Pros
Great concern for self-care. Case managers genuinely care for their clients and often go the extra mile for them.
Cons
Leadership often felt, for lack of a better word, "fake." Efforts to support employee well-being—such as asking about mental health or hosting staff events—often came across as performative rather than genuine. At the same time, many leadership decisions contributed to employee burnout and didn't seem practical or well thought out.
At the YALE Navigation Center, I observed leadership spending money on unnecessary purchases while other departments were forced to cut their budgets to cover essential needs. These decisions often seemed more focused on appearances or personal recognition than on improving operations or supporting staff.
There also appeared to be a double standard when it came to accountability. One leader was quoted as saying, "You'll never hear me say sorry or apologize," which reflected a broader reluctance to acknowledge mistakes. In my experience, leadership did not always follow the same policies they expected employees to follow. Employees could face disciplinary action or even termination for policy violations, while leadership appeared to operate under a different standard.
The overall culture felt rooted in fear rather than trust. Employees worried that leadership would look for reasons to discipline or terminate them instead of working collaboratively to resolve concerns. Combined with inconsistent decision-making and low accountability, this created a stressful work environment and contributed to poor morale.