Pros
Schedules are flexible This would be a great job for somebody who is retired, looking for part-time work only, or otherwise doesn’t need to survive off the paycheck No office drama- you don’t see your coworkers very often, and they’re some of the most hardworking, caring people I’ve ever met
Cons
The pay is incredibly low, and you may be expected to do everything for clients. HIGH workloads. They consider you to be “on call” pretty much anytime, and my office can get passive aggressive or just plain nasty if you say you can’t cover a shift or (god forbid) you call out sick. They get very pushy about making sure you don’t call out because of illness/weather/any other factors in your life. When I was hired, I was told there would be opportunities for advancement and employment in the office. The owner has hired 3 office staff since I’ve been with the company, all without telling any of the caregivers or giving us a chance to apply. I’m pretty frustrated with this, and have started looking for a new job. Variable schedules = variable paychecks. My office hates paying me overtime, so they consistently under-schedule me while making sure I never keep additional clients very long. There is a very high injury rate. I’ve strained my back twice this year and didn’t get much support when trying to contact the office about it. Some of our clients are just nasty. I’ve been yelled at, had people call my office to lie about things I did or said, had clients intentionally try to injure me, the list goes on. This office serves a wealthier client base, and quite a few of them are just incredibly rude, entitled retirees with children who aren’t much better to deal with. There are a few caregivers in this office who are just incredibly unimpressive. Constantly late to relieve you, blatantly breaking company policy, and refusing to give any significant information about the client’s condition. These are not only incredibly unhelpful, but unprofessional, dangerous behaviors.