cook

janitor

fitness center attendant

associate

early childhood teacher

The Arbutus Club

I worked at The Arbutus Club as a graphic designer for nearly 5 years. Over the duration of my employment, I met many hard-working and dedicated fellow staff members — many of whom had worked at the organization for several decades, speaking to the stability and loyalty the Club can offer. 

As a Communications team member, I worked within a small, but mighty team of 3.  The role provided a great amount of multidisciplinary experience in a graphic design, digital marketing, print production, copywriting, communication strategy, and interdepartmental project management. As relatively new to the industry, it was a crash course in a bevy of different marketing and communication practices. The Comms team and the assigned work were thoroughly enjoyable and I feel I effectively cultivated technical skills, while getting  opportunities to develop professionally. 

While thankful to get entrusted with a wide range of creative projects, my experience at the club also taught me valuable lessons due to the organization's systemic issues. Unfortunately, the Club suffers from siloed departmental structure that makes cross departmental processes and collaboration incredibly difficult. A significant amount of power was centralized in the office of the former CEO, which resulted in favouritism, discriminatory attitudes, a culture of fear, and behaviour that resulted in widespread stress. This resulted in a siloed departmental structure, less than optimal collaboration, and difficulty streamlining workflows.  

The Communications team works closely with all organizational divisions and service outlets. Due to this, I found it difficult navigating the politics within the senior management teams and balancing my own authority for the projects I was responsible for. The workload as a Graphic Designer is also incredibly intense, since the scope of the role goes beyond merely design and is thoroughly multidisciplinary. It was immensely busy, stressful. I typically have stamina for a heavy workload and a high threshold for rapidly changing circumstances, but staying above water was difficult. Ultimately, this difficulty did play a part eventual burnout and a mental breakdown.

As an individual from a marginalized community, I often felt compelled to code shift, be tokenized, and endure micro & macro aggressions (ex. racism, sexism, verbal abuse witnessed and experienced). The is a lot of conscious and unconscious bias, but unfortunately no DEI informed training and education. If you are from a visible minority or a marginalized community, it may be an exhausting environment for you to be in. 

Overall, the club provided me with some fantastic colleagues (some of whom are friends now), helped me develop skills, and provide me with career experience, but unfortunately there was a cost that I was not willing to endure for an extended period of time. Just  food for thought for those who are considering joining the team.

Overall a fairly good place to work. Co-workers are encouraged to help each other out and they are understanding of sudden health issues. The biggest downside is the lack of "Additional" staff, meaning if more than 1 person is sick or on vacation, everyone ends up working at least an extra day or two. Recent CEO Change so please disregard my rating of the CEO as we've had him less than a month, although so far he seems pretty good.

Regardless of department, the typical day involves a lot of customer service since this is a private club. The upshot is they veto the members fairly well and have good communication, so the likely-hood of a serious issue with a member is fairly low.

Management is a mixed bag- some are willing to go out of their way to help their employees, other's refuse the advice of people who have worked in the field or department for years. Overall, expect any major improvements to the departments to take a few years.

The hardest part of the job has to be dealing with various pitfalls caused by poor-architecture or penny pinching. Many positions require long standing hours and do not have fatigue mats or chairs. Limited signage allowed throughout the club mean reminding people of the same 3 rules and answering the same 5 questions over and over again, every single day.

On the upside, it's a family place, so If you like kids, there are always a few who'll decide you're the best thing since sliced bread and come to you for advice and help. It helps break up the day.

The location is convenient, close to public transit and grocery stores. The role allows you to develop customer service skills, along with multitasking abilities and some basic barista experience. There are occasional perks such as access to a staff room, juice dispensers, and free coffee and tea.

However, the work environment can be challenging. Some customers can be rude, and there is a strong expectation to remain extremely patient and accommodating. The workplace culture may feel toxic at times, especially if you don’t quickly fit in with the team. Communication can be lacking, and management tends to micromanage. While the manager may initially appear kind and supportive, this impression may change over time, as communication issues and a self-focused approach become more noticeable. Misunderstandings are often escalated directly to HR rather than resolved informally.

The workload is quite heavy, and the pay does not always reflect the demands of the job, especially considering the club’s reputation. Advancement opportunities are limited due to a strong emphasis on seniority.

Overall, it can be a decent starting job for students, particularly for short-term experience, but it may not be ideal for long-term growth and if you are thinking of leaving don’t mind giving a notice just quit because they will terminate you without giving a notice 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The comradery & flexible hours.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
being consistent and not letting anyone down.


What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment is satisfactory. Culture is challenging, but good.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Fun & benevolent mornings with the kiddies. Exciting afternoon time of learning the fundamentals of movement.  Excellent sessions for acquiring, refining, and enjoying the sport of gymnastics.

The Arbutus club was such a fantastic place to work. I've never felt so appreciated by a company with bonuses, Christmas gifts, random acts of appreciation all year and constant training. Staff that work here tend to stay a long time (for me 4+ years) as there is also lots of opportunities for growth into higher positions. Couldn't recommend it enough. The only reason I left is because we moved. 

The worst place I have ever worked in my entire life. The job responsibilities are too much that you can not have a sec for yourself and have to rush all the time. The culture of the company is definitely not good, everyone talks behind each other's backs and teaming up against each other. Management is the worst, they wont see your efforts, they offered me to get a certificate and then they gonna give me a better position but once I got the certificate they said they won't and I was waiting for that position for 6 months and then they terminated me for being sick and take a rest for the second time during 9 month work.

The front desk at the Arbutus Club has a toxic culture. There is a noticeable “mean girls” energy, which makes it difficult as a new person trying to learn the many responsibilities of the reception. Instead of support, I encountered gossip and negative behavior, which made onboarding more stressful. I even mentioned this to one of the managers, but it wasn’t addressed, which speaks volumes about the environment at the front desk. That said, the rest of the staff outside the reception are generally kind, and I’ve been able to make good friends among them.

Honestly I don’t recommend working in the operations department as a janitor, is not a healthy environment, in fact, is very toxic, you will experience extreme stress and tiredness and always they will find a way to add more pressure and tasks. Physically and mentally is exhausting. Please follow my advice avoid working in the club in this type of positions. 

The arbutus club is an amazing environment to work in! The managers are really supportive, understanding, and great people. Being a youth leader is great for students, as it comes with flexible hours and full-time work opportunity in the summers. It's a super fun place to work and a great environment. There's also lots of room for advancement, as well as transferring from department to department. 

Really enjoy my job with Arbutus Club. Management is extremely supportive and flexible, the hours are kind on the body and the atmosphere is very positive. The only downside is my current wage, but others in a higher position are I'm sure paid well.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Cook 1 salary reported	$24.83 per hour
Janitor 6 salaries reported	$22.05 per hour
Fitness center attendant 7 salaries reported	$24.04 per hour
Associate 2 salaries reported	$22.40 per hour
Early childhood teacher 3 salaries reported	$30.80 per hour

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