High Stress, Zero Support, and Constantly Moving Goalposts
Pros
Some coworkers were talented and kind. Remote work.
Cons
No structured onboarding. There is no formal training, no process documentation, and no clear roadmap for learning the systems you’re expected to use. You’re often thrown into work with platforms and workflows that no one has taken the time to explain, yet you’re expected to perform perfectly from day one. Constant assumptions that you “should already know” things no one ever taught you. Instead of leadership acknowledging gaps in training or communication, the default response is often to assume you missed something or did something wrong (even when you were never given the context, tools, or instructions). A pattern of being blamed for issues without real evidence. My manager frequently jumped to the conclusion that I caused problems, even when I didn’t have access, control, or involvement with the task in question. This created an environment where I felt constantly on edge, having to prove I didn’t do something rather than being supported in learning how to do things correctly. It made it difficult to feel psychologically safe or confident in my role. Direction is unclear, incomplete, or contradictory. You may be given an assignment but not the files, requirements, background, or even access needed to complete it. When you ask for clarity, you're made to feel like you're asking something obvious when the information wasn’t provided in the first place. Leadership communication is inconsistent. What’s said verbally vs. in meetings vs. in tasks often doesn’t align. Priorities shift quickly without explanation, and you're expected to keep pace with changes that aren't communicated clearly. Difficult to succeed because expectations aren’t defined. Performance feedback tends to focus on what leadership “expected” you to know or do but these expectations were rarely stated, documented, or coached. Workload is unstable and reactive. Some weeks are slow because approvals are stuck or directions are missing; other weeks you’re handed high-pressure tasks with next to no context, then evaluated as if you had all the tools and information from the start. Overall lack of psychological safety. The environment makes it easy to internalize stress, doubt your abilities, and question whether you're doing anything right (not because of performance, but because the structure to succeed simply doesn’t exist).
