cook

community manager

server

caregiver

housekeeper

Atria Senior Living

Very challenging work load. Not enough staff hired or budgeted for as required by duties daily. Some managers are overworked while others are doing personal tasks because they don't have enough to do. This is very frustrating for mgrs who work 60 hours or more per week and other who are working on personal stuff blatantly while at work.   Makes for poor relationships among managers.  It's a 24/7 commitment for many of the managers.  About 150% turnover in personnel prior to covid, probably much worse now. No continuity among staff. Some mgr positions were left open for weeks, someone new was hired and quit within weeks due to the environment, pay, hours, and work conditions. One position in less than a year had over 4 different people hired for one spot and no one stayed.  They left to accept better positions, paid far more, more pleasant culture, better job, more appreciation for the work they did, nice people to work with, etc.  Very sad. Bad attitudes by many employees either due to them not wanting to work and not caring about their job and the residents, or due to management not treating the few excellent employees well for their hard work and not paying them enough for what is required in their jobs.  Management personnel don't work together as a team and many do the minimum they can do in their job. Corporate management comes in and each has a different idea of how things should run and the local mgrs are berated and ridiculed even when they give 110% all of the time and when they are doing what their prior "boss" told them to do.  It's very physical work for some of the mgrs in their positions as well as lots of meetings, paperwork, requirements by corporate that are unnecessary and take up valuable time that could be better spent with residents meeting their needs and wants for the high prices they are paying to live there.  Not enough staff time budgeted for some areas, but corp. still expects everyone to do a great job, pay minimal overtime, etc...  The best employees usually don't stay which is very sad and challenging for managers.  Excellent workers get frustrated when their co-workers aren't doing a good job, so more work is put on the really good workers.  Due to frustration the excellent workers usually leave. Then, you must recruit new workers and you never know how well they will do.  Constant, constant turnover. Bad employees stay, good employees tend to leave when given the opportunity.  Pay is very very low for responsibilities, time worked on weekends, holidays, and special occasions when employees must leave their own families to work and serve the residents.  Residents are older, many don't feel well or  have any family to visit or give them attention, residents can be argumentative with negative attitudes which is challenging and taxing for good workers even when they try their best. Some residents are never happy regardless of the effort given by the workers. There are not enough caregivers and many aren't very good, don't care about their job, and don't care about the residents.  Some are superb but they tend to move on due to low pay, no rewards or appreciation by management for a job well done, etc...  If they would pay more and hire more excellent workers who truly care about doing a great job, they would have less turnover, happier residents, more continuity and team work among staff, and an overall happier environment for all concerned.  But mgmt must pay the workers in the facilities more money, treat them well, and show appreciation for the hard jobs they are doing 24/7.  Most workers locally get minimal positive feedback when they do a good job.   

Nightmare.
I’m ashamed that I work for this company and hope soon to not to. 
The building in Annapolis is beautiful from the outside but inside it’s falling a part. It’s overrun with mice and bugs. It’s filled with black mold. The ceiling leaks which causes constant problems all over the building. Several ceilings have collapsed into resident rooms. Currently black mold is so bad they had to move all of the residents off the ground level. There are open holes in the ceiling all over the building. I honestly think it’s a toxic environment not fit for people to live in with the spores etc... 
The worst part is that management only cares about filling rooms. It is supposed to be an assisted living facility. They allow people in there who have dementia to such a degree that it’s like working in a asylum. Residents come out in the hall with no clothes on. Others walk the halls non stop asking the same questions, one resident can hardly see or hear but keeps trying to go down a staircase constantly. How she hasn’t fallen is beyond me. She doesn’t know what year it is much less that it’s dangerous. A resident just tried to attack staff with a hammer a couple of weeks ago. He has since been removed. We have people that can’t eat by themselves- but they have been brought into an assisted living facility where there is no care that they require. Residents are filthy. They smell. It’s disgusting. As adults they can refuse to bathe. They are so mentally challenged that they don’t realize they a walking around in clothes soiled with feces. There was one resident who despite having a working toilet defecates in a grocery bag and then carries it around the facility. The management has to fill rooms or they loose their job. The result is they let ANYONE in.
This place is a revolving door for employment. They can not keep directors. I have known at least 3 directors that dropped their keys and quit on the spot. There have been several executive directors since I started. Currently- we have no executive director, no sales director, no maintenance director, no staff at all in maintenance, no staff at all in housekeeping. The CNA’s are told they have to clean resident rooms right now. So in addition to the HEINOUSLY low pay, the CNAs who are very understaffed have to deal with “crazy people”, who should be at another facility, clean rooms, and work in a toxic building. It’s madness. 
When all of these concerns are brought to corporate nothing is done. Clearly they don’t care. 
RUN, do not walk, away from this company.
As soon as I can I’m out.  

I started working 20 hours my first two weeks. I then got up to 30-40+ after training and covering for multiple people. I worked three double shifts in the short amount of time I was there. I then, get my hours cut to 9 hours a week, due to, too many people being hired. I had no choice but to leave. It was costing me money, to make money. That's not part time, that's a waste of time. 

   Then months later (current date), I see a position open for a receptionist. I applied, and three days later, I called to follow up on my resume. Then I speak with someone who wants me to come in for an interview (knowing that I use to work there), and said she would call me in the morning for details. Two weeks now, and trying to reach her is impossible. After leaving multiple messages, no call back. I believe I am actually being ignored. You don't treat people like that. Job to do or not, you expect respect. If they are not respecting potential empoylees, do you think they are respecting the residents? If you don't want me, a simple, " thanks but the position have been filled", or "I will get back to you ASAP", would be good right? I guess not.

   While I was working for Atria, there were alot more CONs than PROs. A few residents that were there, had a hard time holding their bowels. They were left there in the dinning area. One resident in particular, would not shower, and smelt really really bad. But residents and employees were there to suffer and expect to do their jobs while others wouldn't. People eat there. Serve food there. Accidents happen, but allowing to leave them there is against health code regulations. Do you want to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner in the bathroom? I sure don't. 

   Residents are paying for their meals and some were very picky... But they are paying to live and eat there. They have that right. Who ever the people were, who handle food orders, allowed the kitchen to be out of stock on so many things for days, almost weeks at a time. Residents get a tad upset when they can't have something they want in particular. Something as simple as a banana, milk, even water bottles.

   PROS. Birthdays were celebrated, holidays, entertainment, and random fun. That means one person who was in charge of events, WAS doing and caring about their job, and the residents. 
  
   It is fun learning names, having conversation and building relationships with the residents.

I use to love working for Atria.  Now the boys in KY seem to spend their time devising how many different forms they can make us report the exact same information on over and over and over again.   Our days in operations are constantly demanding and one needs to rise to a constant barrage of unplanned occurrences. These guys seem to think it's ok to add unnecessary chores to our already impossible day.  I do my job well and have actively started to job hunt because just when I calm down after receiving yet one more new instruction/policy from corporate another email arrives asking for more.  For God's sake just get out of my way and let me do my job.  Or is raising occupancy, increasing satisfaction scores, and surpassing budget expectations not enough?  We spend so much time figuring out what they want us to say on sales/action plans instead of just selling and managing.  Our property has extremely and consistently high occupancy but instead of being happy about it, we have to sit on one phone call after another listening to others tell us how we are suppose to do our jobs.  Hey is it possible that we might know what we are doing?  Maybe you could learn something from your people in the field if you listened once in awhile instead of always talking at us. Fine tuning sales plans that we never even use to be successful just so corporate can feel like they are in the loop is a waste of time.  Starting to feel like they are attempting to make our operations like McDonald's, unfortunately we are dealing with human beings not hamburgers and honoring elderly individuals dignity means care should be handled with a highly individualized approach.  Why don't they set us free to do our jobs and if we do not produce than add us to the calls and micro manage list.  The communities that are producing should be left alone.  That alone is motivation to perform.  No ops calls, no sales focus calls, no sales plan calls if you are performing at a certain level, but if you aren't performing than you are on the "list".  Oh and by the way the bonus plan is not "all that" and is taxed at a much higher rate than normal salary.  Plus they have changed the criteria.  Just pay us.

I loved working for Atria at first. Even with the abrupt change that 2020 brought us. But that's also aboht the time I started noticing off stuff. At the beginning they offered us a very nice differential due to all the extra work we did with skeleton crews. They brought is agency to help. Things went well. But that all stopped about 6 weeks into it. I know on the care side management foughy for us but corporate answered with paper towels and crackers. 

Overall staff if friendly. But they're fake. The relationship between some of the staff and management outside of work gives some staff members a sense of superiority. It isn't uncommon to hear a supervisor state their personal opinion about someone and use their position to threaten their subordinates. But you don't feel comfortable telling their supervisor that because you already know they get special treatment as it is. 
Raises are few are far between. If you work here don't give them your best. You'll be evaluated as a mediocre employee despite experience, receiving awards, continuing your education, and multiple family/resident compliments to management about your care. They'll look for any reason to make sure you don't get that measly quarter. 
You won't be given full information and if you notice something off about a resident you'll be brushed off. Then suddenly it's an emergency and oh my who could have seen that coming. 
If you like being unappreciated and being told what your supervisors personal feelings and thoughts about you as a person are with a helping of threats, this is the job for you. 

The benefits are good and they work with your schedule as much as they can. They also do their best to grant time off requests. Free food is cool too. 

*Typical day at work: Working here was like working in a factory. Exactly the same, every day, with no variety and zero flexibility for the timeline of structured, job related tasks. Though I suppose the residents benefited from this.
*I learned that corporate compliance comes at the cost of employee mental health.
*Management roles are usually filled from within. There are a couple  people who thrive in this working environment, and they climb the ladder very quickly. 
*New hires tend not to last more than a few months.
*The workplace culture best suited for those who say "yes" to management without asking questions. The whole "We're a family," pitch is a mask for manipulating employees into into an unhealthy relationship to their job. There is no room for your learning curve. There is no forgiveness for mistakes. Employees are expected to work efficiently as robots without taking into account that caring for the elderly is a role that requires a HUMAN TOUCH.
*The hardest part of the job was saying goodbye to residents when it was their time to shuffle off this mortal coil. Also, complying with corporate demands while maintaining positive relationships with the residents. Thankfully, most of the residents seem to understand that the issues the community faces are ones that trickle down from corporate offices. 
*The best part of the job was meeting the most amazing and accomplished humans I've ever met! The residents all have such wonderful stories, and often showed deep appreciation for those serving them. 

There are too many horrible things to list about this organization. 

The main complaint is that there is such high turn over because they treat workers horribly. They will make sure to fire anyone that is actually useful and good at their job but also mess with the status quo. Then, they try to pile on anything and everything on the few workers that they have that are good but don't try to mess with the status quo of the environment in the work place. The worst part is that the workers that aren't that great, pretty much get away with whatever they want, simply because they're supposedly 'good' at their job. 

It's sad because some of the residents I genuinely loved there. However, couldn't stand how much they refused to try and hire more people, and instead pile on work loads onto people who are sick and need a day or two off to recover. 

I will admit I learned a lot because of how much they put you through, but it can take a toll on a person, and that's not even the end of it.

Another complaint is that they basically don't want to keep their promise about giving a bonus if you refer someone. This was the main reason why I left. 

TL;DR - Don't be fooled by this place. If you get hired the same day of the interview, it's because the place is bad and they want to do nothing more than put you through the ringer by placing every task on you as much as possible. Instead of doing the thing they should be doing - you know, getting enough people to have the workplace function. They refuse to hire enough people. Get out and leave while you still can - you're genuinely better off working at a convenience store or drive thru than this place.

I used to be happy about going to work because I really felt like the Atria mission actually meant something. The longer I worked there the more I realized that atria actually does NOT care about their employees or their residents. They care about their money and their upper management. I know very few of the front line staff that don’t have to work two and theee jobs to support themselves because Atria doesn’t want to pay a reasonable wage to the employees that actually care about the residents. They rather give it to the department heads who do very little in the actual running of the community or upper management. Bet not one single department head or upper management has to work more than one job. This company is extremely top heavy and corporate greed is alive and well at Atria .  You do get a yearly raise which usually ranges from .15-25 cents, not even enough to cover the increase in the cost of living. RIDICULOUS. They have employee surveys asking our opinions but even when you voice concerns they don’t do anything about them. And the unethical stuff that goes on there in the attempts to satisfy Atrias unrealistic and unnecessary rules and policies would make anyone question whether they should live there much less work there. Department head turnover is ridiculous because of all this unnecessary paperwork and rules. I really wish that Atria cared about its staff and residents as much as they cared about lining their pockets with money. And the free meals are a joke unless you enjoy toddler sized portions of gross food.

As a resident services assistant, my typical day at work consists of assisting seniors with Alzheimer's and Dementia with activities of daily living. For example, I will help them throughout the duration of my shift with bathing, eating, dressing, toileting, grooming, etc. I really love working with my co-workers. Teamwork is key in my department! Recently, though, there have been too many changes being implemented at once. The hardest part is being told different things by different managers on duty. Our residents' comfort and health are our main priority, and I understand that the changes the managers are enforcing are for our residents. But the managers do not seem to care or really understand that another caregiver is needed on the floor. There is too much work to be done in too little time. If we do things the way the managers want them done and end up not finishing everything in time to clock out before overtime hits, we get written up. If we do things the way we need to in order to clock out in time, we also get in trouble. It is a no-win situation and because of this confusion, a lot of times, several employees must work through their break and even come finish their work after clocking out. We understand that should not be done, but it is the only way we can finish all of our tasks without going into overtime-- which they are really adamant about. They seem to care more about staying under budget rather than hiring a much needed extra caregiver.

Honestly, the company is clean and very well maintained on a face to face basis, however I personally beleive their could be more secuirty for the residents sake, and less accidents.
The kitchen itself could use re-staffing, especially with management.
As far as the kitchen goes, their could also be more staff in that particular area when it comes to delivering food to the residents. 
At night, the kitchen is closed and technically their is noone allowed in after 12am, but that is where more security comes in. Also Every employee needs badge admittance for now on. The back kitchen door has a certain number lock, but employees need badges for now on, to ensure the safety of residents. I worked there myself back in 2011 and only for a few months. I lost my job due to entering the kitchen area after 12am in order to grab a copy of the following work schedule. However an employee called the police on me because I refused to tell him my information when leaving. Turned out he was an employee in casual clothing. He was very hostile towards me and threatened to fight me before calling the police. He got lucky, I told him he had no chance in a fight with me, thats when he backed off and stayed at the building when I finally left for good. I later got a call from chef Justin the following two days informing me of my job loss.
The company is great to work for as far as benefits and pay go, but there are too many flaws when it comes to employees and security.
:)
- (guitarist for TRENDKILL)Devon Shane Ryan
Thank you for your time and consideration
Bet you guys thought I was dead by now, huh? I

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Cook 4 salaries reported	$20.13 per hour
Community manager 30 salaries reported	$56,061 per year
Server 5 salaries reported	$18.57 per hour
Caregiver 4 salaries reported	$15.39 per hour
Housekeeper 4 salaries reported	$15.13 per hour

Working at Atria Senior Living: Company Overview and Reviews

Atria Senior Living

Atria Senior Living Ratings

Popular jobs at Atria Senior Living

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected