The company culture could be summarized into one word: toxic.
Let me elaborate a little bit more:
1)There's a major lack of respect towards well-being and work life balance of the team - it is expected to be available 24/7, even during leave. If not, the member of the team is marked as someone who doesn't "lean in" and collaborate.
2) Constant messaging on the internal work platform which didn't allow us to focus on work. There was no room for a delayed response, which brings me to the next point:
3) Creation of false urgency - there was no space for delayed response, especially from the leadership whose messages and requests became the top priority of the team (even above client matters). Once such event happens, we had to drop everything and just focus on that matter. A week later, nobody would care about that matter anymore and a new one would appear.
4) Lack of empowerment - there were several empowerment initiatives at TikTok (such as Women@), however in practice, there was no empowerment towards the team members (especially towards those who weren't the leadership's favorite). I can't count how many times I was told that my skills were not enough, was in the team only because of this XY person etc. It’s great to have empowerment workstreams at TikTok but to me, it seemed ridiculous considering our own team leadership took away every empowerment we had and made us feel dependent on them.
5) The leadership technique was mainly based on leading by fear and creating separation among team members. There was strong favoritism. If you happened to be friends with the wrong person, you became the enemy.
6) A lack of respect towards different personality types and professional backgrounds was present which contributed to a non-inclusive environment. Not speaking English between the members happened on a daily basis (even between leadership & the team members which again, reinforced the lack of inclusivity in the team).
7) Moreover, team members were unable to fully express their opinions without facing a harsh critique if the opinions were different from the leadership. If you didn't fit the narrative of the team, they'll make sure you'll leave (by taking away your clients, not assigning interesting projects, not getting shout outs, being ignored, interrupted etc.).
8) Last but not least, the team members had fear to speak up due to harsh consequences from the leadership. "If you're not with us, you're against us" type of mindset. When I personally tried to raise the issue, I faced the response "But you're the only one who's complaining, that's weird." It turned out I wasn't the only one but it was just one of their ways to manipulate us. Needless to say, those other members who "complained" are out of the company now.
Overall, this environment had a negative impact on the mental health of the team, causing health implications. The team members were unable to operate at their best capability and fulfill their potential.
