youth counselor

family support counselor

clinician

caregiver

culinary

Woods Homes

What is the best part of working at the company?
I enjoyed working with the families, youth, caseworkers and different other professionals such as teachers and medical support personnel.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
There got to be much too much paperwork especially with the demands of the research program.  Originally there was to be an 80/20  balance but became almost a reverse.  It became difficult to work enough time with people to do the paperwork.  Because we were working with Children’s Services the families were often in very difficult situations and needed immediate intervention.  Instead of dealing with the emergency situation promptly we were to be doing six weeks of assessment.  One is always doing assessment on the family situation including needs and strengths but this was not the kind of assessment research wanted.  They wanted “numbers” so that improvement could be proven.  One tool was CAFAS.  This tool assesses negative behaviours of children and we were to be “strength based” and there was no tool to provide this info.  
There was a lot a bullying by other staff members and managers which was rarely addressed.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Very top down.  Front line staff did not appeared to hold much value.   

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I have been retired now for over 3 years and when I retired the covid pandemic was just beginning so I cannot answer now.

To be honest, due to how many safety concerns this company has I'm surprised that they are still operating. The programs that have high risk youth are short staffed all the time while leads to safety concerns. The environment is super toxic and staff talk behind your back which makes you feel excluded, out of place and not part of the team. One of the main reasons I quit was because I was feeling excluded by my co workers and felt like I was being treated unfairly and management refused to do anything about it. The work/life balance sucks at this company. Managers/team leaders work all the time (24/7) and expect you to do the same as well when you're not suppose to. Having poor work/life balance will lead to staff burnout. This company has a huge staff turnover rate due to safety concerns, not being paid enough and working in a toxic environment. The youth see that there is a huge staff turnover rate and that is not beneficial for them. Management, directors and team leaders are very demanding as well and do not conduct themselves in a professional manner. Management is not open to new suggestions and will put you down if you have a concern.  Also when you quit,  the management and your own co workers will make you feel so bad for quitting which is ridiculous. Please don't work at this place, Wood's Homes is a mental health facility but they don't care about their staffs mental health. 

To be honest, due to how many safety concerns this company has I'm surprised that they are still operating. The programs that have high risk youth are short staffed all the time while leads to safety concerns. The environment is super toxic and staff talk behind your back which makes you feel excluded, out of place and not part of the team. The work/life balance sucks at this company.  Managers/team leaders work all the time (24/7) and expect you to do the same as well when you're not suppose to. Having poor work/life balance will lead to staff burnout.  This company has a huge staff turnover rate due to safety concerns, not being paid enough and working in a toxic environment. The youth see that there is a huge staff turnover rate and that is not beneficial for them. Management, directors and team leaders are very demanding as well and do not conduct themselves in a professional manner. Management is not open to new suggestions and will put you down if you have a concern. I have so many more negative things to say about this company and will not be surprised if they are shut down. Please don't work at this place as it will affect your mental health in a negative way which is odd as the company is based off of helping people with mental health concerns. 

No support whatsoever. Extremely understaffed. Worked with very high risk youth and did not have adequate enough support to work with the youth. After a very stressful event, made to feel like we shouldn't be feeling that way because they never did. Pretty much just all around made staff feel like they had to be robots to work the job. Went on stress leave and was made to feel like I was over-reacting. When I finally quit, my manager made me cry and feel bad because I didn't think I could step foot into the building due to my PTSD. Said I should be ashamed for not saying goodbye to my coworkers. Overall a very draining work environment. Wouldn't have been so bad if we had support. Union also doesn't fight for staff. Had barely enough coverage for mental health support to cover 2 sessions of therapy. No one cared about anyone besides themselves there. Staff were left to manage each other and support each other, even when they were worn out themselves.

Management employees hired from outside of Wood's Homes receive no job-specific training or support from supervisors and colleagues. 

Managers are not eligible for overtime, however, company culture at Wood's dictates that most managers work through the evenings and weekends. This overwork is lionized as indicative of caring or dedication. 

On-call shifts are frequent and unpaid. Calls come at all hours, making basic sleep hygiene impossible. 

The culture of Wood's Homes rewards an aggressive, unprofessional style of communication between supervisors and staff, as well as between colleagues. I felt unsafe while working at Wood's and did not feel like I could trust my colleagues. 

Senior management hates hearing the phrase "work-life balance." When I mentioned this concept during my performance review, I was laughed at. I don't recommend working here, whether as frontline or management staff. 

Honestly and hands down one of the worst places I’ve worked for. Management will not support staff in the way they need. Staff is constantly put in dangerous situations. Management doesn’t care about the staff or the youth in the program. As a YFC you will be performing tasks outside of your job description almost daily. If you feel uncomfortable about a situation or bring things up to management. They will dismiss you or give you a sirgas coated answer. They emphasize on safety and there is a lack of it in every aspect of the job. Also, get ready to be run down emotionally and physically by the job. Ironic that your mental health is the least priority for this company, yet they advocate for better mental health. The job may be rewarding at times but it is not worth the pay, stress or the toxic environment you will be put through. 

Working long hours with an inconsistent schedule, often working days, evenings and nights within one rotation. Poor management, it seemed as though management lacked basic skills regarding team building and support. Often working 1:1 in dangerous settings with no follow up or emotional support after particularly challenging shifts. When concerns were brought up management made you feel embarrassed or as though it was your fault. The company overall is not willing to change or accept feedback from staff. The pay is not worth the stress and potential danger, which combined with a lack of support makes it an overall disappointing position.

Wood's Homes has been helping children and families for many years and is an important part of the community.

Unfortunately, there are some poor and underqualified managers and an overall culture of leading via fear and embarrassment. 

Before applying, find out the qualifications of your potential manager and ask specific questions in the interview.  

Some managers are great but there are some that will take credit for your work, deny you growth opportunities, overload you with work and if you speak up, will try to ruin your reputation. Is it even worth it to apply?

Crisis work promotes team environment. A great place to work for a short period of time if you are fresh out of school. However, there is high turnover and high burnout rate. Not a lot of support from management, as frontline is treated as replaceable. Lots of politics in upper management. Not a lot of room for growth. No promotion of work life balance. If you are frontline you will be required to work shift work, holidays and come in on your days off for team meetings. You will also be placed in high risk situations like 1 to 6 support with high risk clients, single staffed over night shifts, ect.

Basically you go through a month of rigorous training in the WHETOP program to ensure that you are fully prepared and do everything to the T. Then you try and do everything perfectly and you see employees physically intervening with kids at times when it’s not needed and when the kids aren’t being unsafe. And if you bring it up you are then fired. - basically they don’t want people there that will expose their malpractice. 

Lots of ego maniacs as well. It’s a gong show. There is a union that has a lot of grievences due to bad management and I can definitely see why. 

Work there for the kids and youth. But make sure you are perfect and don’t question anything. 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Youth counselor 6 salaries reported	$25.85 per hour
Family support counselor 3 salaries reported	$27.47 per hour
Clinician 2 salaries reported	$37.18 per hour
Caregiver 1 salary reported	$21.72 per hour
Culinary 1 salary reported	$25.77 per hour

Working at Wood's Homes: company overview and reviews

Wood's Homes

Wood's Homes ratings

Popular jobs at Wood's Homes

Salary satisfaction

Job seeker tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected