Work/life balance was one of the worst aspects of this role. Being off the clock rarely meant actually being off work. Expectations routinely extended into evenings, weekends, and days off, and failing to stay constantly engaged often resulted in public criticism or being singled out for issues that arose while not working. Boundaries between personal life and work life were virtually nonexistent.
Training and onboarding were insufficient for the scale and complexity of the position. New General Managers received only two weeks of training, with only one week spent in-market learning operational realities firsthand. After that, expectations ramped up immediately.
Leadership support was limited. My direct supervisor had never worked in the position they were overseeing, which made it difficult to get practical guidance when operational challenges arose. Despite working in a fast-paced leadership role with significant responsibility, I did not have a single scheduled 1:1 meeting during my time with the company. Employees cannot reasonably be expected to improve when feedback, coaching, and mentorship structures are effectively absent.
The culture often felt reactive rather than developmental. Expectations were high, urgency was constant, but support systems did not seem to scale with those expectations. Feedback frequently occurred only after something had gone wrong rather than through proactive coaching.
Burnout did not feel like an unfortunate side effect of the job — it felt embedded in how the role functioned.
I was ultimately terminated; I take responsibility for my mistake. However, the speed of the decision reinforced my impression that the organization is more focused on immediate performance outcomes than developing employees or creating pathways for improvement.
