analyst

actuary

customer support representative

senior analyst

customer service representative

Lifeworks, Inc.

This company runs like a typical nightmare corporation.  

Main points:
- Incompetent and condescending leadership
- Unreasonable work expectations
- Extreme favouritism
- Unequal pay between employees of equal qualifications and performance (hint, pay is based on either your gender or your level of favouritism with the hiring manager)
- You get to work from home

Details: 

The people in the positions of power are completely incompetent and unknowing of how long a job takes, how much effort is required or even the steps needed to accomplish the goal.  The management I experienced is also unable to think for themselves and make adjustments as required to adapt to changing situations (which is essential in Disability Management).

30 hours worth of work is expected to be crammed into an 8 hour day since they state "We're not saying you have to do overtime, but everything on this list needs to be done today".

- if you are an unfavourite you can do (unpaid) overtime, get all the tasks done, work 13 hours per day, but if ONE task is overdue, you get called in a reprimanded.  I have seen this happen. 

Example: New files come in, the first step is an introductory call.  This introductory call requires you to get a full history of the illness, all symptoms, what the person is doing throughout the day, what treatment has been sought - also a full explanation of how the whole Disability Management (DM) process works, what will be expected of them, including timelines for paperwork.  

If you manage to get all of this without pausing, without the patient crying and with the patient giving you all pieces of information immediately, with appropriate detail, no backpeddling, no hesitating, no "I forgot to tell you this" - that call still takes a full solid 15-20 minutes.  Usually it's more along the lines of 30 minutes.  Advice from management is "Well, just hurry it up" - but if you hurry, you  don't get the info ... and then it's "You need to improve on getting the information".

We would get upwards of 10-15 new files per day.  

This is only *one* of the tasks required.  This doesn't count all the follow ups you have to do with the patients, including following up on doctors, writing medical questionnaires, reviewing the medical, asking for clarification, etc. etc.

Summary: A full-time caseload which is comfortable enough to JUST squeeze into an 8 hour day is approximately 60 files, 70 at the very maximum.  

Each of us had over 100 files and were expected to "deal with it" - but ONLY if we weren't "the favourite".

The Favourite: gets his/her overdue tasks done by other members of the team and gets time off whenever they want, including 6 month leave of absence approved because they feel like traveling/want time off just because.  

Unfavourite: All ideas, suggestions, requests will constantly, without fail be shot down, deemed "short sighted", or "unacceptable", or simply "We can't even begin to think how that could work" (one of them was a request for a sabbatical or Leave of Absence for Health and education).

Tested out theory, gave one or two ideas to a colleague who is a Favourite; idea(s) was/were immediately deemed "forward thinking", "great", "creative", etc.

As is public knowledge, Telus bought out LifeWorks in 2022. Prior to the buyout, I thoroughly enjoyed my work, my team, my management and the overall culture at LifeWorks - this time was the most enjoyable part of the job, I learned lots about clinical processes and interdepartmental communications. The negatives during this time were a lack of concise communication between departments (IT and HR were the worst offenders in the lack of cohesion among team members). 
After the Telus buyout, a fear-based environment took hold of the company. Managers and frontline workers alike did not feel the same sense of job security and satisfaction. Executives could not concretely promise that anyone’s jobs would be safe post acquisition which only added to the fear-based environment and frustration of longtime employees. (To clarify, when I say employees, that includes management and counselors too, as both parties have expressed their unhappiness with the direction the organization has taken the past year). 
In late 2022, many tenured, well-loved managers were let go from the organization with little regard for their psychological health. New supervisors and managers were brought in to fill the spaces of the managers who were let go, often giving half of the original manager’s salary to deal with the same workload. These new supervisors/managers were often unequipped to adequately support their teams which only led to further confusion and fear among team members; with this confusion came an even poorer communication level from IT and HR departments, who often missed crucial deadlines which left employees feeling bitter and uncared for. All of this generated a toxic work environment which is disappointing to say the least considering LifeWorks/Morneau Shepell has always championed themselves as a Mental Health company. I cannot articulate fully the distaste I have for this organization now, which was once a strong leader in psychological services, but is, in my opinion, now just a shell of its former self. 
In my personal experience dealing with the Disability Management team, the HR team and the IT team on a near enough daily basis for the last few years, I would not recommend anyone apply or work for LifeWorks/TelusHealth/Morneau Shepell. The rate of pay is generally low and absolutely does not justify the daily onslaught of stress that employees are subjected to.

I am not sure who are writing tthese reviews on this site, but they are telling you ALL LIES. Yes the salary is OKAY and the Benfits are great but the company as a "WHOLE" is lacking.

Take it from me who has been with the company for many years, and has seen the ins and outs of what goes on, it is worst than being in a concentration camp. They could care less that they pile on more work and more work, and DON'T want to PAY you for the hard work that you do. The company has the HIGHEST employee's on Short Term Disablility. That should give you a hint that the work is hard, stressful, and depressing and you will not be compensated for your HARD WORK.

For an EAP company that promotes HEALTH AND WELLNESS to their clients surely doesn't practice what they preach when it comes to their OWN EMPLOYEES. Apparently it is the way of WORLD to treat your employee's like they do not matter, don't know what world they are living in but it isn't the world that I live in.

The RAISE LOL LOL is laughable, they shouldn't even bother give raises to their employee's it is like spitting in your face and saying "who cares if you work hard here is ten cents for your hard work"

MANAGEMENT is another story in itself, it is like high school, management is on a power trip. They gossip and talk bad about their employees to other co works and other management it is sick.

JOB SECURITY I don't think so, they will drop you in a heart beat, this place has the HIGHEST TURN OVER RATE than any other call centre I have worked in and trust me it is HIGH. As soon as a new person comes in they are GONE.

My only advice too you, is too think twice before joining this company, yes the salary is good, but ask yourself one question is it worth selling your soul to the devil. That is how I look at this company as the devil.

I wasn't fired I QUIT but I could no longer stand for what this company is about.

IT IS ALL A LIE.

Clients are booked by a central administrative office. Counsellors are expected to see six or seven clients each shift. Very little or no clinical supervision provided. No training or continuing education  provided. Isolated from clinical colleagues. Meetings held by teleconference, the content of which included operational updates rather than clinical issues. As one might expect in a corporate environment, emphasis was not placed on client-centred care; rather, the focus was on maintaining and securing more contracts.  EAP work is generally tailored for a specific kind of client, one who is able to function in a work environment and/or who has supports in her life. However, not all clients fit inside this "box". Clients with histories of trauma, complex grief, strong Axis II traits, etc. are difficult to assess and treat within the EAP model. The difficulty within this model does not lie in being unable to treat such clients. Instead, the fact that clinical supervision is not available to assist with consultation around treatment planning to transition these indiv iduals to more appropriate resources within the allotted time frame is problematic Instead of being a supportive, rewarding experience as work in this field typically is, employment with Morneau Shepell was stressful, supervision and/or peer support was difficult to access, and situations that should have been discussed in clinical supervision were instead used as an opportunity to blame and shame.  I have worked for other EAP companies, and would gladly return to fulfill their contract work over having to continue to work for Morneau Shepell.

A  company that makes efforts to be on the cutting edge and has developed worthwhile initiatives to clients and customers. However, programs are developed and rolled out before logistics or resources are in place - often because an organizational customer has placed a demand for the program.  This has resulted on stress of Morneau employees who are trying to deliver the service or build the platform for it and has generally resulted in complaints from clients and and breakdown in delivery.  Excellent talent across the company. Encouragement, morale and respect between employees on the front lines (not management). Good benefits.  Poor wages, below industry standards.  Emphasis is on profit.  Employee morale is low.

Micromanagement and hierarchical management style. Aggressive. Lack of transparency from middle management up.  Consistent failure to acknowledge contributors to committees or projects, generally endorsing only certain people.  Opportunities are limited - under argument of restructuring they often demote or shift people into positions that are not qualified or displace people to move someone else into that position. Very high turnover rate.

I spent three years with this company at a mid-senior level. There is a severe disconnect throughout the organization.

The culture clash between Morneau (administering pensions and benefits), and Shepell ("work/life balance" services) is astounding, but no one ever seems to acknowledge, or address the inherent differences between the two companies. Yes, they are still two companies, just ask the people of Shepell-fgi.

Anything good that happens at this company is usually taken over by leadership, and they find a way to screw things up because of their petty differences and political sensitivities.

I realize this is a pretty negative review, but look up Morneau Shepell and the words they use when referring to themselves in terms of workplace mental health: "leaders", "pioneers", "part of small group of companies leading the way in Canada". i mean really, that's just too much. I can think of at least a dozen people who have suffered from psychological damage and severe depression because of this toxic environment. I know people who have been bullied and shunned by HR, I know that some bullies are still at the company, while the good people who were tormented have moved on.

Don't be fooled by the fact that this company has "good people". You find good people everywhere you go. It's the leadership you have to watch out for, and the leadership at this company stinks.

In my present job with Morneau Shepell I am employed as a responsible gambling coordinator inside Casino Nova Scotia, Sydney. I have occasion to meet with many members of the gambling public and offer any assistance to them from a responsible gambling education stand point as I represent not only my company but also Nova Scotia Gaming our corporate client. A typical day would be a 12 hr shift (3 times a week) where I work out of our Responsible Gambling Centre ( inside our casino) meeting the gambling public, mingling and offering RG tips and education. I get to learn a great deal about the patrons and how they act with us and while they play.  Our management runs out of Moncton & Toronto and we keep in touch on a daily basis.This is a very culturalistic environment to work in serving both the gambling public and dealing cooperatively with various colleagues. The hardest part of my job is convincing the gambling public to rely on true statistical info compared to their own interpretations of odds of winning. The most enjoyable part of my job is that I get to meet lots of interesting individuals and knowing that I have good management behind me to gage my activity with the gambling public. I will be retiring from this full time position near the end of this year and will be seeking part time employment to supplement my income.

This is a good company to work for with reasonable compensation, stability, and great benefits/perks for salaried employees. Fellow employees are great to work with. Counsellors/therapists are able to choose their hours and days of work allowing for flexibility and regular life activities. Delivery of service provides standard therapeutic frameworks making this position easy to adjust and settle into. Counsellor/therapists are able to gain a wide variety of therapeutic experience, while at the same time working with Shepell's various customer models thus providing an opportunity to develop versatility and competency as a counsellor/therapist. Training includes on-boarding with a reasonable learning-curve, plus on-going clinical and personal professional development, allowing the counsellor/therapist to adapt as their therapeutic base expands. As a Canadian company and a leader in this service-industry, Shepell's customer-base continues to expand allowing for new positions and advancement. Join the team and experience the benefits.

I have never worked for a company that was so morally corrupt. The company claims to champion mental health (they're the mental health partner of the Canadian Olympics), and yet when their own employees are asking for accomodation or assistance with their own mental health issues that are affecting their work, the company refuses any accomodation, dismisses your disability/condition, and attempts to force you back to work ASAP. Oh, and that you should just learn better coping skills.

You will be expected to meet high targets and deal with enormous volumes of phone calls, emails, and online chats. You will be spoken down to (and sometimes harassed) by almost all management figures, and you will be left feeling helpless. Company culture is that if you can meet targets, have zero empathy for clients, and take on more work than you were hired for, you will move up in the company. 

Targets are relative to booking (or not booking) services for clients. Trust me, it's not about helping the client. It's about meeting targets, making numbers, and doing things as cheaply as possible. I learned that every employee is literally just a number to this company- you can and will easily be replaced once you burn out.

I was present at Morneau Shepell for a little more than a year. During this time I was able to work on one major feature and many hundreds of bugs that could have easily been prevented by good engineering practice.

The releases were generally done on a monthly basis but where not executed in any kind of true agile process. 

Teams were unclear, and management was distant.

A great amount of information about business process was allocated to several prominent employees whose time was so valuable that it was difficult to get work done or otherwise be productive.

There was a lunch-room but virtually no culture to speak of. Close-knit workers would tend to stick together and form small groups but outside of a Holiday party and a movie day there seemed to be very little bonding.

No career path or performance reviews were done, no opportunity for learning or advancements were obvious.

Retention seemed to be low.

Benefits needed to be opted into in order to be received but it seemed that there was little to no access to HR to explain such things.

I believe it is a different world for contractors, but from the perspective of a permanent employee, that is what I experienced.

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