City of Calgary Employee Reviews

Expect to be micromanaged like a teenager at their first job, while at the same time getting poor and often contradictive direction from leadership. Most new hires will quit within the first month seeking out better opportunities (even less paying) elsewhere. Do not expect any opportunity for growth, even if you stay at the position for a long time and have a high level of experience and education. Also, expect disrespectful comments regularly from the public, but unsatisfactory support from management, you are after all giving out parking tickets. Staff who work at the CPA for too long all agree that it becomes harder to find new work and land interviews if you are at the CPA too long as other employers do not see being an officer at the CPA as valid enforcement experience, so you get trapped in the position.

Pros

City pay scale

Cons

Oppressive and dead end

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Good place to work

Engineer (Former Employee) - Calgary, AB - 27 May 2023

It is a good place to work. There is a positive work environment. Collogues are supportive. They offer training opportunities. Management is supportive.

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Insights into City of Calgary

Based on 95 survey responses

What people like

Feeling of personal appreciation
Clear sense of purpose
Fair pay for job

good work to pay ratio

Utility Worker (Current Employee) - Calgary, AB - 25 May 2023

I really appreciate my job. get to meet lots of different people, never in the same place for more than a few days. career progression can be a little slow.

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No work family life balance as advertised, top heavy with management.

Utility Worker (Current Employee) - Calgary, AB - 11 May 2023

I thought I won the lottery at first with this job, but then the changes started. Schedules and shifts all changed without consultation of staff. If you have a family, especially with children involved in extra curricular activities then you can expect to miss a large amount of those. 12 hour shifts across the board do not work for everyone, even the older workers that have trouble lasting that long each day. Past experience is not recognized like it should be, and positive reinforcement for a job well done is never given. They hire new Canadians with zero experience that have 1 course and make them full time and promote them first before experienced employees to remain politically correct with inclusivity, even with some being not physically able to do the job.

Pros

Holidays

Cons

Long hours, lack of respect, corporate bullying

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Great place to be a summer intern

Summer Intern (Former Employee) - Calgary, AB - 5 May 2023

Fun and a great place to start your professional carrer. Employees are super kind and not a huge workload is required. Great chance to make relationships with peers and city employees.

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I had a successful career

Special Projects Coordinator (Former Employee) - Calgary, AB - 1 May 2023

What is the best part of working at the company?Job opportunity Work life balance Good people What is the most stressful part about working at the company?Unworthy people in management What is the work environment and culture like at the company?Culture was always changing Work environment was okWhat is a typical day like for you at the company?I had a job that I really enjoyed

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Busy Environment

Transit Operator (Current Employee) - Calgary, AB - 23 April 2023

The day in and day out is stressful due to the job duties characteristics. The job requires that you provide excellent customer service to your passengers and drive with safety in mind. The hardest part of the job is not knowing your shift for the next day until the day before around 5 pm. Also if it is a new route you haven’t driven before requires a lot of preparation either through a map book or gps. Another way to prepare is to drive the route before you use the bus so that you are familiar with the area.

Pros

Lots of overtime

Cons

Split shifts

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Flexible Workplace

Recreation Leader (Current Employee) - Calgary, AB - 16 April 2023

This position offers flexible work locations and hours as programers work with you to find suitable locations and hours for full time and part-time shifts

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Good Pay, Bad mental

Technician (Current Employee) - Calgary, AB - 11 April 2023

Pay and hours good, management makes you question why you are here. Would recommend as a good paying job, that lets you have good time off. Most great people.

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Fun place to Work

Cashier/Customer Service (Former Employee) - Calgary, AB - 3 April 2023

I worked mostly at Village Square Leisure Center. The various departments within could be quite clicky. All in all, if you did your work and knew how to get along with your fellow co workers, you were fine.

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Snoresville

Accountant (Former Employee) - Calgary, AB - 31 March 2023

My experience in the financial department was a culture where mgmt types would poach union jobs to justify THEIR jobs. Resorted to calling it Bizarro World.

Pros

Good Pay

Cons

Poor Management

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Work is Like a Bad Reality Show

System Administrator (Current Employee) - Calgary, AB - 27 March 2023

Just a bunch of politically movitated yahoos out for themselves, with many having an open disregard for the citizens in which they are supposed to serve. In recent years, is more concerned with perceived image than simply doing a solid job.

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Good Manager=Great salary/Benefits/WorkEnviron

Production Specialist (Former Employee) - Calgary Alberta - 7 March 2023

I worked my way up from casual-on call to a salaried FT position in the Arts & Culture/ Festival and Events office. I last worked there from the 1990's until 2022. This particular office was highly unusual within the City as the demands of serving and producing large scale events runs counter to most union civic employee based job descriptions. The work can be fast paced with immovable deadlines and high visibility, high pressure work situations. The event happens when it happens sometimes in front of the televised world. That being said the team there is very dedicated to producing the best quality for an often very small budget. The team are very resource aware and work together well. Over the time I was there the main issues arose from specific management changes. Some were terrible and self serving but most were fantastic and really worked at supporting a great team work environment focused on high productivity with excellent work life balance. In my experience, within the city, it was one of the best overall departments to work in.

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Poo Poo

Poo poo (Current Employee) - Calgary, AB - 2 March 2023

Lots of progressive nonsense and virtue signalling. Might be a great place for diversity hires but doesn't match up with a true workplace based on meritocracy.

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Bad

Operator/Labourer (Former Employee) - Calgary, AB - 16 February 2023

If management doesn’t like you they will find a way to get rid of you place is toxic. Half the people just sit in trucks and don’t even work unless a foreman is on site.

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No stress and pressure. Not every but most of the co-workers are easy to get along with.

Parks Labourer (Current Employee) - Calgary, AB - 14 February 2023

Over all, its a nice environment to work. Pays you way well enough compare that that of out side companies. There will always be a jerk in a work place anywhere you go, but you can hardly meet them in the city. Benefits are awesome too! I am lucky to get selected last year to work with the City.

Pros

Its hardly somebody to pressure you on how you do your job.

Cons

In the winter season, where i work woth the SNIC, we only have a 3 days work in a week.

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Great Place to work

Recreation Leader (Former Employee) - Calgary, AB - 9 February 2023

It was a great place to work! I helped run the CAS program and it was great.Great management, loved the kids. Fast paced and different everyday. Lots of fun

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One big family

Transit Operator (Current Employee) - Calgary, AB - 7 February 2023

Aside from thr long work hours most of the coworkers ar super nice and helpful. Most employees are ready to helpnif it your first-time completing and shift. And others dont really want to be bothered. Which is fine. But over all its nice to be apart of big organization

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Trading mental health for money

911 police calltaker (Current Employee) - undisclosed - 1 February 2023

Working for 911 as a calltaker is a stressful position. You work two 12 hour days and then two 12 hours nights. It is very difficult to maintain work life balance, burnout is common, turnover is high and the number of people off on sickness and accident is one of the highest in the city.A level of roboticism and detachment is necessary to be successful long term working 12 hour shifts in this position. You will find yourself occasionally having to make the decision between what would be most helpful or compassionate for the customer and making a decision that will keep your job and the boss happy. They are not always the same.

Pros

Money and benefits

Cons

Long hours, burnout, work life balance

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Amazing culture and Great Pay

Customer Solutions Representative (Former Employee) - Calgary, AB - 27 January 2023

Working for the City of Calgary definitely has clear benefits like culture and lots of room to advance. I’ve encountered individuals that have been with the company for 15 years with over 15 roles.

Pros

Hybrid available, supportive management, lots of learning opportunities

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Calgary transit is bad

None (Current Employee) - Calgary, AB - 5 January 2023

Calgary transit started of good but their dispatch system is really really bad. Overall company is good but the dispatch department is the worst . They will make sure your day is screwed up. They want to keep you for 12 hour a day but will give you only 6 hours of work . Lower seniority are getting 8hrs or more with straight shifts but senior employee are getting 6-6.5 hrs with split shifts. One day you are finishing at 12:00 in the night and next day you are starting at 9 am . Most of the days you only know only half of work what you will be doing and the rest half is a surprise and in between you can have a break of 1hr to 5 hrs which actually screws up all of your day. Scheduling is another bad department, some of the routes you are driving will have so less time that you are driving non stop for 3 -4hrs and eventually you will have leg pain or back pain. If management does take strict action on dispatch May be there will be less employee turnover.