- “Inner circle” office politics — conform to fit in, or risk being isolated.
- Internal drama and hypocritical behavior can make day-to-day work challenging, often leading employees to question the integrity of the leadership they report to.
- Uneven workload distribution means high-performing employees often carry most of the work, while others coast if they maintain favor with management.
- Being labeled as a “Lead” is often glorified, adding a significant increase in workload without additional pay. Employees in this role can become overworked, under-appreciated, and stretched thin, especially with consistently changing schedules and responsibilities that create a lack of structure.
- Team placement and leadership can significantly impact your overall experience: Different projects come with different leadership, creating a lack of structure and organization. Expectations and project management can vary significantly depending on the management team overseeing the work.
- Burnout culture feels normalized and expected, largely due to disorganization at the upper management level, which trickles down and impacts the entire team. This is often labeled as being “flexible" though in reality it reflects inconsistent leadership and expectations.