A bit of a mess - Graphic Designer Young Lives vs Cancer Employee Review

The service user group was the highlight. I met some amazing families experiencing very difficult circumstances.

The management structure is appalling- very toxic. There is virtually no progression and the service managers have been in post for decades. As the role is a niche role, they are unable to obtain other roles outside of the charity and therefore need to protect their positions. This leads to incredibly toxic environments with lots of bullying of 'on the ground' staff. There is a large turnover of staff as, although the role seems very appealing, the realities of working for a charity that doesn't act in accordance with it's values, is not. Staff leave traumatised from the work as there is no meaningful support to handle the high emotion of the role (sick and dying children) other than 4 wellbeing days which are now training days, 6 sessions of EAP support per year and a reflective session every 3 months with a manager present meaning staff are not open and honest about the emotional toll experienced. As one staff member put it, their husband has more support, and they work in a bank. Managers are not recruited with the right skillset, i.e., trauma aware, or even bereavement trained (despite bereavement support being one of the roles of the job). Witnessed staff with ND treated appallingly across the charity- written policies and values do not represent actual experiences. Funding is now used for tech advances within the charity instead of for much-needed grants. Staff are concerned that positions are unstable. Many staff across the charity have burnt-out and rejoined the local authority which I feel says it all.

Lovely organisation to work for who care about their employees and the people they help in equal measure. The work is rewarding and you meet a lot of amazing people on the way

It can be emotionally draining with the nature of the work often meaning hearing from and talking to families and young people who have been through great loss and pain