Island Health
Happiness score is 63 out of 100
3.4 out of 5 stars.
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Island Health Employee Reviews

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Canada181 reviews

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3.4Work-life balance
3.5Pay & benefits
3.2Job security & advancement
3.0Management
3.0Culture

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Found 181 reviews matching the searchSee all 188 reviews

Fast paced, lovely teams but criminally understaffed

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Great teams and people but each position is given too much work to complete in a day because every department is criminally understaffed. The teams are always wonderful and supportive but it is stressful to always be behind. Also I do not think the benefits provide enough coverage for mental health services.
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Work Load EXCESSIVE - stay away if you value your health!!

The pay is deplorable for administrative positions. The work load is EXCESSIVE and work-life-balance does not exist. The corporate culture is also very toxic. Be forewarned you will make more money in the hospitality industry than you will in an Island Health administrative position. The administrative position's classification that supports a Director is embarrassingly under funded. Why are there so many excessive layers of bureaucratic management at Island Health? After paying all of the MANAGERS/DIRECTORS/EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS there is no money left in the budget to pay the front line workers like an administrative assistants a decent living wage....Why are Island Health administrative assistants not worthy of a decent salary?
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Insights into Island Health

Based on 32 survey responses
What people like
  • Supportive environment
  • Feeling of personal appreciation
  • Clear sense of purpose
Areas for improvement
  • Trust in colleagues
  • Sense of belonging
  • Inclusive work environment

Poor pay, brutal hours, indifferent managers, lack of sufficient training

Clerical jobs are criminally underpaid particularly the jobs in the facilities. Shift work is brutal with little to no opportunity to work regular hours, even with longevity and accumulated seniority. Leadership style is antiquated, and mostly punitive. There is little opportunity for advancement. One of the worst issues is administrative clerical staff are given very little training. Managers are stingy about training and coworkers resent training and often treat new employees antagonistically. This is partly attributed to the fact that long term employees are not compensated for the extra responsibility involved in orienting people. Employees get no wage increases with longevity and senior employees are shafted as they are saddled with additional responsibilities but maintain the same wage. The wages in the urgent clinics, barely over $20, the same wage I made starting with ISland HEalth in 1995! The low pay is horrendous and the hours are awful. You can make more money in the service industry with less complexity and take less abuse from the public. Managers do little to nothing to shield workers from patient abuse. Health care workers are subjected to a tremendous amount of bad treatment from the general public with no support system to combat the difficulties. I would say that, with the low pay, that does not even come close to meeting cost of living requirements, the brutal shift work, indifferent old school managers, and the stress and hardship dealing with an angry public make health care, at least in a support role, untenable. Island Health needs to change their leadership - 

Pros

pension, benefits

Cons

shift work, low pay, indifferent managers, punitive leadership style, low morale, lack of training
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Hard job, made harder by toxic people

If you can't speak tagalog you will be the butt of every joke, (resident or co worker.)It is better to try a few sites, units, speak to management, quit if it's toxic, workers are expendable.
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Great place for a career

NRGH is full of employees who enjoy their job and are patient first oriented. The upper management have paths for future career steps and create an overall good morale
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Supportive co-workers

working for island health is really a blessing. co workers are supportive. Hoping they have just programs for staff to enchance improve career like HCA upgrading to LPN or RN. sometimes you feel stuck on your job and no oppurtunity for advancement.

Pros

unionized

Cons

working in health care is really stressfull so you need to be prepared
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Emphasis on unsustainable production numbers. The harder you work, the harder they work you.

General laundry at Victoria General Hospital. Often a sweatshop atmosphere on "soiled" side (you work on a conveyor belt sorting laundry amid feces, soiled adult diapers, moldy laundry, and garbage) as fast as you can, often resulting in injuries to hands, shoulders. Constant pressure to go faster. Many exhausted and disillusioned employees.

Pros

Lots of overtime

Cons

Lots of overtime
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Management sucks

I loved my job, but the constant unnecessary criticism and zero support from mgmt made it unbearable. Definitely overworked, underpaid and unsupported. I would NOT recommend working at Island Health Medical Imaging as mgmt is the same people island wide. Apply elsewhere.

Pros

Coworkers were AMAZING people, that’s the only pro.

Cons

No support, constant criticism, lack of action by mgmt treated like it was a dictatorship, They’re losing so many people due to this poor mgmt team at Medical Imaging.
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Busy! Can be stressful

Very busy, can be stressful when it’s short staffed. Lots of hours come up and overtime too. Most Managers are very supportive. Learn a lot on the job.

Pros

A lot of hours

Cons

Stressful
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Patriarchal, unsupportive, top heavy with management

Island Health lack the insight into how their staff function to give good care to their patients. Old fashioned methods of managing, poor leadership, terrible communication and very limited support for staff. Do not listen to staff and do not offer annual review support to help with career development.Very Patriarchal top down approach which is way behind other health providers in Canada and Europe.Driven by numbers and not by caring. Unwilling to evolve into something more modern and affective.

Pros

Pay and benefits are good

Cons

Not supportive of staff, not caring enough towards patients
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Jobs at Island Health

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Strongly unionized. Emoloyee with years of union membership have a unfair advantage over people with less years but far more deserving.

The department I worked for recruits as far as Ontario but hardly helps financially to help relocate. They only offer 1/5th of the limit which isnt even close to what you are going to need.They objection was evidently palpable when I asked if they could do better even for a bit. Only interested in filling their manpower without genuine concern about your welfare.

Pros

See the west

Cons

Everything
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Good team work

Taking care of people, has made me a better person and love a good team working environment.i know there is alot of gossip and to many workers that are there strictly for the paycheck and benefits.more supervision is needeed

Pros

Great benefits and decent pay

Cons

Gossip
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Best work place in BC

Island health was very good to me when I was seeking employment. They were fair yet expect a lot. I was very fortunate to have worked for them for 27 years.

Pros

No free lunch
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project resources could not report the 'real' news to project exective

Bully management and lots of promotions considering the project did not meet even one of its deliverable dates. Island Health resources did not work well with vendor, mainly because upper management didn't. It did not make for a very productive, healthy environment. No onboarding for new project staff, it was left to each individual to figure out what the project was about. Poor planning, poor management and poor reporting.

Pros

Project worker bees were knowledgeable and helpful when they were allowed to be.

Cons

I have already listed them - I hope management has changed
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Management was not good at all

The pay was very average and the manager played favorites often while depending on the ones that weren't to do the majority of the work in the department all while using all personal development monies for his travel to Vancouver

Pros

Great experience

Cons

management
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Careful - go in with eyes open. Toxic organization.

Absentee management, clueless administration, and a heartbreaking/life-sucking workplace culture on the front-lines. This organization preaches patient care and then refuses to ever provide the resources to meet a bare minimum (while also flushing money away in other areas). The culture in this organization is purely us vs administration and that responsibility lies solely on admin. They don't hire the best and don't promote the right people. All the incentives are lined up poorly.

Pros

Competitive wages

Cons

Just about everything. See above.
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Love what you do

Could be fulfilling if you absolutely love what you do for a living. Everything else becomes irrelevant. You will be dealing with people and their egos for the most part.

Pros

Extended health Benefits, life long friendships

Cons

Na
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Fast paced fun coworkers

Great work...great employees..not much room for growth and advancement but you learn a lot from the staff who have been there for so long.they have great programs and tons of support

Pros

Great learning experience, pay and Benefits. You can take time off

Cons

Not much room for growth and advancements
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Bullying culture cultivated by managers and nepotism

I have been employed since 2004 I have recently gravitated to admin work due to the heavy physical workload for front line worker and being short staffed. The office culture is toxic with bullying and targeting ongoing daily basis! This culture is cultivated and exasperated by poor managers!Hardest part of the job is getting and receiving any help even when reported over and over again and in turn being told you are the problem with intense finger pointing and blame! Loads of employees being hired by managers that are family=nepotism.

Pros

None

Cons

Egregious toxic workplace!
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tons of opportunity

great place great staff Saanich Peninsula hospital is lovely, friendly and supportive. great opportunity to get specialty training and education. supportive of LPN training in OR and other areas. very welcoming to all staff

Pros

great people and work environment

Cons

small site
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Work life balance compromized by tech. Good team

Community contract still allows for "windows"(ie: 7 hours paid in a 9 hour work schedule)which impacts moral and work life balance. Responsiblity level much more than Facility work, ie medication administration. Management at our office very good but physical disconnect effects care. As in all care settings there can be unhealthy competition. The hardest part of any health care setting is death. But timing of visits and travel always a challenge. My coworkers, nurses and managers are the best. And knowing that our clients are living, and dying in their own homes.
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Overall rating

Based on 188 reviews

Ratings by category

3.4 out of 5 stars for Work/Life Balance
3.5 out of 5 stars for Salary/Benefits
3.2 out of 5 stars for Job security/advancement
3.0 out of 5 stars for Management
3.0 out of 5 stars for Culture

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