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int32
18h

Am I in a toxic work environment or not?

1. I suggested implementing some code guidelines for our team so we can all work the same way. Lead architect sends me a DM telling me to stop talking about it until after projectX is done because it might stress out other devs. Friday he talks about how important it is to use standardised tools and ways of doing things.
2. Spent a week working on a bug fix and they said solution is good, but then invalidated all of my work by DM-ing me saying it's unusable because i worked on wrong branch and he quickly fixed it over the weekend and I should just copy his (inefficient) code.
3. I ask him a basic question of what version the backend software is using and he doesn't even respond. I ask another team member who quickly helps me check. it would have taken 1 fucking integer to answer that question. i wanted to learn the backend stack, but not so much anymore.
4. Lead doesn't respond to project management software ticket mentions.
5. Lead randomly makes hotfixes to the QA server without prior notice so the backend randomly goes down at times during work hours and then my local copy of the front end stops working for no reason at all when I am trying to focus on bug fixes
6. UX/UI designer's screen designs look completely different than the actual app, so I spent weeks implementing a feature looking like his nice designs, then having to change it again, taking another week.
7. Generally poor comms
8. Leadership mentioned jobs are safe, then 2 months later retrenched a bunch of people.
9. People getting sick all of the time.
10. Nobody gives a shit about technical debt

rant

toxic
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  • 4
    18h
    You described it exactly as a prompt, so i prompted it with GPT 4.5 (how luxory is that?):

    The described situation strongly suggests a toxic work environment or at the very least a severely dysfunctional and unhealthy one. While some issues could simply be attributed to poor management, many items you've listed are hallmark signs of deeper cultural problems, disrespectful behavior, and poor leadership.

    Will try some more models, you summarized it so perfectly.
  • 2
    18h
    @retoor nice. I also asked ChatGPT the same thing yesterday, but I want input from fleshy beings too so I make sure I am not being an overly sensitive idiot.
  • 4
    18h
    But people regularely getting sick is a big sign. To know if a place is toxic, it's also important to look at the others. Like, do they experience the same or does it has to do something with you personally? In general, people wants to be friends. If a relationship with a group or person went wrong, consider if it's not better to build a new relationship (so switch company or teams) than repairing the old one, especially if you don't know what it is about.
  • 3
    17h
    @retoor true... people have been off sick, even my manager a lot this year.

    i'm definitely leaving soon, busy interviewing with a bunch of places actually. it's a greater systemic issue rather than an individual one. i've worked here for 7 years and never had any issues like this before. i'v e led projects with other team members and there's never been bad vibes until now where i am doing work with this team. Guess they don't like me pointing out flaws and inefficiencies in the code :D
  • 3
    17h
    @int32 I have more than 300 medical documents, gonna run those trough an llm soon to check if everything was ethical. I have forced medication by monthly injection and stuff. The road to that situation is documented. But the data is not easy to get as download. I have to do some quite hardcore playwright shit to get trough it. Still, props for their system tho, they documented everything.
  • 3
    17h
    @int32 yeah so weird, your way should be the standard after seven years and they should show some respect. That's how it should work. But personally, I aim for code rated between six and eight, not higher because it's not worth it imho. Maybe your coworkers are like that too?
  • 2
    17h
    @retoor yeah I just want us all to be able to work efficiently and not get bogged down by this many bugs. I'm not saying I'm better than anyone, but it feels like these guys are overly protective of their source code. there's so much manual process for everything and it's slowing everyone down. soon this team will drown in tech debt and I don't want to be on this ship anymore.
  • 3
    17h
    @int32 manual processes have to be fighted with fire.
  • 2
    16h
    1. ok

    2. thin ice

    3. ok if he apologised later, not ok if he didn't

    4. not ok

    5. might be ok if it's either that or no fixes at all. maybe he's burnt out

    6. terrible but happens every time in all sorts of companies

    7. okayish

    8. not ok

    9. predictable

    10. ok

    it's not toxic, it's just horribly mismanaged. you'll be laid off randomly this year. start tidying up your cv next week
  • 3
    16h
    It's not the worst, but definitely getting there, and not worth sticking around IMO
  • 3
    15h
    @kiki already interviewing with a bunch of companies.

    he never apologises. doesn't even talk. i get he's burned out too.

    deadlines change, but people getting pissed about it.
  • 2
    15h
    oh man I just pulled in the dev branch from remote before starting work on my stuff. seems someone implemented the exact same feature i was working on a while ago (which hasn't been merged yet). i'm fuckin pissed. don't know why he didn't care to mention this two weeks ago when we had a review. thanks... everyone is burned out here it seems.
  • 4
    14h
    @int32 Run while you can indeed
  • 4
    11h
    Nobody gives a shit about technical debt.

    Thanks for coming to my ted talk
  • 4
    10h
    1. "stop talking about it" - unnecessarily aggressive and needlessly impersonal. Why not approach you in person; unless they are remote. With the information I have, it sounds narcissistic and power-tripping of him (reminds me of my manager).

    2. Yet another toxic behavior, yes. Don't DM things; talk in person, nicely, and don't insult people. This is basics in the company guidelines of any decent company. Things should be evaluated and discussed. The behavior that person shows also reminds me of another colleague of mine who does the same thing. "Hey your code sucks, here take this stfu". I mean, this is not how to work in a team.

    3. Not responding; unless too busy for days, then toxic.

    4. Overly-encumbered lead or incompetent lead. As a lead, they should be able to manage their time and be responsive to their team.
  • 4
    10h
    5. Hotfixes without notice? Kind of red flag. These should always be in careful process and in team agreement. They should remember they are in a team. No respect and poor communication.

    6. Poor communication

    7. Indeed

    8. Liars to keep people from stressing

    9. Likely due to too much stress

    10. Toxic team

    Summary:

    Poor team dynamics, power-tripping, poor communication, poor process, poor respect. All signs of toxicity.
  • 3
    9h
    sounds a lot like a toxic lead I had but she actually looked at me with murder in her eyes. also your guy telling you not to work on stuff would've been an improvement because she ignored everything I ever wrote to her, and then just turned around and told upper management anytime anything went wrong (even if nothing was wrong?) it was my fault which didn't even make any sense

    if people don't have the time to include you probably you shouldn't be there. they've already made their decision. it's like being between a rock and a hard place. you'll just stress yourself out and definitely nobody is ever gonna appreciate you even if you can make it through the sink or swim, so. cordial or bust
  • 2
    8h
    @CaptainRant yeah we're all remote, so no in person stuff.

    Thanks for taking the time!
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