caregiver

medication technician

cook

licensed vocational nurse

server

Oakmont Senior Living

Pros:
* Beautiful, well-maintained community
* Opportunity to gain experience in senior living
Cons:
* High leadership turnover & general turnover created instability
* Ongoing staffing shortages; leaders frequently covering multiple roles
* Inconsistent training led to uneven expectations and team tension/division
* Unclear role definition and accountability
* Poor communication across departments and leadership
* Workplace dynamics at times included favoritism and internal conflict
* Highly pressured sales environment
* Concerns raised to management were not effectively addressed
* Limited support for accommodations
* Interactions with upper management could feel dismissive

Review: 
I joined Oakmont excited to grow my career in senior living, bringing a strong background in role for which I was hired.  Unfortunately, my experience did not align with expectations. Oakmont emphasizes a high standard on “first impressions,” but from my initial experience did not reflect that standard.  Within my first days, the Business Office Director shared that the community had experienced significant turnover since opening, which, in hindsight, was an early red flag.

Leadership turnover during my time created ongoing instability, making it difficult to maintain direction and consistency.  Onboarding was routinely ruptured.  Staffing shortages were frequent, often requiring team members to step outside of their roles to cover operational gaps.

The environment was high-pressure without the structure or support needed to succeed. Role clarity and communication were inconsistent, and cross-department collaboration often led to confusion and internal tension.

Training was not consistent across team members, which contributed to misalignment and frustration  within the team. While concerns were raised and support was requested, they were not meaningfully addressed. At times, interactions with upper management felt dismissive.
Additionally, I disclosed a medical condition and requested accommodation, but was not supported through that process—disappointing for a company operating in senior living and healthcare. 

Culturally, the environment felt  divisive rather than collaborative. While performance goals were set high, the approach to achieving them did not reflect a supportive or sustainable workplace.  The environment could feel divisive rather than team-oriented. In some cases, behaviors such as favoritism, poor communication, and internal competition impacted morale and effectiveness. 

At times, it felt as though the company placed a greater emphasis on its external image and online presence than on addressing internal concerns raised by employees. While reputation is important, meaningful support and accountability within the organization are equally critical. Efforts to present a positive image should be matched by a genuine commitment to employee experience and workplace culture.

Overall, this was perhaps the most difficult professional experience, I have yet to experience.  Due to inconsistent leadership, unclear expectations, and limited support, I felt set up to fail in this position.  I am beyond  disappointed.   

Advice to Management:
 Improve leadership stability, standardize training, and create a more supportive, accountable, and communicative work environment.

Advice to Candidates: 
Ask detailed questions about leadership tenure, training, and support systems. If clear, consistent communication and support is important to you, this likely isn’t the right environment for you.  You may also be replaced by your own colleague or subordinate on a dime - as they encourage toxic competition.  Be ready for that.  

Overall review:  RUN!!! 

After spending a year at Oakmont of Valencia Senior Living, I can confidently say that the work itself is easy and manageable for anyone who is honest and hardworking. However, if you think that because it’s minimum wage you’ll be doing the minimum, think again. The demands of the role far outweigh the compensation, and due to the toxicity of the work environment, the idea of staying more than six months for the pay is laughable.

Toxic Leadership: Management lacks basic leadership qualities and experience. My former supervisor’s dismissive and overly critical approach created a hostile work environment where employees felt unsupported and undervalued.

Self-Serving Management Culture: Many directors act as though they own the place, treating employees like personal servants instead of valued team members. Their focus seems to be on advancing their own careers and lining their pockets, rather than supporting staff or ensuring residents’ well-being.

Neglect of Staff and Residents: Oakmont charges residents and their families exorbitantly for their care, yet refuses to pay for quality employees or invest in retaining staff. This neglect hurts both the employees and the residents who depend on them.

Unfair Treatment: Employees face selective enforcement of rules, baseless accusations, and a complete lack of recognition for their efforts. Despite working extensive overtime and taking on extra responsibilities, contributions are ignored or criticized.

High Turnover and Overwork: The turnover rate is so high that employees are forced to take on responsibilities outside their roles. I personally worked as a concierge, server, activity assistant, and housekeeper for four consecutive months, while there were always two to three open housekeeper positions. Despite being constantly called on my days off as if the building couldn’t survive without me, management made me feel completely expendable.

Lack of Growth and Support: Professional development is not supported, and ambition is often used as leverage to manipulate employees rather than encourage them. Despite taking on extra responsibilities and consistently performing well, I was denied a raise and left feeling undervalued.

I want to make it clear that I am not a disgruntled employee. I left Oakmont of my own accord after careful consideration of my experience. The decision was not made lightly, but staying in such a toxic environment was no longer an option. I hope Oakmont addresses these issues for the sake of its staff and residents.

First I want to start by saying, when I first went to the orientation for Oakmont I thought WOW a company that actually cares about us hard working employees! I have been doing this for over 20 + years! Boy was I wrong! I was let go cause of some lies that were told by a person who abuses and neglects and talks down to the dementia residents in memory care (she's had 10 warnings about it and still working there). These nasty directors take my job from me when I ran and kept the memory care unit going all the time. I worked 16 hour shifts all the time and I did everyone else's job on PM shift cause they didn't want to do it at the rate of $12.75. I would do 14 loads of laundry in an 8 hour shift cause no one else wanted to do it and the residents would have no clothes to wear but they took my job from a week before Christmas cause of some abusing liar that the memory care director is BFF with! There are employees who leave residents in their own soaked urine/feces depends and wont give residents showers for weeks, not days I am talking weeks. I have went to my directors to report this and I am always told I will take care of it! Guess what?? Nope never nothing is done about it! It makes me sick that favoritism rules this company than actual caring and having a heart towards these elderly people! I have prof of ALL these statements that I have mentioned in this review and I plan on taking this to the top and I wont stop until these residents of this Oakmont is safe and being taken care of like they are spose to be! Oh and I was promised (2 months) a better position as the assistant activity coordinator and it never happened! So for those of you who want to apply to Oakmont Of El Dorado Hills, BEWARE cause if your not in on the favoritism list you wont last! 
Big suggestion from me: Get better directors who know how to run a successful crew and stand up for their employee's when there are problems brought to their attention right away and not ignore or get off their phones and actually pay attention to their employee's when the problems are brought to them! I bet I would have my job still if all these were followed! Sucks cause I loved my job and now I am no longer with Oakmont:(

My experience working at Oakmont of the Lakes was extremely disappointing due to ongoing operational, management, and communication failures.

There was no consistent or accessible management presence to address scheduling changes or employee concerns. Schedules were frequently changed without proper notice, including shifts being added late at night for the following day. As a part-time employee, I clearly communicated my availability and the need for advance notice, yet these boundaries were repeatedly disregarded. When concerns were raised, there was no clear chain of command or leadership available to resolve issues in a constructive or professional manner.

Additionally, there was a lack of transparency regarding policies and expectations. Management referenced an employee handbook that was never made accessible to me through the company’s app or otherwise, making it difficult to understand or comply with rules that were later enforced.

What was most concerning, however, was the workplace culture. On multiple occasions, family members approached me directly with concerns about rumors and inappropriate information being shared by staff about residents and their families. This created an uncomfortable and unprofessional environment and raised serious concerns about confidentiality, respect, and trust—especially in a senior care setting where discretion and integrity are essential.

I care deeply about residents and take pride in providing compassionate, respectful care. Unfortunately, the lack of leadership, poor communication, scheduling instability, and unprofessional conduct among staff made it impossible to continue working in this environment. I would not recommend Oakmont of the Lakes to care providers seeking a well-managed, ethical, and supportive workplace.

Typical day: Do crossover with the shift before you and then you need to start doing laundry and showers. Then you must get the dinner orders for residents who don't leave their rooms. Once you do that, get the people who need reminders to come down for dinner. Since we are constantly understaffed, care givers are expected to help in the kitchen and clean the common area bathrooms even though that is not in our job description.

While working for Oakmont's branch company Ivy Park, I learned that most of the residents are wonderful people and they love having us take care of them. They noticed how management mistreats the care staff and disregards our concerns with declining residents.

Management where I currently work has high turnover rates and they constantly get bonuses and raises while care staff get paid just barely over the minimum wage. I can't afford to eat more than one meal a day even though I work 5 days per week PLUS extra 8 hour shifts I pick up.

The only reason I haven't left yet is because there are residents who rely on me and since they're already understaffed in all aspects, I don't want to leave them behind.

I decided to leave the position on my third day. Initially, I was enthusiastic about the role—the first two days were positive, and I believed it had the potential to be a long-term fit. However, my experience changed significantly on the third day when I began shadowing the caregiving staff.

Unfortunately, the work environment among some of the caregivers was not what I expected. I observed behavior that included unprofessional interactions with families, excessive gossip, and a general lack of support or camaraderie. The atmosphere felt cliquish and unwelcoming, which made it difficult to feel like part of the team.

During a meeting on my third day, I experienced behavior that felt intentionally isolating. The chairs on both the left and right sides of me were moved, creating a noticeable gap, despite there being plenty of available chairs at the ends of the rows that could have been used instead. This, along with dismissive looks and a general lack of inclusiveness, made the environment feel unwelcoming and contributed to my decision to step away from the position.

While I appreciated the professionalism of the activity coordinators and upper management in the front offices, the majority of my role involved working closely with the caregiving team. Given the dynamics I observed, I felt it would not be a healthy or supportive environment for me to thrive in.

I was invited to return and give it another chance, which I appreciated, but ultimately decided it was in my best interest not to continue. I hope this feedback can help foster a more inclusive and supportive culture in the future.


The kitchen is nice to work in compared to most commercial restaurants, but the lack of communication, especially from management is a significant problem. They will hire almost anyone who can pass a background check. The kitchen is not a professional establishment in any way when it comes to employee work ethic, and there is an underlying 'every man for himself' attitude throughout the kitchen and dining room.

The front-of-house team is the biggest problem. It consists of mostly 16-21 year-olds who don't act like they've done a full day's work in their lives. They're allowed to get away with just plain lazy work, sometimes flat-out just standing around during service or leaving their assigned tasks to someone else at the end of their shift. I lost track of the number of times I had to pick up their slack during and after service.

I repeatedly had to go to the front-of-house manager and ask that their team make sure they're doing their job, end-to-end, but got less-than-satisfactory results every time.

I also lost my job there due to a lack of communication. They never explained the communication rules for going on medical leave (I burnt out from months of BS from the FOH and having to do two shifts worth of dishes in one, most days) and the day before I got my work release from my doctor, they terminated me for not checking in at least once a week, even though they knew I was coming back very soon.

Don’t be fooled by “luxury senior living.” The residents were great. They truly made the job bearable. Everything else was a nightmare. It didn’t matter if it was the kitchen, the front desk, the care staff, or the maintenance department. Each department was a mess and not one person knew how to communicate. The management was disconnected and avoided key issues. There is tons of employee turn over and because of the short staffed environment, training is super rushed or non existent. It seems like the average caregiver lasts 2 months or so. And the ones who have stayed always voice they are looking for new jobs. The resident family members would always make comments about the turn over which was sad. Even when there was a lack of caregivers, they still continued to move people with high needs who needed a lot of attention in. It seems like every leader in that building knew each other prior to getting hired and had an “in” and weren’t really qualified. I wouldn’t recommend this place for even an enemy and it’s truly the residents who suffer the most from the inexperienced and unorganized staff. Based on the reviews it seems like this is company wide. Steer clear.

When I first started working there it was very pleasant, I had a great boss and team who knew how to manage everything properly and work together to make things go by smoother. Then that boss left and so did the majority of the team and it went downhill. Most of management shows a lot of favoritism in their employees and has no shame in making the others feel left out. We were not treated equally. Marketing and Management acts really rude and snobby to the rest thinking that they are better than the rest of the employees just because they are higher ups. Marketing doesn’t even remember most of the their residents names. Seniority goes out the window, employees who have worked there for 5+ years are tired and feel under appreciated for their time and hard work at that company. Even then it’s so hard to get a raise or even a simple thank you for your hard work. Super toxic work environment, management is too pushy and asks inappropriate questions to employees who are clearly having a tough time mentally. Not to mention they are always short staffed. The environment  makes it physically and emotionally tiring 

Oakmont is a very special place full of wonderful residents and really caring employees. No environment is perfect so there is always room for growth, but Oakmont truly strives to be a positive, uplifting space for all. There is definitely a strong sense of community at Oakmont. Co-workers are supportive, friendly, and genuinely care about the residents and one another. It's a place you will experience meaningful connections and there are opportunities for advancement if your heart is in alignment with the vision and you are looking to build a career there. If you are a compassionate person who values quality in your work you may love working at Oakmont. Determination, a positive outlook, and willingness to communicate are key. Be open to talking with your supervisor or director. They are kind and flexible and will always help you find the answers you need in order to provide excellent care and a positive working environment. Oakmont is good at truly striving to live its mission and values of meaningful relationships, winning culture, authenticity, teamwork, commitment, compassion, and resilience. I'm grateful for the time I spent working at Oakmont. It was a very positive experience.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Caregiver 626 salaries reported	$18.11 per hour
Medication technician 613 salaries reported	$19.09 per hour
Cook 258 salaries reported	$19.37 per hour
Licensed vocational nurse 98 salaries reported	$107,117 per year
Server 259 salaries reported	$17.12 per hour

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