Dealing with toxic workplaces

Perspectives & advice from the community

u/ForeverIntoTheLight shared the following advice on a post titled, Feeling Stuck in a Toxic Work Environment ! Scrum master always highlights us when some useless or extra task comes up!.

Your assessment that this is toxic is fully accurate.

I have been in this position years ago, in a previous job. Multiple people dragging down the team as deadweight, yet paid more than me. Still, somehow it was my responsibility to ensure everything was done on time. Suffice to say, I suffered multiple health issues, and finally quit the company.

So don't be an idiot like me. First ask yourself what you really want. Can you handle the extra work, without burning out, in return for more compensation? In that case, reach out to your manager and politely state that if you are to be a dedicated troubleshooter in addition to your regular duties, then you would like to be compensated proportionally to your new duties, during your next performance review.

If you can't handle it? Well, your options are limited:

  1. Talk to your manager, and explain that perhaps the team should have a round-robin system to handle extra / unforeseen / delayed work. This will spread the workload evenly across remaining devs, nobody will be pushed too hard continuously.
  2. You're smart, seeing as how you've managed so far. Quietly slow down your progress, so as to complete just a little ahead of time. Alternatively, continue with your current pace of work, but keep your latest stuff in a private branch on your own machine (don't push to the central repo), and again adjust the commit date and push it just before the end, taking into account time needed for code reviews. If people ask why you're not finishing so much ahead of time, give them a nicely dressed explanation of all the complexities involved in your task (which you can understand and probably embellish far better than anyone else). Such an explanation will probably cause a short-circuit in the mind of this 'scrum master', and he'll shut up.
  3. Look for a job elsewhere. Yes, I know, market's bad right now, but what do you have left to lose? No need to set OpenToWork on LinkedIn, just start quietly applying for various jobs.

If your company does agree to reward you and then fails to live upto it, then again the last two options should come into play.

As for the 'scrum master', just ignore his words. You are doing your work, and that of others. What exactly is he even contributing to the company? Let stray dogs bark - that's all they can do.

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u/MerakiPigeon shared the following advice on a post titled, Feeling Stuck in a Toxic Work Environment ! Scrum master always highlights us when some useless or extra task comes up!.

Firstly, welcome to the corporate world! I know it sucks, but more often than not, projects have large undocumented code bases, especially if it's an older project worked on by many developers over time. It's completely natural to feel overwhelmed and clueless when you are new to something, and more so because you are an intern. So you definitely shouldn't be doubting yourself, rather realign your approach.

The best way is to take it one step at a time. Break the code base apart and understand one section at a time. When you get stuck, approach your team for help. In a healthy work culture, questions are always welcomed, even the (so called) silly ones. Don't hesitate to ask for help when needed, but only after you've tried your best.

For the future, I would advise you to take a decision based on the following considerations

  1. Talk to your manager about work pressure and see how they respond. If they continue to be unsupportive to your workload, you might be better off leaving a toxic work culture.
  2. Does the technology you're working on interest you? Would the experience benefit your profile in the future, and would the T&Cs (bonds, etc.) be worth it?

Hope these suggestions help! Good luck

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u/headshot_to_liver shared the following advice on a post titled, How to become resilient to toxic work culture?.

Not a veteran but have considerable experience so here are my 2 cents

  1. Lay low, don't get into useless fights with seniors. Last thing you want is a reason to get fired.
  2. Keep an eye out for any openings and networking is your best friend here. Just realise that people like you
  3. Can't stress is enough, keep upskilling. Gramophone repairmen are not in demand today.
  4. Don't go overboard with anything, be it work or delivery. Do what you're asked and that's it.

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u/Life-Appointment-877 shared the following advice on a post titled, That's it I cried at my workplace! Need help and advice🙂.

I have seen someone in a similar situation when I was interning somewhere. That guy is now a senior dev at a very good startup and earning a lot.

I don't see your fault in it. A fresher will definitely follow what his tech lead says. I can help you with some tips you can follow:

  • whenever a task is given, and as you said the tech lead is very busy, you shouldn't rely only on him for guidance. Try to have connections with other dev in the team. At least junior devs who know the codebase and understand the issues in standup. You can always take help from them.
  • try to set up a regular meet with your tech lead. If he is very busy, try asking him if you will schedule a 15 min meet every alternate day.
  • make some friends other than your lead in the team( QAs, dev, PMs etc.). Initially never hesitate to ask for help from these people. People who know the ecosystem always help you. Try having lunch with them. Somehow be a corporate friend. They also understand you are fresher. They will help only if you ask them.
  • Don't be too stressed. Trust me once you understand the codebase and architecture, it will be very easy for you. It is not that difficult except in the beginning of a few months. Being good in a database is not that difficult. Only if someone understands his task, he can deliver it well. A surgeon cannot do a good surgery if he is not told the patient's body characteristics or disease. It's not the doctor's fault, it's the hospital's fault which didn't manage the patient's information well.

Also, PMs are the dumbest people (no offense for PMs) in the team. Don't let their judgement affect you.

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