I worked on the site level so I can't speak to the corporate office much. However as time went on, I became increasingly frustrated with the property staff. I was often left to run the office alone due to absences by my coworkers and supervisor. To the point that even residents would notice and comment "you're the only one in the office again?" My supervisor called in more often than she was there and would even be absent for visits by the RVP or other corporate employees which, in my experience, is unheard of. I vocalized my frustrations with this and specifically expressed that I felt as though my dependability were being taken advantage of (this is when I was left to prepare for our RVP visit alone). I was given a political response placating me and was told that my "loyalty was what made me such a great employee" which just felt like a slap in the face, especially since the next day, when the RVP was scheduled to show up, I was once again, the only person that came into work. That was the catalyst for me to begin seriously job searching. Then, in general, when the office was back at full staff, my supervisor had so much catching up to do from the absences, it was more stressful because everything was an emergency to get done by the deadlines of something that had been sitting in someone's email. It was very much that a lack of preparation on someone's else part constituted an emergency on my part. So even though it was frustrating that my supervisor didn't come to work, everyone preferred the absence because then we could actually get our work done. It was a difficult dynamic to navigate because even though I felt as though the office depend on me a lot, I also felt like I was expected to stay in my role and not push the boundaries of my authority or responsibilities. My supervisor would be very upset with anyone (maintenance included) if she felt as if they overstepped her but at the same time with so much absence, people had to step up to get things done. There were several instances where we had to wait for a week or more for her approval on high priority maintenance items. My understanding is that the issue of absences existed before I worked here and has extended past my departure as well and with the longevity of the staff I don't see this changing. Also, at one point the company restructured the bonuses for several positions, resulting in a increase in the bonus for my position. Then 6 months later they told me that my bonus increase was a mistake because my property was seen as an "easier" property and they took the increase away. I really felt as though that invalidated my work and that I was not appreciated because in the grand scheme of things, is it really going to break the budget of the property that repeatedly maintains a positive NOI to give an employee an extra $250 a month? Lastly, this is a very petty complaint and most people probably wouldn't mind but we had to wear uniforms. I was told it was a company requirement but due to COVID there were a lot more company wide zoom calls occurring and I saw that no other property wore uniforms. I understand the need for a professional look and dress but I probably would have looked more professional dressing myself and wouldn't have felt so stifled. If you don't even trust your employees to dress themselves, it doesn't evoke a feeling of an environment that trusts and values their employees
