Office politics beware - Substance Abuse Specialist The GEO Group Employee Review

2.0
Nov 23, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Good place to cut your teeth in a mental health-related field. - Good work-life balance (never had to take work home) and consistent schedule. - You will learn a good bit about social learning theory, therapeutic communities, and group work if that's your thing. I really did enjoy working with inmate clients.

Cons

- Heavy on office politics. The recovery of inmate clients and substance abuse felt like it was pushed to the background. You will often do things not on your job description for the sake of "looking good" to other employees ("volunteering" to help out in other understaffed departments). - No phones or smartwatches (obvious, really). - Had a supervisor who heavily used countertransference in everyday work with clients. This led to problems with ethical boundaries. - Getting a license or a degree comes with no real benefit but added responsibility (no raises). - You have to wait to get buzzed in about six different doors/gates by COs (who may or may not like you). It is not unusual to wait 20-30 minutes at a door. - We did not have immediate access to a bathroom because it was "unsafe". However, exceptions were made for a few employees. We had to use the bathroom in the picket, which you had to wait to get buzzed in for.

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The GEO Group Response
2y
Thank you for taking the time to voice your concerns. We are sorry that you felt the management staff was not as supportive as you expected. We will share this information with the appropriate individuals within the organization to address this concern.

Explore other reviews about The GEO Group

5.0
Jun 26, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You're able to learn a lot about what the job offers. Always something new, which is good for the position.

Cons

A lot of the things that needed to be fixed were beyond your control, and working with corporates, sometimes you have to fight for what you want.

2.0
Jul 8, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

If you know policy things can go smoothly.

Cons

Favoritism, drama, rumors, supervisors contradicting themselves.

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