I lost all my gains from working out and became fat working day and night for this company. Now I don’t even complete my tasks and management is micro managing me/constantly asking me to present things about AI to the team. I don’t hang out with friends as much and have very little time to date/do activities.
I’m only 2 years out of college and know getting fired/PIP will likely force me out of tech forever and into low-skill no degree required work but that is concerning me less every day.
@fh - Congrats, one of the lucky ones in life. Good fortune may not buy love, but it allows one to sleep well at night. Be careful, you may be left to handle it all, then that will start to grate on your health. Be well.
Seriously- working for Cisco is like owning a boat. The best two days are the day you buy it, and the day you sell it. The day I was laid off was one of the best days of my career. I've never had the feeling of relief, of stress instantly leaving my body, of actual joy- as I did the moment I was laid off. And then Cisco paid me a stupid amount of money to leave.
It’s really a shame this is your job so early in your career. I’ve been with Cisco a long time and I’ve been in the workforce for decades but my time with Cisco has been terrible. Boring, stressful, unqualified “leadership”, hypocritical and misguided projects that go nowhere. Many of the social and health issues are very real and I’ve experienced the same. Previous jobs have been exciting and fun, challenging, worked with incredible people I’m still friends with. Without a doubt, Cisco was a huge mistake in my career and I look forward to leaving.
It damaged your health because you let it. I worked on an account run by the usual suspects, and the mgr was a total *sshat micromanager. That works with certain ethnicities, but it didn’t work with me. I left the team and am much happier where I am now. You have choices. Stop blaming this and that.
Insomnia
Acid reflux
Palpitations
The commit plan culture is toxic
I get sh-t for saying we can't commit plan we don't have enough pipeline
Then I am forced to commit plan
When we don't make plan I am publicly shouted out
I left that BS company behind. The toxic, brown nosing, sycophantic, grandstanding, BS culture was making me unwell. Feel much better now that I am away from it.
I have 20+ years worth of income and zero debt.
That is what most of the people who lived in the building where I first landed in this country said. All of them said the same. we have no debts (paying monthly rent did not count as debt to them :-)
@fh because you were way overpaid for an office worker. Way
I am rich.
I have 20+ years worth of income and zero debt.
I still work at Cisco because the benefits are good, pay is good and the job is not bad.
I've had FU level money for about 10 years now but the irony is that I've never had to pull that ripcord. My hunch is that leadership senses my confidence and lack of fear.
Go work CAP or on-call escalation, and then see how that stepping out to prance around at the gym goes.
We were on 24 hour phone calls. Two of us. We'd hand off the call in six hour chunks. Nothing like a f'ing complete meltdown.
If you want to keep your job, the gym just is not on the action items for this month.
@e8 ya but AI can do your job now - but not mine. Oops
I don't care if my job is "essential", I'm well comped by Ciscos standards and already have my FU money from other jobs
But you go on eating junk food during "crunch time", your coworkers won't attend your funeral
@c0 just have an ever-so-common workplace affair, or two, or three. The company seems to encourage it. They don't gaf about families, kids or who the extramarital stuff may hurt. In fact, philanderers get promoted more often than not - true story
@db office workers just get to say at any point in the day - and even in a "crisis - "I'm leaving to go shopping or the gym - if you don't like it fire me".
Do you have an essential job? I don't think you do
Cisco (and any company ever) takes whatever you're willing to give it. It's as simple as that. This is the reality you created for yourself. If you want to blame something, look in the mirror.
Blaming others is peak weakness.
My anxiety runs high, more than it ever has been. Growing fierce competition and that's fierce internal competition causing animosity and alienation of selected individuals and teams. we're fooling ourselves that we're one Cisco. We are not. Our businesses are siloed and not designed to complement, we are a group of individual start ups. nobody really knows what's happening anymore we're just following the bouncy ball. People are tired, their anxiety runs high and you can see it in their faces. But the worst of all, nothing has changed except what the business has done to the people who were once passionate about Cisco. Management knows what's happening, they can see burn out, they hear sighs of despair but running blind all while focusing on return on shareholder investments.
Just never skip your workouts. Never. Never skip going to the grocery store to eat healthy.
I always tell my team, even in a crisis, "okay, I am going to my daily workout, back in a bit"
if folks don't like it, fire me...I'm not sacrificing my health for a D-list corporation
Never yield your health no matter what is happening at work
This is by far the most toxic workplace in which I've ever had the displeasure of working for the last 20 years of my corporate career. Worked in a couple other Fortune 100s (both higher), and while they also had their share of politics, I've never seen it so bad as here. I'm so burnt out and over it.
Very bad culture at Cisco, very bad politics daily, due to the constant competition and the upcoming layoffs. People constantly steal your work and lights behind your back, kiss up to the top, and act cute and politically correct. It is not about doing good work and being smart, people ganged up against you for their interest, and play close to their manager or VP. At the end this is the squid game at Cisco. I do not see that point, it is not even for something cutting edge, just people trying to stay liked to keep their salary.
Three years in and I have never felt more stressed in my life working here. I’ve found to legitimately not care anymore and just do the best you can without stressing, even if it means going from ‘best’ to average’. I cared way too much and was probably going to die from stress if I didn’t stop caring.
My stress levels are fairly high and my morale is fairly low. I venture to guess most employees feel the same way.
I was laid off from Cisco in 2019 after 6 years there, was one of the worst companies for mental health I've been at in my career. 1-2 layoffs rounds per year while I was there, never knowing if you would be cut- ridiculous stress. Management playing office politics with raises and bonuses. And my last manager there was the worst in my career- micromanager, demanded unpaid overtime every single week for over 2 years, personally and professionally insulting. I still occasionally wake up with dreams about telling that POS off.
On the other hand, the severance package was by far the best I've ever had, and my team was generally isolated from the core toxic Cisco culture
hold on buttercup, try 20 plus years here, you will be fat blind with a nervous tick, and your family wont ever see you while they are growing up, you will work on weekends, holidays , family vacations because its not worth missing a meeting so you can be called out by your manager or peers. rest and vest is nice if you are manager or get to the holy land of no accountability but high comp, a director / vp. We are the cannon fodder they build beach homes out of , and unless your a patel , good luck getting a raise or promoted. youll know youve reached maxium DGAF when your manager steals your work and uses it to promote themselves and their team. But if you are smart , you can play the game , get a million in stock and 401k , maybe 2 , and one day quit , then die soon there after from health abuse in the role . Enjoy!
Just practice intermittent fasting... This is a free and natural way to heal and boost your body. Ever since I started OMAD, my life has completely changed.
Your health should be your number 1 priority. Hopefully instead of firing or PIP, they will lay you off, otherwise just leave. Do not be afraid of not finding another job.
@aq literally all you need to do is slap your cheeks and spread them as far as you can and let rip!
Way to take ownership of your own life 😆 😂
Years ago, more than half of our ten person team was on anxiety and/or blood pressure medicine. It was sort of a running joke, several of us went to the same doctor near campus; she referred to us as the "Cisco Crowd". Terrible diets, long days, lots of escalations, but great team.
Fast forward many years, I am still friends with a few from the team at that time. I am off all meds and a bunch lighter and of much more positive mindset.
The only way I could get normal was to leave. There was a benefit of getting LR'd.
And to my old boss...F@@@ @@u. You made our lives very painful under your watch.
That is a very good question and a real problem
Cisco likes to brag about #1 workplace in X country
In reality it is all a lie, a huge abuse of the employees that comes via two ways: