I don’t know about the tag loser but putting things on office politics is one sign I feel is more like “finding the scapegoat”. Few more data points needed here -  
  
 1. What’s the average market compensation of your skills, yoe?  
  
 2. What is your annual salary increments?  
  
 3. Have you discussed these issues with your manager, mentor (if any)?

Product Manager

I can clearly sense I'm totally off track when it comes to my working style but maybe I'm looking for validation out here.   I work on a skill in demand from offshore, have worked for a long term p...

Welcome to Confessions's Private Community

I can clearly sense I'm totally off track when it comes to my working style but maybe I'm looking for validation out here. 

I work on a skill in demand from offshore, have worked for a long term project onsite before, I do my work with 100% honesty, conduct proper KTs and in the end I'm nowhere - 12 LPA with 10+ YOE with no great prospects in future. I'm sure if you're following this route of honesty, all you get is your replacement. I have no idea how to proceed further in my career as I have been like this since always- it remains the same everywhere, if you can't be good at playing mind games and establishing your dependency, all you end up with is more work, average raise and your replacement. Some days I feel like quitting altogether but I don't have any plan B and it's like I'm good technically but I can't survive and do all this office politics. I'm a loser, isn't it?

Self introspection on working style

Data engineer

Self introspection on working style- Grapevine

Welcome to IT Company Discussion's Private Community

Context

Age: 30
Current Company: TCS
Current Compensation: 19 LPA
YOE: 4
Designation: Senior UX Designer.

The client I have been working for is a US based tech conglomerate and they are happy with my work. I make sure I deliver all the requirements on time without compromising on the quality, document my work very well, be available for any support and troubleshooting. Though the work is hectic, I am happy that I am able to grow and learn new things. I work on the weekends, holidays without any comp off and I also sometimes work late in the night at 2 AM etc. I admit that I am burnt out but since I am recognised and appreciated for my work, it motivates me to continue the grind. I make sure that the quality f my work isn't questioned as the standard the client has is pretty high.

Due to this, I am unable to upskill, work on my own profile and prepare for interviews. I am a graduate from a tier 1 institute for the field I work in and all my peers are earning 36+ LPA. I know that I need to upskill, switch jobs as that is the only way out. I take more time than necessary to complete tasks and hence I have to work beyond the designated hours. Now for me to take up time for upskilling, the only way out is to deliver the bare minimum that can help me to continue to be allocated while I upskill myself to make a switch. I have wasted years of my life by being in TCS and it's high time for me to make a switch. I am underconfident in terms of my skills and all i have to do is to work on my own skills. 

Is delivering mediocre quality of work the only way out? I don't want to do this as my work is my identity but I see no way out in order to make time. Please help me out.

Is compromising on the client deliverables the only way to make time for upskilling

Product Designer

Welcome to Product Managers's Private Community

Huh! So i resigned from my job without any job offer. I am not sure if this is right/wrong, dumb decision maybe but i was at my saturation point. I joined this organisation as APM in April 2024 and resigned in September end, almost a 6 months of journey. This was a fast faced startup with a lot of micromanagement and toxicity. My manager was an asshole. There was a time when i was filling time sheets which was just to justify my manager. Imagine a product manager filling time sheet who is already involved in multiple small and large discussion with tech,qa, marketing, operations etc. The shift was of 9 hours and he asks me to stretch to 10 hrs sometimes as he as a bad habbit of same. There is much more. One day due to an instance i decided to resign without any job offer. My family did supported me which also gave me the confidence to do so. I don’t know what to say to next companies. When will I get a new job. Just wanted to share this somewhere and thought of putting it up here. Open for all your thoughts and comments. Also,Let me know if anybody could help me in any referrals😅preferably in Delhi ncr- Hybrid/wfh.

Resigned without job offer

Associate Product Manager

Welcome to Business Roles's Private Community

Context: Hated my life in my previous job, work wise it was not bad.
Now, I don't hate my life as much, but work wise, it's really not good. 
Wayyy too operational, pressuring and salesy. I chose this, but I thought I would've been given some more time to mentally prepare myself, which didn't happen. 

Here's the kicker: the company is great, pay is also not bad. Not sure what I'll do if I'm not here and it was tough getting here. Recruiting hell leeches on me.

What can I do now? Any advice?

I feel like I made a mistake. What now?

Account Manager

Hi all, just looking for guidance or maybe similar people. Working in a service based company from past two years. Got this job from college placements. Work feels monotonous at best and there is nothing challenging. I don't even care about the pennies I am earning, nothing feels good. No sense of purpose. Want to switch not even getting a single selection mail lol. Maybe my resume is weak IDK. 
Maybe want to pursue higher studies again IDK.
Maybe I want to change entire field and go into something animation related, again IDK. 
Ahh IDK what I am even writing, I just get bored of everything very fast and can't imagine myself working in same field for very long. Also, I want to learn everything at same time. Does any of this even makes sense!?
Sorry, if this post wasted your time 🥲

Maybe just another lost soul

Software Developer

Some days going to office just feels like I am just existing to show up. 

Anybody feeling the same way?

Just Showing Up

Yeah Same Bro, My Office lacks a culture of keeping folks motivated, it fails to give a reason for people to come to office. No office parties or informal catch-ups for over a year makes it worse.

I often feel that I am under qualified for my job and have been able to clear all the rounds by pure luck.
I think that if I go out in job market I won't be able to again bag such a good offer...
Does any one  else also feel so... How to overcome with this feeling...

I feel like I have no talent and got job by luck

Welcome to Office Gossip's Private Community

I have an onshore counterpart, one level above me. We two are setting up the project and conducting workshops. The problems I have are:

1. I work in the B shift from 2 PM to 11 PM since the client is in PST. But i login usually at 10-11
2. My onshore counterpart works in EST but logs in very late.
3. Although I work in the B shift, I often extend until 1 AM because I am preparing all the PPTs and doing research. I have to explain everything I do daily for 2-3 hours. She schedules meetings during the PST afternoon to present that work.
4. It has been 2 months of the same routine. In every weekly stand-up, she gets appreciation as if she did the work and research, without giving me any credit.
5. I can escalate the issue, but no one will listen because she has been here for 12 years, whereas I joined a year ago. She has strong networking with the leadership, which I lack.
6. I can ask for release, but I like this project and have provided solutions for some challenging gaps. I feel very bad because I work for 16-18 hours per day. She could schedule the meeting in the PST morning, but she purposely schedules it in the PST afternoon and gets the credit for my work.

PS: i saw her creating a transcript to read during the meeting

Do people like this really exist? If you have personal commitments, why come to work? Don’t you have a conscience and feel guilty about stealing credit for others’ work? Nowadays, there are many posts related to stopping gender-based reservations. Is it because of situations like this?

Struggling with Credit Thief Daily😒

Associate Manager

I know it’s a very common question, and impossible to know or answer.
But curious how you folks here rationalize the meaning of life.

Add your age if that’s okay, for good measure

For me: I’m 27, my life’s purpose (or so I think) is to build something that helps a whole lot of people have a better life. And it is to make the people around me - family, friends, strangers happier (the scale of which depends on how successfully I pull this off).

Whats yours? Would love to engage on this :)

Thread: What do you feel is your life’s purpose?

Do you really need one? 
 Existence is a gift, just enjoying it should be enough.

Founder

Corporate Strategist

Sometimes I feel that the work I am doing in the office is worthless. It is providing no value to the client nor does it help me. I am able to answer the technical questions of the client which help in their business decisions and I think that's what keeps me employed. But I still feel I am wasting my time and I really don't know what I should do. Does anyone else face a similar issue or is it only with me? Also have someone come out of this and would like to share their experiences.

Sometimes I feel that the work I am doing is worthless.

Consultant

Welcome to Software Engineers's Private Community

Although I'm early in career(~4 Yoe) but I feel distinterested in it.

As far as I remember I was always interested in computers and programming(even before I knew it pays well), it's probably the only hobby I ever had.

It felt good in beginning but lately it feels like I'm dragging myself to work. I thought maybe I'm just distinterested in working for the employer but I don't feel like coding for fun either.
Doesn't feel like burnout because I haven't felt too much pressure from work in a while.

I thought this would be transient but I can't remember when it was fun last time. Has anyone else felt like this? Does it get better or is this just my life going forward?

Do you ever feel disillusioned with work

Totally in the same boat. 
 Sometimes I think of leaving everything and starting afresh in a different career.  
 Or sometimes I think of starting something of my own and quitting the corporate world.

Software Engineer

Welcome to Data Scientists's Private Community

Currently working in a startup and contributing in data science projects. Learning is good but a lot of time goes down in meetings and discussions and I have to do late night work. Everyday starts to feel like the same and I am not able to get time for extra learning to enhance my knowledge and tech stack.
Also thinking of company change but most of them need 3-4 years exp to the data science team. 😭

Feeling losted

I have been in this dilemma for the past two years. Work is nothing interesting to write about. Literally frozen learning anything new. Was able to start with teaching through an opportunity and started liking it. But the inability to process thoughts in a streamlined execution plan is throwing me off. There are so many things to do, but so little attention span. 

I want to be grateful for what I have but also want to prove to myself that my ability is probably better than this, to toil this way. 

I thought moving to a better job with better money might be the solution but is it ?

Do people relate to this or is this just a me thing? Please share your thoughts. Any suggestions to get out of this loop is welcome.

Miserable but unable to make a move

Principal Engineer

I am a senior software engineer with 6 + yoe mainly into backend (java and golang tech stack).

I am currently serving my notice period with no offer in hand.(my last day is April 30)

I have applied and given interviews to almost 12 companies and failed after clearing 2 or 3 rounds.

I feel that I am losing confidence in my skills when I face such rejection even though I shouldn't.

I feel like whatever answer I give during interviews is wrong and I constantly try to lookup the internet in the middle of interviews in fear of getting rejected.


Even though I know things very well I try to validate it and then mug up whatever is written on the internet and whenever a new question is asked which I haven't seen earlier where I would be required to think , i blank out.


This has never happened to me earlier.. I need some advice on how do I keep confidence in my skill and start solving things on my own.

Looking for advice

Backend Engineer

10 years of schooling, studying hard during festivals, sacrificing my playtime, my childhood for marks..
2 years of high school - Completely cut-off from the world for a good college.
4 years of hard work for a job for a below average salary!!!

On the other hand:
Some random chai wala earns in lakhs.
Some MLM meme girl, living a luxurious lifestyle.
Insensible people are valued in society.
Even a 12th fail selling beer in his family shop lives a better life.

All the hard work I did is in vain? Whatever I did till this point of time was useless? What's the point of an endless struggle, if my destination has more struggle? Something is really wrong..

I have lost all my motivation 😞

What am I doing wrong?

Would you be happy, satisfied and fulfilled by scamming people with MLM schemes? Would you respect yourself? 
  
 Would you be happy, satisfied and fulfilled by running a tea stall? Would you respect yourself? 
  
 Would you be happy, satisfied and fulfilled by dancing on reels? Would you respect yourself? 
  
 Scamming people is illegal, immoral and unethical. 
 Running a Tea Stall is nothing to be looked down upon. It is honorable hard work, regardless of perceived status. 
  
  
 Dancing on Reels -> gaining followers -> being valued by society is nothing to be looked down upon. Creative pursuits, regardless of platform, are honourable hard work and deserve appreciation and respect. 
  
  
 There are people earning millions of dollars doing OF. It depends on the individual whether they are happy doing it or not. 
 So please don't get demotivated. 
 If you see yourself entertaining people by all means work hard on social media. 
 If you see yourself in the food and beverage industry by all means work hard to get there. 
  
 But if you don't see yourself doing all of that and you see yourself doing what you're doing now or something similar but just earning much better, with a prestigious title tied to your name, and being valued and appreciated more by people, then just accept the fact that you've just begun to climb the mountain. Though it's a long and hard climb, it's worth the view. 
  
 Hard work never goes to waste. Work harder and smarter. You'll get where you want to. But decide where you want to go. Stop looking at people who are not even in the same race as you.  
 It's like cursing your destiny why am I not born at Ambani's place, it's if no use. Think and take action only about controllables and leave rest to God.

DevOps Engineer

Hello there,

I am a regular 3.5 yr exp web dev. I joined Grapevine, just to express my inner thoughts and it's much better to be anonymous.

I got stuck in a void !!! Rn what I a getting is much less as per my experience. The daily routine seriously makes me feel I am a worthless and unskilled person. The type of person who if quits his job will never find another all because I am not good at anything. The main fight is I want to switch to some PM or consultant role but I am filled up with self-doubt and scared of thinking that I am unskilled regular labour, who has somehow gotten into IT...

Whether you call it self doubt/laziness /indiscipline things are not helping me to grow and crack a new job with a better daily routine.

Appreciate your suggestion/feedback.

But please help me and suggest to me how can I get into a technical consultant or any managerial role.

Is this a void career?

I started this new role 7 months back, was full power working long hours, putting my 110%, and was rewarded with, ofcourse more work!
So I slacked a little, and little by little slacking got bit more. 
I'm still putting the hours, but my mind and heart are not there. Whatever I do, I want to finish asap fuck quality
Coz anyway you end up hearing 'you are not top of your game', 'this is not working' blah blah

I'm so detached, that I thought would ask for a short break (my boss is big on mental health)
But I realised, once they live without me, they'll know how to live without me.
I may not have a job when I come back from short break.

I discussed this with my family, they aren't in support (middle class gets skeptical too - "Why do you want to stop the cash coming in")

Have faced similar situations in previous companies too - I get bored, want to quit, then the phase tides over, and I'm back to being comfortable

Am I trying escape or is it that I am stopping myself from taking a bigger leap?

Getting restless at work, itching to leave without any future plans

I'm not sure who needs to hear this, but I’m briefly sharing my experience! I have around 3YOE in software development. Previously, I worked at a large product-based company, where everything was fine except for the salary and hikes, which didn't meet my expectations. So, I decided to switch jobs and ended up at a consulting start-up-like firm with a small product development team (about 15 people inc myself), receiving a decent 50% raise. This is my first job switch. The working style between the two companies is significantly different (5 days WFO, only formal attire, 10 hr working as the norm, etc.). I've noticed a few odd things.

->It’s my third month in this company, and I admit I’m a bit of a slow performer. It’s taking me time to understand their applications, pick up the pace, and get up to speed. My assigned tasks are falling behind deadlines, while my co-workers are able to complete theirs on time. I acknowledge this, and I’m working on improving and catching up.

->In meetings and scrum calls, I’m getting yelled at when my tasks don't progress. If I hit a roadblock and ask my manager or the lead for help, instead of getting the support I need, I’m hit with questions like, "We've implemented the same feature in other applications without any issues—why are you the only one facing these doubts or blockers?" or "If xyz (a colleague who joined with me but has less experience) is getting their tasks done, why are you the only one struggling with these doubts or blockers?"

->Frequent UI-UX changes and sudden shifts in implementation, whenever they feel like it, are quite confusing for me and result in a lot of rework. However, these ad-hoc changes are never acknowledged, and the effort spent on reworking isn't captured anywhere. When I mention that I've worked on these changes, they respond by questioning why I need time for them, as if my code will magically handle everything on its own,apne ap hojayega!

-> I am questioning my abilities after coming to this team, whether I am the right fit or not. Very harsh comments are passed right in front of my face: Other team mates say to me that "You are Lucky in this team! This much leverage the management has never given to me or others, they are baring you even if your tasks are not moving ahead!", In 1-on-1 my manager is saying ki "I don't know, this much leverage and patience we have never shown to anyone"(its hardly 2.5m after joining), "I don't know what to say, other team mates are asking me(to my manager) if he(ie me) can do lesser work ,we are performing way higher why do you have problems with us! This creates problems in teams". He further added "Comparison shouldn't be made, but xyz is also newly joined but he picked up, but I don't have confidence in you to give any task and feel you will accomplish it!"

->When I ask my co-workers casual questions or try to have a small interaction, their responses are things like, "Oh, do we really have to explain all this?" or "What do you want this time? Why are you eating my head?" It's a small team of 14-15 people, and they all sit together and go for coffee or lunch, but no one includes me or talks to me. I know this isn't directly related to work, and it shouldn't matter, but I just wanted to express how uncomfortable the air is around me.

-> Even though xyz’s work has several bugs and coding standard mismatches, it’s brushed off as normal. But when it comes to my work, it’s heavily scrutinized. My manager even created a group with a tester where, every day, I have to update what feature I implemented and log the hours I spent on it. The tester then immediately tests it and flags bugs on the same day. This testing happens alongside my development, even before my code is pushed to production. It feels like my manager has completely lost trust in me, and now, every hour of my work is under a microscope.

Some of you might be managers—how do you handle folks in their first few months of joining? How do you handle someone who performs slow? I’m constantly improving, and compared to previous sprints, my tasks are getting better, but before I can even take a breath, I’m hit with these comments that make me feel dumb. The phrases I’ve included in quotes are actual words I hear daily, and I've only mentioned a few of them. Is this how corporate life works? Is it normal to be treated like this, or should I feel privileged that I haven't been fired yet? Should I be setting boundaries when it comes to receiving such intense criticism? I’m not sure what to do. No matter how much I push myself to improve, it feels like they expect me to perform at 200kph, and I just can’t keep up. I feel completely inadequate and dumb.

Thanks for reading all the way through...

Can I get scolded in corporate? Or set boundaries. Long post but if you read till end i would be happy!

fck this culture. this is a definition of a toxic startup, which most Indian startups are

What to do when you are not satisfied with your current salary because you feel the quality and quantity of work you do is not worth it and your supervisor is playing around and not in favour of giving any financial growth even after good performance and you are not getting any opportunity outside having around 9yrs of experience in HR Operations. You feel very low and disappointed working like this. He is taking advantage of everything, not letting you apply for internal job openings also. What to do in this case?

Not happy with the salary

Human Resources

Welcome to Indian Startups's Private Community

I hate my boss and my political colleagues. Scared to quit cus the job market is shit. Anyone else feeling this way?

Frustrated with my job

I think I'm losing my mind. I'm a 32-year-old guy in tech, graduated from IIIT Delhi, earning 78L annually, but I feel like I'm fooling everyone, including myself. It's as if I'm constantly waiting for someone to burst into the office and shout, "Hey, fraud! We've finally figured out you're actually useless!"

I know it sounds like I'm humble-bragging, but trust me, I'm not. This feeling is eating me alive.

Seven years ago, I started as a regular software engineer. Somehow, I kept getting promoted. Now I'm leading a team of 15 people, handling critical projects, and sitting in meetings with the higher-ups. But every time I'm in those meetings, I feel like a kid wearing his dad's oversized suit, pretending to be an adult.

I work my ass off - late nights, weekends, you name it. But I always feel like I'm barely keeping my head above water. When my team comes to me with problems, I'm secretly panicking, thinking, "Why are you asking me? I'm as clueless as you!"

The worst part? Everyone around me seems to think I'm some kind of wunderkind. My boss is always praising me in front of others. My team looks up to me. Even my parents are bragging about me to all our relatives. But inside, I'm constantly terrified that I'll make one tiny mistake and everyone will realize I'm a fraud.

I see my college batchmates on LinkedIn, and they all seem so confident and successful. Meanwhile, I'm here, earning more than I ever thought I would, but feeling like I don't deserve any of it.

I can't even enjoy my success. I bought a nice house last year, but instead of feeling proud, I keep thinking, "What if they fire me tomorrow? How will I pay for this?" It's like I'm waiting for everything to come crashing down.

I know it's ridiculous to complain about a high-paying job when so many people are struggling. But this constant fear of being "found out" is driving me insane. I can't even talk to my friends about it because they'll probably think I'm just showing off.

Has anyone else felt like this? How do you deal with feeling like a fraud when everyone thinks you're successful? Is this just part of adult life that no one talks about?

This is what eats me alive during weekends, realised it's Friday and panic typed this here

Making 78L at 32, but I feel like an imposter. Is this normal? (Self-reflection + seeking advice)

Socrates: “I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing.”

Self introspection on working style

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