I'm 8 years post-grad and have had 5 corporate jobs. Every single company i worked for was broken in some way or another.
I worked for an agency for 2 years. Earned a promotion by their “standards” but I got passed over because my manager vetoed it. She claimed i would be advancing before she did at the same point in her career….
This same agency was client-facing. They had me work a 100+ hour week and when I went to bill my hours to the client, they told me to cut my total in half so the client wouldn't think I was actually forced to work that much (even though I was..) I found out they were hiring new grads for less than they were paying me 2+ years in, so I found a new job.
I worked at job #2 in the nonprofit / fundraising space for 2 years. They overworked, underpaid, and undervalued all employees. But that wasn't why I left. My dad was diagnosed with a terminal disease and I got the news while at the office. My boss acted sympathetic but wouldn't let me leave to process this news. Nope. Instead he made me work extra late that night (past 9pm) to host a gala committee meeting. I cried the entire time.
This same male boss once told a female ceo to “smile more” during a meeting…. he clearly lacked awareness. So I found another job.
Job #3 was another 2 years of misery, 100+ hour weeks, and a hell of a lot of gaslighting. This time in the tech space.
My boss held me back from a promotion I rightfully earned because my work was exceeding expectations but it wasn't “perfect”…what the f*** does that mean? How can someone even be able to judge if an employee is “perfect”?!
That wasn't even the worst of it. This job was a special kind of toxic that I dont have time to get into. HR was notified by multiple employees, multiple times but did nothing. I even tried switching teams internally but my current boss vetoed it because I was such an “asset”. (Just apparently not a perfect asset).
I quit after they wrongfully terminated one of my coworkers for a bullshit reason and I realized they only want worker bees that say “yes” and nothing else.
Job #4 started on March 9, 2020. Great timing. We transitioned remote on my first day so I actually never met my manager face-to-face. That didn't stop him from committing some of the worst forms of gender discrimination via video conference. Hed belittle the female workers, gave them administrative tasks below their title, called them out for being emotional when the woman was just being professional or firm….I filed a harassment claim against him after 2 months on the job and another 5 months on the job. I quit after 6 months because HR did nothing.
Job #5 is fine. I took it because I loved the manager. But the company was apparently so toxic under the surface that our manager quit in September. Since September, 9 people on my team have quit and 10 new people have started since January. All of the coworkers I liked are gone because the company treated them poorly…and im one of two original schmucks that are left.
I want to leave too but whats the point? I've worked 5 corporate jobs spanning across 5 different industries. Each one seems to get worse than the last. So do I just stick it out at the company I'm at or risk starting somewhere new? This situation is depressing. I have genuine interests and hobbies id love to spend time on, but these shitty jobs keep stealing all of my time and milking me dry. I have no motivation to look for anything else but I also haven't won the lottery. Do any good jobs / companies actually exist in 2022?
TL/DR: Is there any reason to still apply for corporate jobs in 2022 or are all organizations fundamentally crooked / broken / beyond repair? This isn't a joke. Im actually wondering.