Toxic environment with poor leadership and low morale
Pros
The other payroll specialist and the supervisor were very nice and helpful
Cons
Management was frequently unavailable when support was needed, yet quick to place blame when issues arose. There was a clear pattern of deflecting responsibility and protecting management errors rather than addressing problems transparently. Work–life balance was not respected. Employees were questioned about the reasons for using earned PTO, which created unnecessary pressure and defeated the purpose of having time off. Mistakes were handled in a punitive and exaggerated manner rather than through coaching or corrective guidance. I was terminated over an honest and correctable error that was mischaracterized as a serious violation, despite my strong performance and productivity. Morale within the department was extremely low, and concerns about leadership were widely known among HR and management. Overall, this was a toxic environment driven by poor leadership, lack of accountability, and disrespect toward employees.