cuisinier

Atria Senior Living

Typical Day at Work: A typical day at Atria Senior Living felt more like a constant race to meet unrealistic demands rather than fostering an environment where both employees and residents could thrive. Daily tasks were often overwhelming, and the focus seemed to be on numbers and hitting quotas rather than on the well-being of residents or employees. While there were challenges to navigate, the lack of teamwork and support made the experience even more draining.

What I Learned: What I learned most from my time at Atria was how important it is to work in an environment where people are genuinely valued and supported. I also came to realize the importance of having a leadership team that prioritizes both the well-being of staff and residents—not just profits or bonuses. While I gained some experience in senior living, the toxic work environment overshadowed any positive growth.

Management: The management at Atria seemed to prioritize the General Manager’s bonus over creating a positive, sustainable culture for staff. There was little effort put into building a sense of community or team cohesion. Decisions often felt top-down and profit-driven, which led to a lack of trust and engagement among employees. There was no genuine support for the staff, and leadership was more concerned with numbers than with fostering a healthy, productive workplace.

Workplace Culture: The culture at Atria was one of the most disheartening aspects of the job. It felt more like modern-day exploitation than a supportive team environment. There was no sense of camaraderie or collaboration; rather, the focus was on pushing employees to meet arbitrary targets. Staff burnout was high, and there was little to no encouragement for growth or professional development. The toxic environment made it difficult to feel motivated or valued.

Hardest Part of the Job: The hardest part of the job was the overwhelming sense of being just a cog in the machine. The relentless focus on hitting financial targets created an environment of stress and burnout. Instead of being able to focus on the quality of care for the residents, employees were constantly under pressure to meet deadlines and quotas that felt disconnected from the residents’ true needs.

Most Enjoyable Part of the Job: Unfortunately, the most enjoyable part of the job was hard to come by. However, there were fleeting moments of connection with residents—hearing their stories and learning from them was a small reminder of why people get into this field in the first place. These interactions, though brief, provided a sense of fulfillment, even in an otherwise oppressive environment.

Big challenges when I started at Atria.  I was working for another company and was pursued by Atria after another co-worker was hired as Director .  Promised training  but then cancelled and nurse sent to help me for 2 weeks but no or very little training done due to extinguishing daily issues. One week training in Kentucky done after 2 months at company. I was working 10-14 hour days.  I was coming in at 1am on a few occasions  to  check on allegations of neglect and sleeping on the job by staff from staff.  Long term  care staff were running the building and not happy with changes for the betterment of staff and residents. Care staff were upset over co-workers being fired for sleeping on the job, no uniforms and direct negligence of residents.  I had  in-direct threats of car vandal which actually happened.   Care staff called corporate  for a  meeting to fire me.   An ad  for my job    was posted online 1 month prior to me being asked to leave.   I confronted the  corporate nurse and ED and I was told that it was a misprint.  Over the  past year I have applied for more jobs than I care  to mention where my resume, my credentials and my reputation have gotten  me a first interview but when Atria was called for reference check and the prospective employer  was  told that I was mean to the staff and they did not like me. This is not legal. Subsequently, I have been black balled from the senior living job arena. The day I left, a meeting was scheduled with my staff and upon my departure the corporate nurse  met with them and told them that I the mean nurse was fired and they did not have to fear anymore for their jobs. I was also told my staff in attendance that other derogatory  comments were made about me.  Some staff were happy I am told but others were crying.   They were tired of being bullied by co-workers. Someone finally stood up to the care staff who thought they were running the show and obviously they  were.  

If I knew then what I know now I would have done more research on Atria before leaving my previous job where I was happy.     :)

1. Amazing residents, making a difference in their lives is a huge satisfaction. 
2. If the community GM and senior management has a good leadership skills and supportive enough, this is a best place to work. 
3. Free meals 
4. Beautiful community building 
5. Some of the team members are truly amazing.
Cons
1. Tenure staff steps over on others and resist the change, due to lack of good leadership here other managers wont get enough support. 
2. Tenure staff resist the change, and community GM lack of leadership skills in identifying these issues. 
3. Senior management is bias wont help if reached out, they will jump the conclusion. 4. Roles and responsibilities are unclear, operations are not streamlined with sister communities. 
5. Hard work goes unnoticed most of the time. You would support other departments to meet their goals, but you wont get the same support in return.
6. If you go above and beyond, either you will be pulled down or credit will be taken by the others. 
7. Lack of respect when communicating.

The Prince George Chateau is a very fun and rewarding place to work that leave me feeling like I make a difference, every day. Our residents are the top priority and they're wonderful to see, talk to and support. We get plenty of support from all levels of management so we can continue to constantly improve and be the very best that we can for the amazing people that live here. Additionally, our company supports many volunteer opportunities and community support for Prince George so you can feel good knowing that you are doing everything you can to support the community in which you work and live.  

I've worked in two positions here, server and prep cook. As a server back in 2015, I was popular with the clientele and it gave me a measure of protection when management turned on me due to my medical disability and pushed me out. There is no advancement in the waitstaff team. Each shift at our building is 2 hours and if you are transit-reliant and booked for B/L/D, you are there for roughly 12 hours because you can't go home. 
I'm back in the kitchen now and while I like my head chef, I struggle to get along with the hospitality management, different people in the same position. I've been snapped at, treated like a child and whenever I finish my work in a timely manner, I'm given extra because "they want to keep me busy" when the sous chef goes out for frequent smoke breaks. 
I'm quitting by the end of summer. I used it to pay my bills, but my mental health is gone. 

Working at Atria Senior Living was a deeply disappointing experience. One of the most serious concerns was the lack of protection for staff against inappropriate and abusive behavior from some residents—including incidents that crossed the line . These issues were reported but often ignored or downplayed by management.

Support from leadership was minimal at best. Managers were unresponsive, and there was a clear lack of accountability or care for employee well-being. Additionally, head office continually set unrealistic performance goals without providing the resources or staffing needed to meet them, creating a toxic and high-stress environment.

Overall, Atria prioritizes appearances and numbers over the safety and mental health of its team. I would not recommend working here, especially for anyone who values support, safety, and respect in the workplace.

The equipment they give you needs to be duct taped together most of the time and you're lucky if you can even get a vacuum bag. The carpet shampooer is unbalanced and likely will spill the recovery tank on you. Management can't even seem to keep doors locked most of the time it appears. They can't even seem to put away the keys to the filing cabinet to which your personal Information and employees and residents is kept many a times I've had to take the keys out and put them away. Management is basically incompetent and doesn't care about your safety whatsoever my advice stay far away but don't even consider taking this job for less than 25 Dollars an hour. Even a couple of managers have even seemed to run away from this job in the last year.

The View is filled with unprofessional waitstaff and don’t even get me started on the management. Multiple longstanding employees have quit due to the state of the management in the building, and the community relies on cycling through incompetent teenagers to serve the residents. Gossip and favouritism runs through the building and not many people have the residents best interest in mind. If you plan on working here, don’t. if you plan on living here, don’t. There are many other places to live and jobs to have that aren’t as  unprofessional and toxic as the View. The amazing residents don’t deserve to have to put up with the poor service, as well as poor hospitality they are shown on a daily basis. Since Covid this community has gone unbelievably downhill in regards to the management and waitstaff hired under that management. 

The management was poor. I was often scheduled for shifts where i was very clear that I would not be available. After being gone for three days with covid i was asked to come back, and when I said i couldnt do it being a risk for everyone i was told i was being irresponsible. as a first job in high school, it was not a good experience to understand work life balance as shifts are two hours and you could have 2 hours or 6 hours between shifts and its unhelpful. The other people i worked with were great, we all agreed that our job was overwhelming and too much. We were constantly understaffed. and i was told that after i quit i was still being scheduled. our manager and our cook left within the 6 months i was there. it was ridiculous 

What is the best part of working at the company?
Taking care of others and bringing a smile to others.  Interacting with residents .  The feeling of providing a needed service . Connection.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Feeling inadequate.  Not being in the right head space to do the things I felt needed to be done.  

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Just like home.  It was me struggling with myself .  

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Busy. For me , I started sprinting down the stairs and didn’t stop until I clocked out.

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