Don't do it - Anonymous employee TikTok Employee Review

2.0
Apr 26, 2025
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-Compensation is competitive with other FAANG companies -Great benefits (not PTO though, PTO offering is terrible) - Peers are some of the most intelligent and caring folks in the industry - Office space is pretty

Cons

- No work life balance, you will be working 80+ hours a week in an "always on" culture. 996 working hours are the minimum - PTO is also some of the lowest compared to competitors, not that it matters as you work through your PTO - Leadership lacks well-defined vision and is constantly in a state of reactivity, making execution against any sort of strategy a massive uphill battle - Constant pivoting, ever-evolving chaos - Everything is "urgent" - Teams are super understaffed and there is a revolving door with talent - Management plays favorites, only way to be recognized is to be their pet - New performance standards seem to be largely subjective. Top performers are getting low scores, PIPs and laid off - Management's expectations are far out of touch with reality and the goal post shifts constantly. ByteDance sets expectations for the US-based TikTok team based on Chinese market performance and corporate culture - Onsite meal service has been getting people sick - Unclear if the company and app will be banned, no one has any sense of job security - High rate of stress and burnout, people are crying at work or looking like they are on the verge of tears. Tons of people on leave due to the stress, which causes further pressure on understaffed teams

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5.0
Jul 10, 2026
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CEO approval
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Pros

Good opportunities to grow as an engineer

Cons

Long working hours and meetings across time zones

2.0
Jun 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

Pay is level with industry and actual work is somewhat interesting depending on the team you're on

Cons

In my experience, career growth can feel very limited if you are not part of the dominant internal language and cultural network. A significant amount of important context, communication, and decision-making happens in Chinese, which can make non-Chinese-speaking employees feel excluded from key conversations and promotion opportunities. The environment did not feel as inclusive as it should be for a global company. Advancement often felt less tied to performance and more tied to whether you were connected to the right groups or able to operate fluently within the Chinese-speaking side of the organization. Over time, it felt like non-Chinese-speaking employees had fewer long-term career paths and were at risk of being replaced by people who could better fit that internal operating model. Things also move very slowly because employees are often given access only to the bare minimum needed to do their jobs. There is a heavy push toward using AI tools, but in practice it can make it harder to get help from real people. Instead of getting quick support, you often have to spend time going through AI bots or internal tools before getting a useful answer.

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