Pros
Honestly, I feel like if I emphasize any “pros,” it would mislead you into thinking I thought this was a healthy, normal workplace with pros and cons to carefully weigh — that you should even consider working at — instead of what I perceived as a threat to my mental health based on my direct experience and what looks to me like a lack of durable ethical decisions in upper top- most leadership--when no one is looking. Imagine the show The Office — but it’s not even remotely funny -- the bad jokes are on you, and you can’t change the channel. That's how it felt to me, everyday. I say that as a peer in good standing for over five years, with multiple certifications and deep embeddedness in the local peer community, along with literacy in ethical codes of conduct around peer support, and over 10 years in community health in other roles. I don't speak flippantly and I've never left a review like this in my life -- because I never thought I would've felt I had to. In any case, after I pointed out (in a review Glassdoor replaced automatically with this one), the lack of detailed positive reviews — and shared my own story about what I thought was mistreatment and a “toxic family” vibe — three near-perfect five-star reviews seem to have appeared, one after another, during what I consider a relatively short window of time compared to average posting frequencies that I think I see. To me they're almost maybe like gifts from the gods above, up upon Mt. Temu of Public Relations. Look, I’m not saying they’re fake — I just think they're easy to satirize as though they were. One opens with, “The culture has never been stronger, and leadership is more aligned than ever before.” Another is titled, “Building a Stronger Future Through Culture and Commitment.” Honestly, I can see how they might read like state-run news headlines from an authoritarian government, to some. They might not know whether to slap their forehead, slap their knee, or run for the border and flee.
Cons
Kidding aside, what’s more likely: that three people independently wrote what I think are vague, odd, glowy reviews over what I think is perhaps a relatively short window — or that the company maybe rushed to manage optics and flood the zone with shiny, happy people to bump the average rating? Reviews ending with “Nobody’s perfect,” like a friendly pat on the back to management — that’s normal, right? Totally not weird at all, arguably? It all looks so goofy to me, either way--who talks that way? Just imagine, hypothetically, if the management of some company, prone to bungling everything, just bad at being bad, had someone else write that kind of thing to both congratulate and excuse themselves — while trying to buy more time — but ultimately didn’t even get their money’s worth, only making things worse? I’d watch that show, however ostensibly improbable the plot. In any case, I remember this company asked me to keep 'secrets' I had every right and hope to share —what I see as key parts of my recovery story and the authenticity of my voice as a peer specialist — while having no apparent right to make such directives at time of hiring. I believe it harmed my mental health for an extended period, even well after I quit. I wonder who actually knows about it until now? Maybe it hurt so much because this company told me I presented a "risk" to the recovery of fellow staff members and clients-- if they knew the full truth of my own. I protested then they gave me an alternative explanation that also didn't make sense to me and I truly doubt. Can anyone explain this? It also troubles me that, in my view, the company seems to lean on the language and imagery of recovery values — including 12-step principles — while to me not internally upholding the core ethics those values represent. In my experience, this has created a dynamic where moral language and even tradition can be used more as a protective shield than as a true guide for conduct-- a well precedented social dynamic I believe I see in history. I believe this dynamic here has probably made it feel harder for employees to raise concerns about the company, counter to the transparency and accountability at the heart of genuine peer work. This is my impression. What do you all think? Could that be true and account for why no one has spoken up yet, despite the majority of negative reviews that indicate to me that something is perhaps profoundly wrong here and many of those words reflect genuine unresolved pain and not just disgruntled people? Are we sure this is actually a company with a harm reduction driven mission, led by recognition of the importance of peer support and its values? I'm not sure it is, actually, when no one's looking, based on my direct experience. I think it's fair to pointedly but politely ask the company's leadership how they recommend I make sense of my experience given that the following text is confidently displayed on the company's website in bold?: No one should suffer twice. It's worth mentioning that my recovery only began when I finally separated myself from a toxic family system and refused to carry the burden of a secret that wasn’t mine. I was scapegoated for telling the truth — despite personal risk, long periods of self-doubt, and complete rejection from relatives who still present themselves publicly as honest, while hiding harm behind silence. That secret contributed directly to my addiction. They protected their image; I nearly lost my life. In hindsight, I’ve come to see that life sometimes prepares us for what’s ahead — in ways we never could have predicted. If secrets make us sick, as I know first hand, then what does it mean when secrecy seems to me like it could be a leadership strategy here— in a field where transparency and accountability are non-optional? And what, then, do you think that might mean to me, and enters my mind, when I look at all these positive reviews looking so odd to me? I can only imagine that at the time all this happened, leadership may have tried to explain: “We’re not silencing anyone — we’re just aligning narratives to protect stakeholder confidence during a sensitive growth cycle.” Or: “This wasn’t about exclusion — it was about ensuring message discipline so we can continue delivering impact at scale.” My imagination speaks for itself, here. Everything makes me wonder if the company prioritizes optics and contractual incentives over safeguarding the scope and legitimacy of peer support. I wondered why peers were seemingly ever generating 12-step-themed (or any specific pathway, for that matter) engagement content-- when that’s completely outside the scope of what they're authorized to do and arguably undermines the legitimacy of the credential, in a way that may not serve the public interest? I sure hope they still aren't and I'm assuming they aren't, but I would find it upsetting to learn, if they still were. Bottomline: If you’re a peer or anyone who takes their commitment to transparency, fighting stigma, and accountability seriously, I honestly recommend you run for the hills, but trust your instincts, foremost. No matter the case, please take the negative reviews very seriously and look for what I see as symmetry. I believe there may be significant, insoluble internal-strain here unless much, much cooler heads prevail, with only something like a completely new leadership. At least that's how I see it -- and I suggest you form your own opinions. Unfortunately, I believe JRR Tolkien's 'Dragon Sickness' may have completely doomed this venture already. We may see, with time.
