This Isn't Normal - Engineer Ooyala Employee Review

Please note: every negative review on Glassdoor has prompted a MASSIVE company-wide witch hunt to the tune of “who is the author?!” That alone should give you a sense of the culture here. I didn’t really care to write a review, but apparently it’s such a scandalous act nowadays that I simply couldn’t resist. Let me tell you what happens when you work here. You forget what normal feels like. You think it’s ok when senior management openly gossips about who’s getting fired next month. You shrug your shoulders when bodies start dropping so frequently that nobody even bothers to tell you who works here anymore. You watch your coworkers leave in droves and the work just piles up as management smiles condescendingly and tells you “let’s just do more with less!” You begin to expect disrespect and political games. You think toxic is the new normal. You start to believe it when management tells you you’re just lucky to have a job. You work your tail off - on call at all hours of the night - only to have senior management, during a tantrum, shout “what have you even done since you got here?” You get in trouble for not looking happier - aren’t you having fun? You step out of the office during lunchtime to pick up your kids and immediately get put on blast for “obviously interviewing elsewhere.” You start to doubt your own self-worth. You may have a thick skin, but this place eats away at you. How could it not? It’s sad because I do like and respect a lot of my coworkers. I also used to respect our “executive management group.” Our GC (and former acting CEO - don’t even get me started on how messed up that was) and CFO were straight up Gs. I looked up to them. Now anyone with any credibility is gone and we’re on yet another random CEO. And don’t get me started on the remaining founder. I usually find anonymous personal critiques distasteful, but this has to be said. On one hand, he’s clever. Great. He’s also manipulative and a legitimate sociopath. Don’t be fooled by the “pleasant” demeanor. And by the way, he hasn’t done real work for years - he’s secretly a master delegator and all of the work rolls downhill to those he openly treats like his “minions.” All of his time and paranoid energy is spent maintaining an image of total control and indispensability. People think he stays here out of goodwill and loyalty, but it’s obvious that he just likes feeling like the top dog. But enough about that. One person doesn’t make or break a company. Remember, though, that the fish rots at the head. This company has somehow gone from a plucky startup to a graveyard where dreams and self-worth go to die. I truly used to believe in this company - but it’s too far gone at this point. The most recent executive posse has really upped the ante by the way - there’s a new level of fear that anyone could be fired at any time. You know it’s bad when you have to sit in your car and take deep breaths before heading into the office every morning. You know it’s bad when you fantasize about getting laid off because you don’t have the courage to leave what is essentially an abusive relationship. You know it’s bad when your aggressive and desperate job search is crippled by chronic self doubt and a nagging feeling of worthlessness that you’ve internalized without realizing it. My advice to all of you? Take a step back and realize that this isn’t normal. It is not going to change. And you are better than this. One day you’ll look back and wonder why it took you so long to leave.