VPs is not enough. The AER is not independent of political influence. The AER as an entity needs strong reconsideration.

Couldn’t be less organized. Incredibly unfriendly culture. Most employees seem to stay for the pension, and do the least amount of work possible. One way to ensure delaying doing any actual work is to jump on the bandwagon of branch conflict. This way, there is a barricade to completing every project, so you sit and wait. And wait. And nothing gets done. 
 
Did you ever see Office Space? It is basically like that.

Great staff, terrible management. Management do nothing to help staff, empty promises and zero follow through. Salary freeze for 8 years and counting. Lots of vacation and flex days help keep staff on board, but few are happy with career progression. Outside hires do not understand the business of the regulator. New CEO lacks vision and has zero empathy for staff burnout. Good place to work if you can keep your head down and solely focus on work and are not looking to climb the ranks. 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Field inspector 5 salaries reported	$102,974 per year
Specialist 5 salaries reported	$111,372 per year
Analyst 4 salaries reported	$84,948 per year
Manager 6 salaries reported	$152,873 per year
Full stack developer 1 salary reported	$25.22 per hour

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