After the buyout, the culture at this company changed significantly and, in my experience, became increasingly toxic. There appeared to be a strong favoritism culture where relationships with senior leadership seemed to carry more weight than performance or qualifications.
Promotions often happened quickly, but there was a noticeable lack of leadership development and management training. This created inconsistency and, at times, allowed popularity to outweigh capability when it came to advancement decisions.
I dedicated four years to this company and genuinely loved my work. I was passionate about my role and excited about growing within the organization. Unfortunately, my experience changed drastically after reporting to a manager whose leadership style felt inconsistent and difficult to navigate. Expectations and rules frequently changed, communication was contradictory, and support that was presented publicly was often unavailable when needed. Ultimately, I felt pressured to quit after receiving a final write-up, even though I consistently met all of my KPIs each month and was part of one of the top friendliest gyms in the state.
I also want to emphasize that I was not the only person who experienced these concerns. At least three other women Operations Managers under this leader’s supervision expressed feeling pressured and treated unfairly based on gender. Several of us brought concerns to HR, but in our experience, no meaningful action was taken. Ultimately, all of us left the company within months of one another with very similar experiences. We had all genuinely enjoyed our jobs prior to this leadership change, but after this leader was promoted, the work environment shifted quickly and often felt dependent on her mood and treatment of staff.
Most concerning, I experienced repeated harassment from my direct manager and reported it to HR. I was subjected to false accusations regarding an inappropriate relationship with another manager, which I repeatedly denied and provided proof against. After reporting these concerns to HR, I was later written up for “lack of professionalism,” which felt retaliatory and deeply upsetting. In my experience, my concerns were not meaningfully addressed, leaving me feeling unsupported and unheard. The impact of this experience has been significant.
I stayed because I cared deeply about the work and the people, but ultimately the environment became unsustainable. I would strongly encourage prospective employees to research leadership culture carefully before accepting a role.
