I'm not even sure where to begin. Buckle up, cause this will be a long one - it's taken me almost a year to finally be able to even talk about it.
I want to preface everything I'm about to write by saying that I actually worked for this company for a very long time, and I really enjoyed the work I was doing and the team I worked with, minus management. The majority of the people that are still there actually reach out to me and ask me to come back often. Safe to say I was very good at my role and went above and beyond for this place (my mistake).
First off, you will NEVER be compensated appropriately for the immense amount of work that you do. It doesn't matter what position or department you're in, how long you've been with the company, or how great you are at your job. Especially with the merge to Shoppers/Loblaws, the goal is to push people as hard as you can for the minimum amount of money. And then when you sit in the quarterly town halls, the CEO will complain during open questions that people feel they aren't properly compensated. How dare anyone ask to earn a living wage while being worked like dogs.
Secondly, and probably the most prominent issue, is senior management. There are hardly ANY cases where people working in middle-senior management have actually worked the jobs they're managing, so not only do you have zero training or support in your role, you're constantly told that you're not doing your job properly - but you need to figure out how to actually make it work properly. Good luck! And when you become good at it, they still won't promote you but will always outsource new managers. Senior management does not listen to their employees when they're told that something won't work, and then blame their employees when it doesn't work.
Third, you have the incredibly high turnover rate. Half of it being the amazing, hard workers who finally end up leaving because they're sick of the lack of recognition, lack of being heard, or find a job that will actually pay them fairly. The other half being the ridiculous firings/lay offs of the long term employees that actually know what they're doing and how things run properly. And don't forget, these people don't get replaced, they just move the work onto everyone else.
As for my personal experience, I not only had to train people who were being hired at a higher pay rate than myself, but I even had the pleasure of training and hand holding the manager for my team - instead of just being promoted to management after years of hard work and commitment, and being the go-to person for our department. A specific person in a position of power was notorious for bullying and mistreating many members of our team, and even though this was brought to HR, nothing was done. To say that this person is responsible for tanking the entirety of the department would be an understatement. Nothing will ever be done about this of course because senior management is very clique-y and they're all buddy buddy (especially going to sports events on the company dime, while the lowly workers are turning to food banks and working second jobs since they don't earn living wages).
They have removed the hybrid model (just call it what it is, one day WFH is laughable) and despite hiring a good chunk of workers to be remote, have decided that everyone is required to be in office 4 days a week. For those that work remotely out of province, they have implemented a tracking system on their laptops to ensure that you are chained to your desk and working every second of your shift.
All in all, every stereotype that you will ever hear about a toxic corporate workplace - this place has it all wrapped into one! I would only ever recommend this company to someone who absolutely hates themselves, enjoys being overworked and underpaid, being treated like garbage and gaslit when you stand up to it, and left to flounder with no support by management.
OH OH OH AND, don't forget the best part - the CEO herself has said on multiple occasions that the ultimate goal of Shoppers/Loblaws is to be the "go to company" for privatized healthcare in Canada. How lovely.
