assistant property manager

maintenance technician

maintenance manager

property manager

desk clerk

Mercy Housing

I worked as a Maintenance Tech for over 2 years. I worked with a really good property manager and other maintenance techs, some of whom I am still friends with, but upper management was completely out of touch with the needs of our property, and constantly gave us unrealistic expectations and timelines. My general impression of upper management is that they were snobs and looked at maintenance staff like Kleenex: to be used up and discarded.

The property itself was built in the early 80s, and was pretty run-down and neglected when I showed up. I was constantly under a crushing amount of work orders and unit turns.

My biggest complaint was constantly being on-call for emergencies 24/7. The emergency response protocol meant that I couldn't even go to a movie, or a ball game without being in fear of not being able to respond to an emergency phone call in a timely manner. Forget about camping, hiking, or taking a weekend trip out of town. You can't do it unless you're able to find another maintenance tech in the area who is willing to cover your emergency phone. I found this to be way too intrusive and restrictive on my personal life. I was the only full time maintenance person at my property; other properties with multiple maintenance people can rotate emergency on-call duties.

The pay wasn't worth the work load and the constant on-call status. Forget about getting any kind of significant raise. I got one $.50 raise in my 2+ years there. There are opportunities to make quarterly bonuses, but they're not very large, and meeting the criteria to qualify for a bonus was very difficult at my property.

If you don't have much experience, this would be a good place to learn, I did learn a lot, but once I felt I had learned all I could, I GOT OUT! If it wasn't for the great co-workers I met, I'd give this company 2 stars

I started out here as an eager, fresh faced recent college grad and left extremely stressed and jaded from my experience with this non-profit. From the start, I was put in the driver's seat and had a lot of freedom within my role, which I appreciated for that flexibility-- however, it came at the cost of having nearly no guidance from my supervisor, who was always absent and hard to get a response from either through email or calls. This lack of support and communication made it difficult and confusing to execute basic assignments integral to essential job functions. Regardless, you'll end up getting blamed even if you try to object or ask for what you need. There is little to no opportunity for advancement, even within my time they ignored my application for another senior position within the same facility I was operating in and did not do a job evaluation for me for a raise, even though I was promised one. The pay is laughable once you actually get in and see how overwhelming your workload is. I often volunteered my time to finish tasks after hours because I was essentially working two jobs at once when they fired a colleague of mine and because you are absolutely forbidden from taking overtime, even if it's just a minute. To add to that, the turnover at one particular So Cal site is so extreme, the residents at a facility have no stability or trust in the services offered by Mercy. That should've given me warning, but I thought it wouldn't happen to me. How naive I was. Don't get me wrong, I was and still am excited to assist and empower underserved populations. The people were by far the highlight of my experience and you will grow professionally from that interaction, but just know you'll have your work cut out for you. Management and unfortunately even your colleagues won't make it easy for you.

Overall, my experience at the property was positive — I truly enjoyed my role and working with the team. However, I encountered ongoing challenges with my supervisor, Alejandra, whose leadership and communication style created a stressful and unproductive work environment. In my experience, she lacks the management and leadership skills necessary to effectively guide a team. It’s also concerning that both the property I worked and another under her supervision appear to struggle with employee retention, which may warrant review of leadership practices.

I made multiple attempts to address my concerns directly with her regarding her passive-aggressive management approach and poor communication, but unfortunately this led to an unwarranted write-up instead of a constructive resolution. When I sought HR’s involvement, the process was delayed for over a month, and only progressed once I was already on PTO. The ongoing stress from this situation negatively impacted my health.

During my leave, HR continued to send work-related emails, which I found unprofessional and lacking in consideration. I believe the HR department could benefit from improvement in communication, empathy, and alignment with the company’s mission and values.

The onboarding process and benefits enrollment system could also use major improvement. My manager insisted that I enroll in company benefits despite my existing coverage being active, which led to dual coverage and unnecessary deductions for benefits I already receive at no cost through the county/state. I later learned that other employees had similar experiences—being pressured to enroll and subsequently paying for coverage they were already eligible to receive for free.


What is the best part of working at the company?
Honestly, there weren’t many aspects of the job I found fulfilling. However, the experience was valuable in showing me what doesn’t work for me in a professional environment. It helped me better understand the kind of work culture, leadership, and responsibilities that align with my strengths and values.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part of the job was dealing with the bureaucracy and a consistent unwillingness to change. Even when serious issues arose, they were often swept under the rug rather than addressed, which was especially disheartening given the vulnerable communities we were serving. It was frustrating to see opportunities for meaningful improvement go ignored, and it reinforced for me the importance of working within organizations that are transparent, responsive, and truly committed to the people they serve.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The culture and environment were incredibly challenging. There was a constant sense of instability, with people frequently being let go without explanation or transparency, which made it hard to feel secure in your role. While the company promoted values like cultural inclusivity, that wasn’t reflected in its leadership or board makeup. Staff were required to go through frequent DEI trainings, but without any real change or accountability, it often felt performative rather than impactful. It was a frustrating environment.

I worked at Mercy Housing for over 4 years.  I was very happy for the first 3 years but in 2025, the culture shifted with the message "return to the basics." This lead to more management oversight with day-to-day tasks and micromanagement.  I found this very difficult when managers would instruct me on how to write emails, overlook financial mishandling, and scrutinize my staff all while assigning new sites coming on line.  The 3% raise was not sufficient enough to cover the continued work expectations, deadlines and responsibilities.  Additionally, new county requirements meant additional data entry without compensation or factoring in the required time constraints to complete these requirements.  One perk is the early dismissal on Fridays, but I routinely worked late to fulfill my administrative tasks.  As a salaried employee, I ended up working 50+ hrs a week.  Unfortunately, this new culture no longer reflects the mission and values of Mercy Housing.  When I pushed back, I was reprimanded.  I eventually left due to ongoing conflicts with my director.  I do not recommend working here if you want to keep a work life balance and your sanity.  My anxiety skyrocketed the longer I was at Mercy Housing.  

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best of working for mercy is that you get off every Friday at 2:30pm. We get paid 40 hours and work 37 hours. Christmas me get the last week off with pay!

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Mercy will deligate so much work that n you in becomes unmanageable most of the time. There is mot enough time in a day for one person to do all the work. You constantly find yourself working overtime or you fall behind in work. You have a managers of  RS that are also coordinators. The residents are suffering because it more case management task then being able to follow up on residents needs and request. The case management piece always have deadlines so there is no way around it. One on ones are not possible with all the paper work and case management task. The problem is Mercy needs to hire more people getting pay increases is great but it does not change the workload. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
They say equity, diversity, and inclusion I do not feel they are at times. The environment is a very high stress environment. Constantly busy none stop work, which makes the time go by fast. What keeps me going are my residents and being able to assist those in need. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
No day is the same at Mercy, there are several task you can complete in a day. You are on the phone constantly checking emails and completing programming on some days.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Diverse / professional work environment with shared values and adheres to stated mission statement. Opportunities to advance within the many roles of the organization. Mercy Housing is very supportive of staff and team oriented w/ many trainings / other opportunities for growth. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
COVID made it stressful due to increasing high needs of residents served, but Mercy is dedicated to meeting the needs.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The environment is professional, but very caring. It is a supportive diverse team  whose focus is to keep residents housed and meet residents where they are while helping them achieve their individual goals. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Staff / Site meetings ; visiting individual sites to trouble shoot any issues if needed. Completing any compliance needs including MOU’s / site regulations. Meetings w/ Property Mangers to troubleshoot any issues at the various sites / create plan of action and plan / timeline of  plan execution. Team coordination / access any immediate needs for residents / staff.

I loved the interaction with seniors and was happy to be a part of this, truly a learning experience.
I think the hardest part of my job was losing people that I had gotten to know very well and some of their family members.  It was like a big family living under one roof.
the most difficult was having so many different personalities in the building and the conflict it created, I felt like I was dragged into too many personal issues and was always looking for more time to complete my daily work.  
I was happy when we had different organizations come in and speak to the seniors about programs that were available to them...keeping them active was a chore!
Management was very slow to react to issues and never seemed to be very helpful..I felt like I was in this by myself and was promised more help but never seemed to get it.  
I worked too many hours to complete work that 3 people used to do and I was on my own my last 2 years with the company...it became very stressful and I had no life after a while.  Frustrating that management didn't care enough about the staff or the residents who lived there.

Assisted client with stability and self sufficiency.  Interviewed and assessed an average of 5 incoming residents per week.
 Collected and analyzed data on individual clients using records, tests, interviews and professional sources. Conducted one-on-one counseling sessions weekly. Host counseling group sessions to discuss topics such as Financial Literacy and Staying Healthy.
Developed and distributed relevant and comprehensive written materials on local available resources, community/property events, and monthly newsletter.. Counseled clients to help them understand and overcome personal, social and financial problems.
 Met with clients in their homes to promote continuity of care.
  Cultivated relationships with potential employers and with referral agencies.

Enjoyed working with clients in achieving their self sufficiency as well as see the joy first hand once accomplished.  

The hardest part of the job is the removal of a child or elderly person from their home.

My Typical day is going into the office, checking voice mails and returning calls, have meetings with my staff about the goals for that day and address any emergencies. I complete any variances reports etc.. and check emails. I have learned a lot about being a Senior Property Manager in which you learned how to speak to your staff and just being a true leader, understanding to my staff and residences. The Management of Mercy Housing does not support you and your hard work. You also have corporate personnel that work for Mercy that are not transparent with the employees working at the properties and a lot of finger pointing. The workplace culture is very diverse and you have a few people that are team leaders and they are very supportive of any issues that may occur.  The hardest part of that job was dealing with seniors.  The most enjoyable part of this job is learning the various programs for housing, learning how to run a business from understanding variance reports, budgets ,etc,.. But the most enjoyable part is seeing smiles on the residence faces and establishing ever lasting friendships.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Assistant property manager 128 salaries reported	$24.66 per hour
Maintenance technician 109 salaries reported	$23.15 per hour
Maintenance manager 100 salaries reported	$28.33 per hour
Property manager 92 salaries reported	$30.47 per hour
Desk clerk 88 salaries reported	$21.09 per hour

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