Good - werkgeversreview Mentor bij The Alternative Learning Community

Learning curve is hands on.

Required to perform over 40 hours of unpaid overtime weekly as a routine expectation. A delay of even one minute in logging in could result in a half-day salary deduction. Saturday work was not disclosed during the interview process; after joining, Saturdays were required and, although described as half-days, work frequently extended until late night. On regular weekdays, working hours routinely extended to 11–12 hours, with no overtime pay. Managers and senior leadership, including the CEO, were unwilling to engage in discussions regarding overtime, workload, or compensation. The work environment included unnecessary backhanded and ageist remarks, particularly directed toward female employees. Employees were told they could log out on time, yet additional tasks were frequently assigned 10 minutes before the end of the workday, effectively preventing timely sign-off.

There's not much I can add under for Pros with regards to the job or the working environment. The only Pro is that this place is a good platform to engage and help children with special needs to achieve various aspects in life through OT, sensory training etc. It may be difficult initially, but you will enjoy spending time with the children there. They offer day-care for the children so you'll be able to build rapport and work with them as well.

The management here believe that they are incapable of making mistakes. They have ridiculous answers to employees who pose genuine questions. When they come to you to ask you if there's anything you need help with, they'll spin the narrative in a way that you're lacking in one aspect or another instead of providing useful solutions. On occasions, the solution is non-existent and you've to figure it out on your own. The leave policy is sub-par. I've not heard of any Organization that requires you to call the CEO in the morning before 7 am to request and negotiate for a leave despite having multiple pending leaves. The working hours are from 8:15 am to 6 which is approximately 10 hours. If this isn't long enough, they make you stay back in campus till 7,8,9,10 pm etc to finish the work. There have been multiple instances where they have kept employees till 8/9 pm , sent them home and told them to finish their work from home. Of course they aren't gonna provide you a leave for the next day or allow you to come slightly late the next day despite making you work for 12+ hours on the previous day. Half days in this organization means you'll have to work in school from 8:15 am to 3 pm so that you can leave only after all the kids have gone home. The management also loves to dump last minute work on their employees and to make them suffer for mismanagement and poor decision-making from their end. They strongly do not have any work-life balance. Despite being in a field of mental health and welfare, there are plenty of other organizations that offer you a mental-health leave whereas you can feel free to break down in campus during working hours. Employees here are labelled as "Mentors", not "Teachers". For this reason, they will make you manage things like inventory, pantry, first-aid, purchasing etc. You are required to physically purchase items you need for the campus with a bill and only then will they reimburse you(Despite it not being prompt) There was a very experienced HR that joined a few months ago and left within a month. It was very well-aware that he was not able to steer the ship or be the bridge between employees and management which goes to show how the place is being run. They pride on calling themselves a startup despite being approximately 5 years into the process, as a result they expect and demand more and more from you since they prefer to hire individuals around their 20s as they know such individuals would not have much commitments outside their workplace.(It's easier for them to make you do what they ask because their response will be "What else you do have to do? You're young, you have energy!!" The management is a den of confusion. They are completely unaware of looking after their employees. They require people who will put their head down and do as they say, they will spin a narrative saying that your work with the children is more important than anything else. Instances where the Government has declared a holiday results in the children not coming to school but bringing all the employees to work through the floods and harsh weather because WFH is never an option unless you have a serious medical condition. They also may not provide a leave to you if you have a family member in the hospital due to your "commitments" to the organization and the children. Highly wouldn't recommend pursuing a career in this organization unless you're looking for short-term work as they don't appreciate individuals with a personality - They want those people who'll do as their told without questioning the management. Lastly, if you're to speak up against management or question their practices, feel free to find yourself on the chopping board very, very soon - Just do as they say or hope you're on leave that day. This is a personal account of the experience in the organization. Given things could be very different for different people, hope this information helps you to build a bigger picture before you make considerations.