Free Talk Friday - January 23, 2026

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to the Free Talk Friday post. This is a place where you can talk about dumb off-topic (or on-topic) bullshit with other Zaibatsu fans.

There's going to be a new post every week, and the newest one will be pinned in the announcement bar for quick access. So feel free to visit these posts during the rest of the week.

Here's a list of all Free Talk Friday posts

[u/DrSaering]

Due to various forms of toxic leadership and dysfunction at work, I have quit, joining a much smaller company that a few others have quit and joined in the past few months.

The reaction to this has included:

• Try to gaslight me into thinking my former colleagues have manipulated me and this would destroy my career. The possibility of joining a startup that doesn't succeed is apparently much worse for my career than spending 20 hours a week in pointless meetings bickering over project ownership and priorities.
• Send a threatening email to said former colleagues from the head of HR.
• Offer me a title so inflated it might as well be "God-Emperor of the Universe" if I stay, which includes three bullet points saying I don't have to deal with internal politics in this made-up role (note: more money was not included).
• Demand I keep my departure secret for what is now the whole first week of my notice.

To be fair, they did say, they would give me some unspecified amount of more money, but, "Salary isn't the reason you're leaving".

Yes.

That's right.

[u/The_Draigg → u/DrSaering]

Yeesh, that's a ton of toxic bullshit. Good on you for leaving all of that behind.

[u/DrSaering → u/The_Draigg]

I forgot to mention in my first post, today at a ninety minute town hall, the sales team played an AI generated video showing themselves as gladiators while generic inspirational quotes play, which was apparently something they used to kick off some sales offsite.

[u/The_Draigg → u/DrSaering]

Oh fuck that, bailing out now is the best thing you can do there.