High Turnover and Leadership Concerns Worth Considering - Paralegal Cagle Pugh Employee Review

In the legal field, people often talk about the importance of a “work family,” especially because legal staff spend long hours working together under pressure. Unfortunately, that was not the environment here. Collaboration between coworkers was discouraged, and new hires were told to bring questions only to management rather than learning from the people around them. This created a very isolating atmosphere that made it difficult to build trust or teamwork. Within my first few months, several employees warned me to be cautious about management. At first, I didn’t think much of it because my early interactions seemed positive. However, over time, I began to understand why so many people felt that way. I have never worked in a place where employees so openly expressed frustration with leadership, not only with management processes but also with the way leadership interacted with staff. What stood out most was the turnover. During the roughly four months I worked there, I personally saw multiple employees come and go within weeks of their employment. Seeing that many people leave within such a short period was surprising, especially in a law firm environment where employees typically stay longer to build experience. Personally, I have always taken pride in my work ethic and normally enjoy going to work. However, this was the first place where the culture made me dread coming in. When a workplace starts to make you lose the motivation and work ethic you normally take pride in, it’s usually a sign that something in the environment is not working. I was very excited to start at a new firm, especially coming from a previous workplace where management and teamwork were strong. Because of that experience, I had a clear understanding of how supportive leadership can encourage employees to do their best work. Unfortunately, that was not the experience here. This was the first job where I felt my work ethic slipping simply because of how unhappy the environment made me, which was something I had never experienced before.