Toxic Work Environment - Administrative Assistant GHD Employee Review

Management and employees are resistant to change. I arrived after the merger to GHD and they were and are still stuck in their CRA ways. No one follows the processes and procedures. People like to work around them to avoid required extra approvals. Everyone waits until the last minute, and the grunt of the work is expected of you as it's approaching 5PM on a Friday because they tell you at 4:30PM. They treat their field staff like numbers instead of actual human beings, and don't trust them to do anything. The office is toxic because everyone gossips and talks about everyone. I've never worked in such a tense environment, and don't understand how humans could act like that. Workplace bullying is real, and I've never experienced it before GHD. If you are a hard worker, expect to get everything thrown upon you, and then get yelled at when you can't complete something in their unattainable timelines. There is absolutely no work/life balance as either you're working overtime (which they then will tell you you're not allowed to do) or you're obsessing over dreading going back the next day. As office staff, if you do not work on project-related items, you are scum because your hours are not billable. When the Principals go on their cost-cutting rampage each year, they will try to reduce overhead hours by constantly reminding you how little you mean to the company. I have gone from being a self-motivated person to someone who's scared of doing any little thing because someone has to micromanage me. Turnover is our office was high to the point of concern.