retail assistant manager

retail sales associate

consultant

cultivation technician

Theory Wellness

This company demonstrates a consistent lack of leadership, organization, and accountability at nearly every level of management. Communication is unclear or nonexistent, expectations change without notice, and employees are frequently left without the tools or guidance needed to succeed.

Management culture appears reactive rather than professional, with decisions driven by short-term convenience instead of long-term stability or employee well-being. Concerns raised by staff are routinely ignored or dismissed, creating an environment where morale is extremely low and turnover is unsurprisingly high.

Compensation is significantly below industry standards, especially when compared to other smaller dispensaries offering similar roles and responsibilities. Salary employees are regularly expected to work extended hours and overtime without additional compensation, recognition, or meaningful reciprocation. The imbalance between workload and pay contributes heavily to burnout and dissatisfaction among staff.

Promises of internal growth and advancement are frequently discussed but rarely realized. Opportunities appear to depend less on performance or professionalism and more on whether individuals are perceived as fitting a certain social culture or being “cool.” Employees who do not fall into this inner circle are often left feeling overlooked, undervalued, and deeply discouraged after investing substantial effort and loyalty into the company.

Training is minimal, support is inconsistent, and performance standards are applied unevenly depending on favoritism rather than merit.

Workplace transparency is lacking, scheduling and payroll processes feel disorganized, and there is little effort made to foster respect or trust between leadership and staff. Rather than encouraging growth or development, the environment feels discouraging and disposable toward employees.

Overall, this organization struggles with professionalism, operational structure, fair compensation practices, and employee relations. Significant cultural and managerial improvements would be necessary before this could be considered a stable or supportive workplace.

When I was hired at Theory Wellness, I was ecstatic; I thought I had landed my dream job. The interview process was relatively easy and I immediately loved the work that I was doing.

I started to realize the true disorganization when I was not provided with items that I had been told would be there for me on my first day (water bottle, fanny pack, shoes, etc.). I shrugged this off as part of running a start-up and did my best to streamline processes as best I could. 

A little while in I began to realize that the majority of the things I had been promised in my interview, such as a chance for growth potential, were extremely untrue. Speaking with other employees, I noted that several of them left or were planning to leave for similar reasons. Many of them had been promised increased pay rates after a certain amount of time had passed and were all told that there was no money in the budget when their reviews came around (no matter how good their performance was).

My biggest issue with upper management was their lack of professionalism and blind belief in their leaders. One very prominent employee in the company (whom I worked very closely with) seemed to have a personal vendetta against anyone who: complained about out of date processes and equipment, mentioned unions, spoke up about unsafe working conditions and anyone he just didn’t like. He would make it his goal to follow them around and try to find literally any reason to fire them. 

In my attempt to gauge employees’ overall feelings about the work environment and their positions, I was met with suspicion from upper management, stating that they wanted to “make sure we were on the same page,” requesting that I share the responses with them. Luckily, I had foreseen this request and had made all answers entirely anonymous to prevent people from being retaliated against for genuinely honest answers.

This company does not care for its employee’s mental or physical health and will work you to the bone as soon as you’re put on salary. They make promises they can’t - or don’t intend to - keep and have a “hire fast, fire faster” culture. I highly (no pun intended) advise you look elsewhere for employment within the cannabis industry.

I began my career at Theory Wellness when the Adult Use industry was just kicking off in Maine and I brought with me nearly 20 years of standard retail management experience.  Right out of the gate, I felt valued and appreciated by leadership in a way I rarely felt with previous companies.  As Theory has continued to grow, I've been given multiple opportunities to advance in the past 5 years.***Being a young company within a developing industry, the pace of change can be rapid and difficult to predict.  Those with the ability to adjust and adapt quickly, who are willing and capable to think outside the box and are motivated to help build something special, will thrive at Theory.  As a field manager, I relish my opportunities to engage with retail teams across multiple states and markets, to help develop and elevate store leaders and partner with various support teams to grow and optimize our business.***Since we sell a product designed for recreation & well being, we are able to maintain a fun and casual vibe, paired with a level of professionalism that ensures the 'trains run on time' in a highly regulated industry.  And as an Employee Owned company, I know my decisions have a measurable impact on our success and I feel a true sense of ownership and responsibility.***Our continued growth and expansion provides upward mobility to anyone with superior drive, commitment, flexibility and an eagerness to take on fun and exciting challenges.  I have personally enjoyed some of the best work-life balance of my career.  That, combined with the great people and a very competitive pay & benefits package, makes working at Theory tough to beat.

In the time I was working for theory wellness I discovered a company that will sweep anything under the rug if it isn't "positive vibes". They fire people for the look on their face. The management only cares for you if you're in their clique, and most of the "work" you do is meaningless busy work. They schedule to "need" but supervisors and management shows up whenever they want and only ensurethat they have a work/life balance. (The example being, scheduling themselves to come in at 10 and showing up at 1045 more times than I can count). They claim that "we are a family" and that "they are there for you for anything you need" when you need something to be done they deflect it with long speeches of hope and present you with disappointment in return; like an email that is never responded to or a concern that is never addressed until it becomes a serious problem for compliance and the business as a whole. Essentially they will give you a pizza party instead of a genuine thank you or a raise for your hard work. Work life balance is not even a thing so do not even look for it. If you want to move up, they want your life, soul and spirit. They will take your ideas and give you no credit after they have made it law. The rules change so much that nobody could keep up with them. It's like they make rules to target certain people who the main clique doesn't like. It's a popularity contest that is tilted towards friendships that came before the job. Even when not qualified,  those friends get the promotion over the qualified candidate. In summary, save yourself if you don't know management beforehand...you won't get far

FIrst off I thank the company for getting rid of bad eggs. I think we all experience this as employees from time to time and it feels like no one ever does anything about it. I am in Waterville Maine and we had several people part of the first hire group that were not playing nice or working well together and it seems like it took longer than usual, but they addressed the problem. 

I love what I do, we often have complicate tasks and direction because of the industry and i enjoy my job. My boss is nice, their bosses are nice and they actually talk to us. One guy came to visit a couple months ago and bought us all pizza, talked to us and listened and I thought he was a vendor or something else and it was one of the heads of the company. I think he was new to the company or something like that, but we were actually all talked to, heard and respected which is rare.

Pay is good. Benefits seem better than average and I have decent hours and they work with me for some medical issues where I need to be out. They also provide college education and give nice product iscounts. I can't complain and actually love coming in each day!


I love what I do at theory and also can say it's the hardest job of my life. I know that sounds tough out of the gate, but you get paid more, you do get treated better and people actually listen to you when you have issues. 

It is very fast paced, you get better than average training and mentoring which helps a ton while dealing with compliance. This is not a pot smokers dream job, it's actually very hard work. You days rip by like at no other job, so there is a benefit to the madness. 

I like what I do, nice people and nice culture. One of the owners caught me eating in the breakroom and just started chatting with me. He is out at our store almost every week or so and when other owners are here they always seem cool. I feel like the team is more of a family here where they care about you and your concerns. I would speak up at my last company and get crapped on for it. 

I think the hardest part of this job is knowing that you are on the go all day and if you're down with that, it is the perfect place for you. Hours are consistent and pay is better than average. They give raises and I also received a profit sharing check with the team. 

I pretty much spend my time helping people all day. I have always known the benefits of this industry and plant....I have never realized how cool it would be to help people open to close each day. I know my review isn't supposed to be about the content of what we sell, but you have to realize it is a completely different culture than anywhere else. The team is awesome that I work with and I actually enjoy coming into work for once. Nothing is easy,  it is a compliance environment and you have so many rules to follow it becomes somewhat obnoxious. The company is very nice. I've never seen executives visit in any other company and act like they care about us. Here I am spoken to and listened to and the company seems to always be reaching to be better. We got an email yesterday increase more benefits for us and more discounts when it feels like everyone else is suffering or losing benefits. 

This is not an easy job but it is a fun job. I think people get confused trying to work here thinking it is all chill and just about talking shop, it is hard, it is what you make of it and you can truly make people's lives better all day long.

I started at Theory Wellness a little over a year ago and it is very hard. The job is tough, the industry is very difficult to work in. I think some people feel this is a cool and fun job when it's often very hard with long hours and tough ccompliance rules. I still love what I do with all of that said.

My team is super kind and caring. We have had tons of covid issues and I don't blame the company yet one of the owners came in thanking us all last night and bought us all food. Who does this? I take everything with a grain of salt on how companies act out there and I have noticed a clear sense of trying to be better here at this one.

I also have to say that diversity is unlike anywhere else here. We have numerous diverse leaders in our store and in our company, I see faces like mine and feel safe. The company works hard to balance all people. I have trans and LGBTQ guests that often come in and praise us for accepting them and this is the Theory Wellness difference. We love all people and I am so proud to be at a place that reflects that in what we hire. It means the world to me.

I never thought I would be in this industry. I don't use and started here about 6 months back. The job is very fun, the interview process was fairly normal, assessment, interview and hired about 3-4 weeks later due to delays getting a card from the state. Training was a combo of reading data, some PC training around compliance and then shadowing people. I feel like this is a completely different environment and it's not like a normal retail job. You have a ton of fun and meet really cool people and I truly like my coworkers. The job is very hard itself with compliance and dealing with complex issues where if you mess up you can get into trouble. If you have attention to detail you should be fine. If you're not into that detail this job isn't for you. Hours are inconsistent, but they post a schedule. You have to work rotating shifts, but everyone does so it's fair. They work with me on appointments and any planning. It's a great job, management here seems to care and does nice things for us. Plan on working long and hard days and if you are ok with that all will be fine.

I have been at Theory for about a year and have been promoted, or given different growth opportunities two times. Every step of the way from interview to training and then into my job has been fantastic. We have such a weird mix of teams it is hard to explain. Some people are super passionate and get riled up over things easy under pressure and don't make it and others that are calm and focused love it. It's a very hard role. You are often working hard for 3/4 of your day and the rest is kind of relaxed, but when you work hard you can't screw up or you can get in serious trouble since we sell a complex product. 

If you are a hard worker and like fast paced work, this is the place for you. I have also never seen so many people promoted, one thing compared to other companies, you can move up quickily here.

Side note----company gave us all two raises this past year to offset inflation. I thought this was super. The owners also actually talk to you and listen here which is nice, you feel a sense of family and not a corp experience.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Retail assistant manager 16 salaries reported	$18.44 per hour
Retail sales associate 18 salaries reported	$17.39 per hour
Consultant 6 salaries reported	$17.00 per hour
Pt 5 salaries reported	$17.00 per hour
Cultivation technician 4 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour

Working at Theory Wellness: Company Overview and Reviews

Theory Wellness

Theory Wellness Ratings

Popular jobs at Theory Wellness

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected