I only just realized how much working in BioLegend’s QC department has stunted my professional development. The culture there can be summed up in three phrases: claim credit, blame others, and spread false rumors.
To put things in perspective, R&DSystem, which controls a much larger portion of the reagents market, operates with only about half the workforce of BioLegend QC. Meanwhile, BioLegend QC suffers from a severe imbalance in workload distribution. Some people have too much on their plate while others have so much idle time to dedicate themselves to gossiping about coworkers.
Leadership in BioLegend QC is fearful and territorial. They discourage people from talking to or learning from other departments (QA, MFG, PD). They expect you to sit down, stay quiet, know your place, and never let a shred of criticism of their leadership get to you.
When collaborating with other departments, QC often becomes the biggest obstacle instead of a partner. If a QC associate tries to help colleagues from other teams (e.g. scheduling a retest or following up on a meeting) they’re scolded, because leadership doesn’t want to lose control. They want to be both the problem and the solution, just to keep the appearance of being in charge, and finally claim credit.
And then there’s the gossip — it’s everywhere, from top to bottom. When things go wrong, they blame everyone but themselves. When things go right for others, say, Manufacturing improves a process or Product Development launches a successful product, the rumor machine kicks into overdrive. They’ll twist facts, delete context, exaggerate tiny details, and even add dangerous fiction just to make themselves look better.
I've learned nothing working here.
