OK, this is going to be very straight forward. Everything that I am going to say here is from my experience, I'm going to be completely honest. I promise.
First of all, let's talk about the toxic environment. I was 3 mins late to work due to traffic, this was like the only time ever, and I got an email from the supervisor asking why I was late for 3 mins. Also, I got a verbal warning for leaving my desk too often. Where was I? I went to the bathroom because I drank coffee, and when you drink coffee, naturally you need to go to the bathroom. It is THAT simple. Do I need to give up on drinking coffee? Do I need to stop going to the bathroom? Hmmmmm.... Tough choice.. (In the end, I chose to leave).
Secondly, let's talk about getting a raise or a promotion. THIS IS GOING TO BE THE TOUGHEST THING you can try to do while you are here. It is tougher than trying to climb Mount Everest. I am serious. You need to write a 4 page 2000 words essay (it feels like it), you need to explain why you deserve it (actually, you have to beg for it, like a beggar), and the supervisor cannot make the decision, it has to go to the manager, and the manager will do everything she can to delay giving you a raise (one of my teammates asked for a raise and she was given a 4% raise after half a year of constant begging, I solute her for this, and she was one of the hardest working people I know). If the manager doesn't like you, THAT'S IT! You will never get a raise or a promotion. It is not based on your performance, it is based on whether your manager likes you or not. She will give someone 2 promotions in 2 months if she likes that person, and she will not give you, not even a 1% raise if you are not her favorite (at this point, it doesn't matter if you work hard or not, you will not get one). It's difficult, so sometime people just give up on asking for a raise/promotion and start feeling that they don't deserve it.
Thirdly, let's talk about the work culture. The work culture is set up in a way that it encourages people to sabotage each other, finding each other's mistakes, and stepping on each other so you look good in the manager's eyes (why? because you need to be in the "elite favorites group" to get a raise or a promotion, remember?). Anyway, your works will always get second-reviewed by other teammates. You will constantly get corrected, penalized, and looked down to for making mistakes (people make mistakes, we are not machine, and even machine makes mistakes, come on!). Sometime you'll find yourself arguing with your teammate, who has no ideas what he/she is talking about, over some small stuff that doesn't really matter, and guess what, all the "higher level group" will be CC'ed on the email. It is a system when you will feel like you are being constantly monitored down to your hair follicle, and yes it will eventually drive you nuts. In my team, people who stay there for >3 years fall into these categories: 1) doesn't have a college degree so this is the best they think they can get; 2) people who are too afraid or lazy to look for other jobs; 3) people who just cannot get another job. Mind you, there only 4 "senior" people who have been on the team for >3 years, the rest of the team (about 20 people) has only been there for less than 2 years. What does it tell you? The turn over rate is so high.
