Toxic work culture with poor management and low pay - Architectural Designer CHERIE NG ARCHITECT Employee Review

Very limited positives beyond basic exposure to active projects and site visits. Unfortunately, the overall work environment and management experience heavily outweighed any potential learning opportunities.

Very stressful work environment for junior staff. As a recent graduate entering my first architectural role, I experienced frequent public criticism, inconsistent guidance, urgent deadlines, after-hours messages, and a lack of constructive mentorship despite the role being presented during the interview process as an opportunity for supervised professional experience and OAA-related development. The pay is very low considering the workload, pressure, expectations, and overtime-style demands. For the amount of stress and responsibility expected from junior workers, it was simply not worth it. Communication from management often felt disrespectful and discouraging. Questions were not welcomed, and junior staff were expected to somehow understand office systems, standards, and workflows immediately with little to no proper onboarding or training. Asking for clarification could make you feel like you were “wasting people’s time,” which created a very intimidating environment for someone trying to learn professionally. The atmosphere in practice felt highly critical, emotionally exhausting, and uncomfortable on a daily basis. Public criticism in front of coworkers happened frequently, especially under deadlines. Instead of mentorship and guidance, the approach often felt focused on pressure, blame, micromanagement, and constant fault-finding. Attempts to explain work or clarify misunderstandings were often shut down immediately. The overall culture did not feel supportive for junior staff trying to learn and improve. Another major issue was the contractor structure. During the interview process, the position was described more like a three-month probation period leading toward a long-term role and supervised architectural experience. However, after working there, it increasingly felt like the contractor setup mainly benefited management by avoiding the responsibilities and protections associated with regular employment while still expecting full-time employee-level commitment, fixed office hours, direct supervision, overtime-style availability, and constant oversight. The office also operated out of a residential home setting, which blurred professional boundaries and added to the discomfort of the work environment. There were frequent after-hours expectations while management maintained that contractors were not entitled to normal employee protections or benefits. Staff were often pressured to remain beyond scheduled work hours until management reviewed the work. The turnover during my short time there was honestly alarming. Multiple workers left shortly after joining, including people who stayed only one or two weeks. I was also told by another employee that several people had left within a short period before I joined. That level of turnover speaks for itself. Overall, this was not a healthy environment for junior staff, recent graduates, or interns seeking proper mentorship, professional development, or respectful workplace communication.