This is the worst job. - Employee Assistance Program Specialist Optum Employee Review

1.0
Jul 30, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Steady paycheck. Very great coworkers.

Cons

You will be micromanaged by your supervisor, especially if your supervisor is new or is close to upper management. You will not manage your time and you will not see an increase in your salary. The job will make you feel like you’re an intern and you won’t have any autonomy. The company opens up a helpline which you will get calls on, in addition to the normal EAP members, and you will be stressed and fatigued all day. Expect suicidal callers regularly. Requesting time off is so stressful and must be done a year in advance, and you might as well plan on calling out to manage your own growing depression. At any given time, 5-6 of your coworkers will be on disability for stress leave. You will not be able to conform and adhere to your schedule, and don’t think about bonuses. You will not get a bonus. This is the cheapest company and EAP is the worst division. Some supervisors take great pleasure in admonishing your work and you will never get praise or thank you for helping members deal with incredibly stressful lives. It’s all part of the job and the adage “members are at the heart of what we do” is BS. The idiom should read “adherence to schedule is the heart of what we care about”. I have worked here for 2 years and have hated it for 2 years. I’ve finally found a new job and put in my notice. If you like doing therapy and connecting with people, this is not the job for you. If you like being a glorified call center rep, this is your job.if you attempt to change supervisors, you will be retaliated against. You will likely get written up during your work here. Expect to feel very low and lose your confidence. You don’t matter here. Your time is not your own. The company will not pay you well and you will constantly be fatigued.

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5.0
Jun 20, 2026
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Pros

Work from home - no travel

Cons

Pay is not competitive- compared to many

3.0
Jun 4, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Some very talented people give so much of themselves to the company, the clients and their co-workers. I work with (and have worked with) some excellent, smart, supportive people.

Cons

Too many layoffs. Upper management is clueless about how the day to day work gets done, what it takes to make certain changes to processes, and how to treat employees. Some are great. Mostly, they just look at numbers. So many of us have been doing our jobs long enough to know what is needed for certain requests. But we don't get a voice. We just have to do it and suck it up. They are firing ('reduction in force') all of the seasoned staff and let the rest deal with the fall-out. So many teams are losing good people but those people are training their off-shore replacements before they are told about being cut. So how is that a reduction in force? It's just a reduction in payroll numbers. Everyone is on edge just waiting for the next axe to fall. And we have to try and learn or teach another role with less experienced people and more work. It's crazy. On milestone anniversaries, they send an email recognition but once the milestone gets to over 15 years, you are a target. Pay and benefits are fine by me. Raises are practically non-existent, even after layoffs and asking employees to take on more responsibility. that's messed up. They talk about work/life balance but that doesn't trickle down to the actual workers who are so stressed they fear for their jobs if they don't do the extra mile. Many of us are just hanging on instead of quitting so we can at least get some severance. Others are actively looking.

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