I have not asked for an increase nor was I offered one, aside from being promoted to Assistant Property Manager which I turned down because I wanted to leave the company. Every calendar year, there is 2-3% salary increase which depends on your manager's discretion alongside ownership's (if the community you are working for is not owned by Bozzuto, and is only managed). At first, this sounds reasonable, but it is just a few cents after taxes... My team was very open with talking about pay and increases, so I also knew that a promotion would only bring me a $10k increase with the same plus more responsibilities and stressors.
If your community is "small" (I think under 200 apartment or something), then your team will be smaller as well. My team was 3 people in the leasing office, 2 people in maintenance. And although doable, it is tricky as you must pick up more slack for yourself plus things like scheduling and multitasking get hectic at times as well. Sometimes you will be alone in the office or even in the building in general.
The pandemic definitely messed some things up too. Events, scheduling, and safety all were put on hold for a bit. A year into the pandemic, things were still not normal but our jobs were still there and we didn't have any breaks or bonuses during this time where we were putting our lives, health, and family/friends at risk by being exposed to hundreds of people every day. I also have a vivid memory where an email (possibly a video) from our corporate office was sent to employees basically saying "let's get back to STANDARDS," which kinda felt like a spit to the face because when did we ever stop trying or doing our jobs during the pandemic? But also where is OUR reward for not quitting or calling out. Every year we got a $5 starbucks gift card from corporate for Employee Appreciation Day, woohoo... That barely gets you a drink nowadays.
Speaking with other managers, I definitely agree that Bozzuto "used to be [and feel more like] a family company [but] now it's not [....] it's more like corporate." They also say "we're family taking care of family," but this family kinda became a bit wacky and toxic and less rewarding.
Also kind of sad: even with the employee discount on rent, I would barely comfortably afford an apartment in the building I worked in. In fact, I would've been able to apply for a "Affordable Housing" unit (Low Income), which is sad and ironic.
Weekdays are usually 8 hours plus 1 hour lunch- so technically 9 hour work days. And sometimes you are reprimanded for "Taking lunch" 1 hour before the office closes and leaving early, even if you don't do it often or just need flexibility for your personal, social life, or for mental health.
