1. Toxic Culture and Office Politics
The company culture is very toxic, and there’s a lot of office politics. Favoritism is common, and certain groups get better treatment while others are ignored. This makes the workplace feel unfair and difficult to thrive in.
2. Lack of Diversity
The majority of employees are Chinese, and there is no diversity. People often speak Mandarin in break rooms, during lunch, and in meetings, even when non-Chinese employees are present. This makes it hard for others to feel included and part of the team.
3. Poor Management
Most managers lack technical skills and don’t know how to manage people well. They are often rude, unsupportive, and don’t care about their teams. Favoritism is obvious, and promotions or bonuses go to people based on who they know rather than their performance.
4. Issues in Product and Design Teams
The product and design teams are run by inexperienced managers who came straight out of school. They lack knowledge about strategy, product success, or proper design processes. Their lack of experience shows in how poorly they lead their teams.
5. Unrealistic Expectations and Overwork
There’s no work-life balance. Employees are expected to be online 24/7, with meetings often scheduled after 5 PM. Most people end up working several extra hours every day. The U.S. CEO even said that if you want work-life balance, you should find another job.
6. Unstable Projects and No Clear Direction
There is no roadmap or clear goals for the company. Priorities change constantly because everyone is focused on making the owner happy. Teams are pushed to quickly design and deliver new projects, only to have their hard work on previous projects canceled without explanation. This creates stress and makes employees feel like their efforts are wasted.
7. Lack of Appreciation and Random Layoffs
Hard work is never appreciated—instead, it’s rewarded with even more work. Layoffs happen randomly, even to employees who have been loyal and worked hard for years. There is no clear process or explanation for these decisions.
8. Ineffective HR Practices
The HR team doesn’t support employees and focuses on covering up problems. For example, they ask new employees to write positive reviews online in exchange for company swag. This creates a false image of the company and ignores the real issues.