Toxic culture prioritizes senior leadership over employee well-being - Anonymous Western Financial Group Employee Review

The culture at this company is toxic from the very top. The CEO and his inner circle are the source of most of the dysfunction, fear, and burnout across the organization. They have surrounded themselves with “yes people” who protect each other while the rest of the company pays the price. This is not a company where employees matter. People are viewed as completely expendable resources to be pushed harder, blamed faster, and replaced when they burn out. The expectation is endless work, endless pressure, and if you disagree with sr leadership you’re our. Every restructuring or reduction simply means fewer people being forced to absorb even more work, while leadership continues demanding higher output with less support and fewer resources. Employees are worked into the ground while being told they still are not doing enough. There is no psychological safety, no trust, and no authenticity left in the culture. Sr Leadership only wants agreement and obedience. If something does not fit the narrative Senior Leadership wants told, it gets ignored, buried, or the employee speaking up becomes the problem. Fear drives everything here. Good employees who challenge decisions, raise legitimate concerns, or try to advocate for their teams are pushed out, sidelined, or terminated, while toxic leaders continue to fail upward as long as they stay loyal to the executive circle. The message is very clear: stay quiet, protect leadership, and fall in line — or you become expendable too. What is especially frustrating is how disconnected sr leadership is from the damage they are causing. While employees are drowning under impossible workloads, constant pressure, and collapsing morale, leadership seems focused on optics, politics, protecting each other, and hitting bonus targets while patting each other on the back. Decisions are made based on ego, image, and executive self-interest — not people, not culture, and not long-term business health. The leadership table has become an echo chamber where toxic behaviour, political games, and questionable business practices are protected and rewarded as long as the right people benefit and the numbers look good on paper. Meanwhile, good employees are exhausted, disengaged, and leaving because they are tired of being treated as disposable. This company does not have a people-first culture despite what leadership says publicly. It has a leadership-first culture where employees exist to absorb pressure so executives can protect their image and compensation.