#gaslighting

My team was shown out CES results… I guess. It’s laughable, and totally on brand, that they only show very very select portions of the results now. I have it from very good sources that this is all an exercise in gaslighting, to make it appear the issues are at the team level, not the actual complete systemic dysfunction the aggregate results actually show. Yet another demonstration the emperor has no clothes and we’re lead by a group of sociopaths.

KL still gaslighting us 3 years in. Mike can we flip the page and get some real leadership in here.

This may come in handy for those who suddenly come across this type of manipulation from a toxic manager, and how to recognize it happening to them: if you out of nowhere start getting feedback that you aren't using the best time management or aren't prioritizing your time well (even if you aren't missing deadlines); that should be your cue that they either want to throw more onto your plate with no compensation or level change OR that you are on your way to being managed out. If your past reviews were stellar or above average - and you didn't see this coming - also take that as a warning that they want you out. And they will use several means to accomplish that.

According to Google AI: Gaslighting employees into believing they are bad at time management is a manipulative tactic where an organization or manager shifts the blame for systemic dysfunction, unclear strategies, or unmanageable workloads onto the individual's personal skills. Instead of addressing poor planning, understaffing, or shifting priorities (which are constant here at TGT), leaders push mandatory time management workshops or imply the employee just needs to "work smarter" (to deflect accountability from the huge mess we are at the leadership level). We all know about the goalposts being moved constantly - needing for TMs to have to work weekends to meet the deadlines. Don't let them gaslight you into thinking you su-k at your job. It's them, not you. Management and leaders always avoid admitting a lack of coherent business strategy or resource allocation by making you feel inadequate.

It definitely does a number on your psyche; and you start developing imposter syndrome. Don't give in. Start looking for a new job. The culture has changed significantly at the Bullseye; and it make take years to repair. Hope this PSA is helpful to anyone currently there.

BTW, HR is not there to help you with this. They are not your friend. Once you start complaining about workload (whether to your boss or through those "anonymous" surveys), they will see to it that you are no longer there.

Anyone feel like Rick was gaslighting us a bit in the Q&A during the corporate update? No layoffs huh? I know of several!!

Gaslighting at Digital Surgery can be hard to name.

It can look like mixed messages in a private slack channel, blame in public, and someone taking credit for work you did. Over time, you may start doubting your memory, your skills, and your right to speak up.

This is not “being too sensitive.” The emotional impact is real.

Let’s talk about it. Have you seen this happen at work—or found a healthy way to respond?

Honestly, I’m really disappointed by what’s been happening at Digital Surgery.

It’s hard to watch good people, especially good engineers, leave one after another over the past year. These are people who worked hard, cared about what they were building, and actually wanted the company to succeed.

At the same time, it feels like the people who make the most noise, talk the most sh-t, and play the politics game are the ones getting rewarded and promoted.

That’s incredibly frustrating.

No one should have to shout the loudest, put other people down, or play games just to be recognised. Good work should matter. Being decent to your colleagues should matter. Being professional should matter.

And when people are being gaslighted or treated unprofessionally, eventually they stop fighting it and they leave.

That’s the part that really hurts. Watching talented people walk away while the behaviour that pushed them out seems to continue.

There is something seriously wrong when losing good engineers becomes normal and nobody seems to stop and ask why.

Does anyone else specifically in corp maybe in the marketing realm sick of this phrase? I’ve heard it more in the past couple of weeks than I have in the past year, but it’s not the first time I’ve heard it and basically to me It’s permission for someone to be an absolute a--hole towards you, gaslight you, treat you like garbage, tell you your content is sh-t and then turn around and be told to just assume that they meant that feedback positively, it is the epitome of gaslighting and it just seems so fitting with this company adopted the expression so much that a VP shared something as a mandate and I’m talking about Tracy who introduced it I think to the world lol

This should be the next survey question. Why would you wish WF success? The bank's very publicized plan for success blatantly excludes thousands of US employees, after ruining or at least significantly disrupting tens of thousands of careers eo Tuesday for the past 5-7 years. They dont want you to work here any more.

Why would you, after all of the gaslighting, the fake reviews, the micromanaging office time down to 5 minute increments, the soon-to-be-increasing RTO requirements,

"Together we'll go far.......but not with you!"

• Charlie & his squad of goons

Go ahead and downvote me, bootlickers! this is the truth and you all know it

In my location nothing has changed. Desks with names printed on paper are still empty? So what was the point of this useless exersise other than to take away the last flex day for the de-valued teammates required to be in desks 40 hours? I hope leadership doesnt expect their gaslightling attempt to boost morale. Empty desks with a green circle speak for themselves.

As long as you're not on the Gainwell account and not within the contentiental U.S. You have it made compared to the other.

Working on the Gainwell account is as if you're never left Gainwell. As you still have to put up with all the B*S, gas lighting, etc. Now you have the benefit of experiencing from both Gainwell and the NTT leadership directly over you.

Good luck trying to find another position within the company, unless you're off-shore. Most of the available positions for what I do or want to do are based over in India/Asia.
Basically, the hype about you building a career and being who you want to be at NTT, is just that hype, as it baised towards the cheaper labor overseas.

Training that isn't skillsoft. I payed out of pocket myself. It was the only way to get decent training opportunites.

The only upside is I work remote. Which eliminates me having to pay for home visit healthcare that I otherwise would have to pay for , if I had to go into an office. (The wife is disabled and wheelchair bound)

As you can tell, I don't have a high opinion of NTT and my immediate managers. Everyday is like being thrown into a pool with your hands and feet tied to a concrete block, as you try to wade water and catch your breath whenever possible. And they just keep dumping water over your head.

3 months into my new job and I can confidently say: leaving Citi was the best thing that ever happened to me.
I’m happier, more at peace, and I actually enjoy going into new job now, I can spend time with my family after work, be present, relax, and enjoy life without constantly worrying about the next layoff announcement, toxic managers, or what kind of gaslighting from upper management is waiting for me when I log in Monday morning. That alone has been priceless.
Godspeed to everyone still here. I genuinely wish you nothing but the best and hopefully, your exit comes sooner than you think.

A crummier company led by cynical, gaslighting people who worry more about "shareholder value" (and value of their stock holdings) than the financial and mental well-being of their employees.

Every day we have to deal with gaslighting, intimidation, and bullying. It's not occasional. It's every single day. No wonder morale is in the gutter.

Enrique just continuing to ruin the mental health of all employees with his absolute lies and gaslighting

This company is criminal

If you're letting people go just do it already and stop talking rubbish

Forcing people to quit by destroying the morale in the whole company

The whole board should be scrapped

Next week is Culture Week, everyone! Get ready for the toxic leaders of one of the world's most contemptible, companies to gaslight their employees into thinking we have a culture that goes beyond mistreating people, devaluing them and underpaying them. You really can't make this sh-t up.

Is anyone else dealing with tone deaf leadership? Everyone has an opinion, but trying to gaslight people into thinking this is good for all is absolute bullsh-t. Taking the VSP isn't best for everyone. Even those of us dealing with burn out who feel ready to move on can’t just jump ship if our financial footing is unstable. Some of these so called leaders need to stop telling us how to feel about our livelihoods. I guess it's easy for someone pulling in mid to high six figures to believe that taking the VSP is an easy win.

Funny how “Impostor Syndrome” keeps trending on LinkedIn, as if the real impostors aren’t sitting comfortably in the executive suite polishing their mission‑statement buzzwords. Our Lake Mary Site Lead waxes and wanes almost daily on LinkedIn about personal growth and his random musings on overcoming self‑doubt, meanwhile TheLayoff.com reads like a Greek chorus calling out leadership that’s overstayed its ethical visa. But sure—let’s all meditate on our inner saboteur while the EC perfects the art of staying in the room long after the moral fire alarm went off. Let’s focus more on our personal shortcomings while leadership turns up the midyear gaslighting campaign to identify a new collection of layoff victims.

It’s interesting, really. Employees twist themselves into pretzels wondering if they’re “worthy,” while the folks steering the ship can’t find the compass, the map, or apparently the exit.

If impostors are defined by those who shouldn’t be in the role, the syndrome isn’t in the rank‑and‑file—it’s upstairs in 240G, thriving, well‑compensated, and oddly immune to self‑reflection.

But hey, personal growth is important. Just not that personal, apparently. Give it a rest, James.

How do you navigate working for a leader who consistently deflects responsibility when things go wrong, portrays themselves as the person holding the organization together, and repeatedly singles out one or two employees for criticism until they eventually they leave or get fired as a cause of this set up. Abusive or demeaning language in private but present themselves as professional in public. How do I protect myself from this gaslighting? Very shameful.

This isn't "efficiency helping workers." It's using AI to shrink the human side of the business while squeezing the remaining people harder. Classic corporate playbook: Automate repetitive tasks → reduce headcount/support → demand more output from fewer (or worse-paid) humans → call it progress.
AI does boost productivity. But pretending it won't displace or devalue roles — especially when contracts are being rewritten to reflect exactly that — is corporate gaslighting. State Farm isn't the only one doing this, but their "Good Neighbor" branding makes the disconnect especially glaring.

"I cannot promise you stable employment in top performing companies such as Cisco, but we want top performing employees who will stay and care about making an impact on the company" ???

The AMA was a giant gaslighting word salad

Our VP stated that RIFs are "rare" during our town hall. We have had 9 (!!!) employees on our team RIFed in the past 24 months plus a Sr. Director disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

They fired two US employees this May and then immediately posted the roles in Colombia. A key talking point from one of the Sr Directors was about how amazing it was that we were hiring! Be sure to recommend your friends!

Not sure how the VP thinks RIFs are rare at Medtronic given that I have never worked anywhere in my career that has had this rate of RIFs. The level of lying and gaslighting from execs is unbelievable.

Also we were told that we are now expected to demonstrate "Joy" going forward.

Here is what we do so you know:

Give a tiny raise at the middle of the year… call it merit

Do not refer to it as Cost of living.

Policy is only one raise per six months

Use q4, EOY, and budget season to delay raises till first of year

During q1 use verbiage to express budget not approved.

If you submit a raise, they will drag their feet or ignore it for two months, deny it when the annual raises spreadsheet comes in and say we can t get them one in a quarter

Tell them end of q1 annual 6% merit raise was approved and waiting to roll that and if they get a raise now they won’t get the annual.

Give 1-2% raise to everyone not just the ones that deserve a merit raise and say they changed the budget last min and only approved 1-2%.

Resubmit get denied by policy again.

And The best one is submit for raise, knowing it will not get approved so you can show your people it was submitted and partially approved and out of your hands just to save face. They won’t deny it and wait until it times out and you have to submit again.

Push back to the uppers and get reprimand or gaslighted again

If you know you now or juts Think about it….

Or is my manager just gaslighting me?

Days like today are always tough. When smart, hard working and loyal, good people get let go from doing their jobs to assuage the hubris at the top. Every single layoff has a personal and professional impact. I think there is growing frustration at NetApp that GK, our President and SVP of Comp to name a few continue to be here despite years of stagnant growth, lack of vision and being completely disconnected from field teams and customers. Everyone with a brain cell knows $10B by 2028 is not happening yet GK and executives keep pushing the same BullS*** narrative. Unless we get acquired or acquire a company it will not happen organically. Why not make $8B a realistic goal and stop the gaslighting. It's time for Executive leadership to be held accountable.

With layoffs over our heads, no jobs and managers making up stuff to pretend you are IM instead of meets I go home on Fridays with so much anger. It starts again Sunday night. You gaslight people everyday and this is what you get. Is this week the week my life gets altered through your cr-ppy layoffs? And May is mental health month. Hahahahahaha. What they are doing is literally a recipe for mental health challenges.

$1 billion share buyback announced while they have $500 million they still need to repurchase from the last buyback.
At the same time...the leadership team has wipes out the last 6 years of growth and gains.
They are basically gaslighting shareholders at this point as I'd rather be able to dump ally shares at $250 as opposed to $98.
The announcement didn't help stock price as it only stayed in the green for the first hour and a half of market open.

L7s, L8s, and L9s have forgone years of experience and nuanced knowledge that their teams’ possess in favor of having their egos stroked by fluff words from a machine that placates whoever is prompting it.

Many people who have been on businesses and can advise on actionable things to make them grow are being gaslit, ignored, and essentially told “shut up and do as you’re told”.

Of course it’s understandable how and why a corporation thrives on hierarchy, but having leaders who are NOT experts in their field giving vague opinions with zero willingness to learn about individual business does not make sense from a business perspective much less a personal one.

They expect us to decode their ChatGPT strategy and do backflips and upheave our lives to mind read and materialize what even they don’t know. This isn’t just a tool anymore, gen ai is running this company.

Long gone are the days where we were guest obsessed and interacting with the our shoppers to understand their needs. We now create product to appease one or two people.

Praying for a wake up call to save this mediocre and spineless company. I used to love this job so so much. I want it to get back to the way it was when the guest loved us and WE THE WORKERS loved it here as well 💔

Since they are all so busy, they may be worried about getting their goals in by the 15th. Let's share some ideas here! I'll start: AC remove the defacto hiring freeze, stop the gaslighting, and then just go home!

At belk if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is in fact a squirrel.

Truist's culture has officially become the worst. They are the laughing stock of the banking industry. Bad teammates will get promoted because they fit the new culture, and leadership will get worse with the corporate gaslighting. There's no hoping that they will change and do right by the teammates. Think about this when you're driving into the office or sitting at your desk tomorrow.

After 20+ years at Verizon, I’ve never seen morale this low or trust in leadership this broken.

Yesterday’s EMEA call was a brutal reminder of where things really stand. Yet today we’re all expected to log in, smile on calls, and carry on as if nothing happened.

What makes it worse is the constant stream of polished messaging from management and our Exec team that feels completely disconnected from reality. We’re told everything is about “transformation,” “strategy,” and “opportunities,” while RIFs happen all the time and the remaining staff are expected to absorb the work.

I feel like we’re being gaslighted.

Everyone knows AI is coming and it will fundamentally change large parts of the workforce and remove even more jobs at a rate much higher than we've known before. Employees aren’t stupid. Most of us have decades of experience and can see exactly what’s happening.

What’s astonishing is the apparent belief from leadership that the workforce will just nod along and accept whatever narrative is being presented.

After more than two decades here, I’ve never seen this level of distrust between employees and leadership. People can deal with tough decisions and difficult change. What they struggle with is the feeling that the truth is being managed rather than communicated.

Right now, the biggest gap in this company isn’t technology or strategy. It’s credibility.

Google it of you don't know the story. Make a person a manager and tell them they have to stack rank people. Suddenly they feel totally justified making up problems and documenting made up deficiencies in case they need to cut you later. It creates an atmosphere where every interaction becomes an excuse to gaslight or present things using the worst interpretation possible. It's crazy how easily people can move from "we're all one team" to "I'm documenting this conversation to make it seem like you did something wrong". And of course the employee is also documenting everything in case they need to backstab their boss. The team goes from people who work together to people who collect dirt on each other and run to the hr. Don't you wish you could just spend your time focused on work instead of trying to sabotage other people so you don't get cut instead?

Pay equity? That's a massive raise for the CEO and "meaningful increases" for low-mid rank salaries, but 2 years of 0% awards for director level and above.

HR said to focus on total comp but oh dear what's that you say cumulative inflation since Covid is nearly 30%? No time for any more questions I'm afraid.

So after the C suite took cash earned from ERP from 168 to 112 to fund future projects, removed raises, tanked the share price of the company impacting pay of anyone with any equity, doing constant layoffs....

The next thing we are being told is we are about to get a lesson on the Stoics? Yes, this is true. We need to compare ourselves to philosophers from 300 BC and ignore all this nonsense and see it all in a positive light. That is coming from the top.

Company wants to be more efficient so they hire more managers, lay off seasoned/experienced engineers, introduce the "product model" which is great for software developers but slows the rest of the tech teams down/delivers slower results to our internal customers, increase bureaucracy, and gaslight everyone. 15 years ago, this was a decent company to work for. Yeah they did not pay top dollar, but you had the ability to grow your career, work with good people, advanced, and where ok with the less pay because the company valued "work life balance" and did a decent job of investing in skill development/training. You actually felt like you can grow and build something that helps advance the brand, better serve the customers, and where better rewarded with innovative ideas. Now, it is all the bad of the tech world: work life balance out the door, health insurance benefits mid, constant threat of layoffs, a massive slide in technical leadership, a feeling of constant uncertainty/direction, gaslighting, a significant increase of teams backstabbing each other, more offshoring esp with sensitive customer data, political pandering, and paying customer satisfaction at an all time low. Unless it is automation or a way to layoff more people, innovate ideas are frowned upon esp if they challenge the "product model"/hired too many new managers. Current leadership team brags about how they "revolutionized" CVS, yet CVS when they where there, but look how bad CVS has performed over the past decade. I get that the only thing that matters is the stock price because everyone above director is paid with stock shares. I think the reason you don't see higher attrition rate is because the company is still pretty remote/hybrid (good thing they got rid of a significant amount of real- estate or else this would be different). However, there is going to be a strong return to office mandate soon even if the majority of your team is offshore in a different region of the country. If you do not live near an office because you believed the company about working remote, you either better relocate or start looking elsewhere. By the end of the year, there will be a new tech out that will have the ability to better track remote workers/hybrid users and HR is already looking at it as a way to eliminate/reduce remote workers.

Perfectly said, @rh+1kgyvphgn.

I want to take a moment to express my deep appreciation for the culture at FactSet. Kissing a-s is the only way to get any meaningful traction.

Special dedication to the HRBP, L&D, Talent Delivery and Organisational Effectiveness leadership. Your inability to discern between noise and substance, between nuance and context is the reason for the unnecessary challenges we face in the business.

CFO, CPO - I hope you look at your stock awards and question your lack of judgment and willingness to take ethical stands that led to FactSet’s fall. No points for guessing how instrumental your contribution has been in deflating the firm’s value.

Special place in he-l for those gaslighting the outliers in the name of “culture”.

We may get our paychecks from NTT and have an NTT email address, but we're still the serfs or property of the 'Other company'. Nothing has changed for us, other than throwing a couple of NTT managers into the mix. The toxicity, gas-lighting and manipulation hasn't gone away, infact there is little more of it from the NTT side now.

Also it has become apparent that there are different variables or opportunities that come into play as compared to a real NTT employee. And that is we have none. Instead of being mentored or given the opportunities to further the paths of our own choosing. Obstacles are thrown in our way and under the table deals are forged to prevent one from pursuing anything other than what has been dictated or desired by those above us.

Should you voice your concerns or issues to a manager. Expect the repertoire of how everything is your fault and have your tried to find employment with another company.

If one could sum it up, it would be in the song 'Hotel California'.

All the complaints around severance, PIPS, notices etc…. It’s a mixed bag of confusion on purpose. Designed to frustrate you and have you just walk away and not follow up. Tons of gaslighting, shuffling of meeting times and mixed message. It’s not disorganization, it’s the plan. A meeting invite to “discuss things” , your PIP. You show up and no one else does. Then much later an apology as something more urgent came up that needed attended to so a reschedule is needed. This will happen a time or two. It’s all designed to keep you on edge, stressed so that you’ll leave.

The same applies to the severances. “Any questions, concerns or updates needed just contact this number\email\person etc..” and when you do, no answers, no return calls, no traction. If you’re persistent enough you’ll get somewhere but again, its all be design.

All in all, they just want you to go away with little to no hassle or fuss. Trust me, this is the plan at work. None of it is illegal but certainly pushes the boundaries of the Citi trustworthiness, honesty, yada yada…but they don’t care. It’s the bottom line that matters and the bottom line is that you have to be ran off in order to make up for the lack of the return on investment on AI that was promised to the board. Unfair or not, this is all there is to it.

All of these changes have made working at CVX a complete nightmare.
I'll be taking my CIP and looking elsewhere.

The worst thing is the gas lighting that HMP and Leadership throw at us: "Better together", "We benchmarked against Exxon - they are doing it!", "If it works for Google, it must be good"

of course, my heart goes out to those who lost their jobs and will lose their jobs, and heck I may also lose my job next week, but i have feeling based on what I do and our tiny team, I’ll probably stick around and get more responsibility or rather, more sh-t thrown on my plate and i’m sure many others will be in the same boat. So surely, we don’t have to worry as much about how we’ll put food on the table or pay the rent but our lives will be he-l and we’ll be gaslit by leadership when we complain about the increased workload and lack of resources to be “thankful” that we didn’t lose our jobs and to kiss the ring