The most toxic place I've ever been. Here's my experience as one data point.
1. Manager A, whom I've been working together with for more than half a year. Every one-on-one session is basically me providing additional tutoring to him. There's no planning or contribution to my work from him, not even a sense of direction. He doesn't offer any input, leaving me to conceptualize the scope for each bimonthly project on my own. He neither supports nor opposes any proposals I put forward. If I succeed, he takes credit; if I fail, it's on me. Throughout this period, he hasn't contributed anything. He doesn't assess my work independently but relies on the opinions of people from a parallel department. Resources are always said to be "in the process of negotiation," but in reality, they are not provided. I've interviewed dozens of candidates, and some promising ones get stuck when they reach him. I don't understand why, if we're not hiring, why wasting so much time of mine, the recruiter's, and the candidates'. I have no idea what he's busy with; he has never produced any results himself. When asked, he claims other areas need him to put out fires.
2. Clearly lacking top-down direction, Manager A says I "lack entrepreneurship." At this point, my mind is clear, and I find it amusing. I manage four or five projects simultaneously, discovering opportunities, designing, and executing them on my own. Yet, he says I lack entrepreneurship.
3. For the past half-year, I've been working overloaded, 14-16 hours a day. Being in the U.S. West Coast, I need to collaborate with teams in China, attending meetings at 5:30 am, 6:30 am, and often extending meetings until at least 10 pm during weekdays. Meetings frequently go into the early hours of the morning, and I still have to do my own work afterward.
4. After more than half a year, Manager A brings in Manager B. This person has no relevant experience whatsoever, not even remotely related.
5. I end up tutoring B for almost a month, explaining the situation to them. I don't want to dwell on why this person became my boss; I'm just relieved to have someone to share the workload.
6. A month later, I ask B about her plans for my work as my boss. B says, "Just go with the flow, take it easy." Then, she turn around and tell Manager A that I'm not in good shape, not actively working.
7. B assigns me to lead a project, let's call it Project Z. Anyone with experience would know this project is impossible to complete. During the planning phase, I point out that both internal and external conditions for this project are not mature, suggesting we wait until they are more favorable. B insists on proceeding. Since B doesn't listen to advice, I reluctantly follow her instructions, and the results are naturally not satisfactory. Later, two different people took over Project Z, one resigns after a few weeks, and the other transferred to a different team. (It's clear that the insistence on doing project Z was A and B's problem.) Eventually, Project Z becomes the sole basis for B to claim that my "judgment is lacking."
8. B openly wants me to leave. The reason is, "My team cannot have two senior people," and the next day she said, "My team can have two senior people, but you are not suitable." However, due to visa issues, I can't resign immediately. So, I'm witness some more horror.
9. My relationship with the counterpart team has always been good. This is why, even when it was tough, I persisted in this position before B arrived. One day, B requests that I stop having one-on-one meetings with people from the counterpart team. She told me "Don't attend these meetings" (but those were meetings organized by me), and "Don't have one-on-ones with XX."
10. After another month, Both managers, along with HR, tell me that my performance is poor. The main accusations are "lack of judgment" and "trust with the collaborating team cannot be repaired." At this point, because I haven't had direct contact with the collaborating team for over a month, I start doubting myself. After talking to several people from the collaborating team, I realize that this is completely baseless nonsense.
11. B says I have a "perfectionist tendency and am not suitable for this environment." Unable to come up with anything substantial, they repeatedly criticize my personality, making vague and ambiguous remarks. When I ask for specific work-related examples, they accuse me of being defensive (attacking my attitude, attacking my personality, refusing to discuss work).
