Question about company culture
Hi,
I joined my current company summer of 2024, and I’m beginning to question the team culture. Recently, while working on an issue, we agreed on an initial design. Later, my manager decided on a new design. I implemented code for both the designs before taking a three-day vacation. During my time off, I noticed that the manager reverted to the initial design and asked a teammate to call me about it. I couldn’t take the call at the time.
This experience has left me feeling that there’s a lack of clarity and stability in decision-making processes. It also made me question the team’s respect for personal boundaries, especially during vacations. I wonder if this reflects the overall team culture or if it’s an isolated incident. I value clear communication, stable direction, and respect for work-life balance. Should I address this with my manager or start considering whether this team is the right fit for me?
![Senior Software Engineer [E5] at Meta company logo](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirebasestorage.googleapis.com%2Fv0%2Fb%2Ftech-career-growth.appspot.com%2Fo%2Fcompany_logos%252Fmeta.jpeg%3Falt%3Dmedia%26token%3Da7a5bcc0-e178-4b5b-b71e-09bf6c6aefae&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
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Discussion
(8 comments)- 02 months agoTech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
You joined the company in the summer, so it's been about 6 months on the team, right?
Has this been a pattern, or are you just now noticing the concerns when you went on vacation?
Without knowing the full context, I would definitely bring this up with your manager and give them the benefit of doubt. Perhaps this was a one-off incident and your manager had a legit reason to cause all the churn. I think you should learn about what happens so that:
- you can better understand if this is a team issue, manager issue, or just a one-off
- you can determine if this is something you can improve/fix.
Of course, how you phrase the question/feedback is important: How do I give critical feedback to my manager?
If you do want to evaluate a new team, here's a very popular discussion about how to best do this: What questions can I ask a potential new team?
Also very relevant for you: How possible is it to spot red flags about toxic culture during the interview?
- 12 months agoSenior Software Engineer [OP]Taro Community
@Rahul Pandey, Thank you for your response. This is the first time I took vacation 3 days off, since I joined this company. Also, I got a bit annoyed that they tried to reach out for something which is not a PROD issue. I will discuss with my team once I go back after my vacation. I will also go through the resources you shared.
- 02 months agoSenior Software Engineer [OP]Taro Community
I discussed with my colleague and he agreed that there was no need to call me during my vacation. He also expressed that he feels a lot of stress in this role. I think we both will be looking to switch soon.
- 0a month agoSenior Software Engineer [OP]Taro Community
Update: I brought this issue with the manager asking for clarity on availability during vacation. He said if I am in the country, I would have to be available for any quick questions. If I am outside the country, that is okay.
After discussing the same issue with my colleague (he joined a month ago), we both felt that the culture is stressful. The leadership keeps adding new things to our plate without considering what we are already working on. Neither of us feel like this is a good place to stay for longer.
- 1a month agoTech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
He said if I am in the country, I would have to be available for any quick questions. If I am outside the country, that is okay.
This is some odd logic 😅. Why should the specific location of my vacation dictate if I should still be online or not? The baseline expectation of vacation should be that you are not going to reply.
- 0a month agoSenior Software Engineer [OP]Taro Community
@Rahul Pandey, I totally agree with you. I also don't want to share with my whole team (at work) where I am going for my vacation. I mentioned during one of my team calls that my personal life is private, and I would like to keep it that way.
- 0
a month agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course HeroIt seems like you should switch teams. Managers are hard to change (because most managers are bad), even when they have good intent.
There are 4 types of managers:
- Good intent, good skills - These are the best managers. Rockstars.
- Good intent, bad skills - These are managers who genuinely want to help their people but don't have the skills to do it (yet). This is very common. It's rough, but this is at least redeemable.
- Bad intent, good skills - This is very, very rare. If a manager doesn't have the right intentions, they are usually bad.
- Bad intent, bad skills - This is unfortunately most managers. Many managers go into the job for money/power and don't actually care about growing people.
It seems like you rolled #4. Managers in this bucket can't be changed 99.9% of the time. I would leave ASAP.
- 1a month agoSenior Software Engineer [OP]Taro Community
@Alex Chiou, Thank you for your response. I will have to look into how to switch within my current organization. If it is not possible within the organization, I will have to switch to another company.
