Do as I say, Not as I do - Anonymous employee Saela Employee Review

I worked at Edge long enough to know there are much better opportunities out there. Over the years, as the owners have accumulated more wealth, they have turned into “Do as I say, not as I do” owners. The owners are all about “love-based” motivation on the surface, but when it comes right down to it, they lead with fear rather than love. They prey on your fears and weaknesses to guilt you into staying…whether it be staying at the company instead of taking another opportunity, or by staying late or working on weekends. If you want to leave, they will tell you how you are just scared of being challenged and you will regret leaving the company. Not as a threat, but they get into your mind and make you question every decision you have ever made. They will tell you all the things you will be apart of and how you will be able to influence the company to do great things. They get you excited about being a part of the future of Edge, but at the end of the day, all the “promises” they make you are empty promises and will never be followed up on. Promises made by management rarely ever manifest. The culture is definitely unique. But that isn’t necessarily a good thing. The founder of the company created a culture curriculum based on his teachings. It’s all a bit cultish. During weekly “culture” meetings, you listen to one of the founder’s topics and then have an hour discussion about it. If you have any thoughts about the culture, outside of what the founder says, you are told your opinions and thoughts aren’t inline with what the founder has envisioned and then you have one-on-one meetings to make sure you “understand” what is required you understand. For those who are in management, there is an onsite Culture Director who you have to meet with to make sure they are 100 percent bought in and making sure their teams are indoctrinated as well. And some people find out the hard way that nothing is confidential on those meetings. On paper it may sound legit, but in practice, it’s another way for owners to control the managers. It really is on the verge of being a cult. Management also feels there is no need to bring on more staff. Managers were told on many occasions to “leverage the resources available to us” so as to make the deadlines. Workers are asked to stay past 5pm and work weekends on a regular basis. If you didn’t work 10+ hours a day, you weren’t committed to the company and were deemed lazy. Management loved seeing people there until 7-8pm at night because it showed the employee’s commitment to the job, even though it was at the sacrifice of the employee’s family. Even though you work long hours and keep getting more responsibility piled on your plate, you are still way under-compensated. But when you bring it up to management, they refer the to the culture curriculum and say “make it happen”. There is no work-life balance. They may say they strive to create an environment for work-life balance, but it is non-existent. You will not be allowed to leave early to watch children play sports or watch school programs, leave during the day to take a child to a doctor’s appt, or anything else remotely like it. Unless you have a manager who goes against the system and let’s you do those things behind the back of upper management. But those are harder to come by because you don’t know who to trust. The company is all about control. The owners thrive on controlling their people, as well as the narrative. If managers want to discuss something outside of the culture curriculum, they are told “there is nothing outside of what the founder talks about that needs to be discussed.” Books on leadership are not approved because the founder is arrogant enough to believe all people need is his gentle, guiding hand. Yes, he is very successful, but at the end of the day, words and actions matter. If you act as though you are better than everyone else because of your successes, you will not garner any respect from your employees. Edge Pest Control is a very successful company on the outside. The product they deliver is second to none. But on the inside, it’s a mess. The past few years have reached over 150% turnover rate. If the culture is all that special, the turnover rate wouldn’t be as high as it is. If you valued your people more, you would get more out of them. Management also thrives on suing former employees, whether or not they have a case against them or not. They breed fear into all the employees as a way to control them. I learned a lot from Edge Pest Control. I enjoyed my time there. But after being out of their clutches, I realize what a toxic work environment it was. And not just for me. The majority of employees more than likely feel the same way towards the culture and it being a toxic place to work. Bottom line is, there are many other pest control companies you could go work for where you would learn just as much, if not more. You would be better compensated and valued more as an employee. And you wouldn’t have to deal with the “fluff” of the culture that is wrapped up as “personal development program” but is nothing more than an ego booster for the founder. The owners use the culture curriculum as a way to justify their expectations of employees and justify their lives.