Posts with tag: toxicity

The issue of toxic behavior in the IT environment.

Found posts: 3

Team Lead-Sociopath: Why Toughness Pays Off Only Until the First Crisis
Corporate Culture and Career Advancement
16 min

Team Lead-Sociopath: Why Toughness Pays Off Only Until the First Crisis

Linus Torvalds humiliated contributors, and the Linux kernel remained the best in the world. Jobs drove engineers to tears, and the iPhone still happened. It seems toxicity is a side effect of genius. But Torvalds apologized in 2018 and has been leading just as effectively since.

Mar 27, 2026 226
Corporate Culture and Career Advancement #empathy #transparency #corporate-culture #toxicity
The most toxic person on the team often appears to be the nicest.
Corporate Culture and Career Advancement
16 min

The most toxic person on the team often appears to be the nicest.

Why does a person who truly drives the product get a reputation for being "difficult," while someone who can speak eloquently advances in their career? This is not a subjective feeling of disgruntled techies. Impression management, likeability bias, meeting theater, and voice penalty are four mechanisms that distort the assessment of effectiveness.

Dec 15, 2025 450
Corporate Culture and Career Advancement #efficiency #toxicity #impression-management #likeability-bias
Why do toxic people in IT get promoted while normal people leave?
Corporate Culture and Career Advancement
15 min

Why do toxic people in IT get promoted while normal people leave?

Recently, a programmer in Threads argued with me that colleagues are not the cause of burnout in IT. After more than 10 years in the industry, I know that sometimes it's more comfortable to work with AI than with real people. And this is not a diagnosis of technology, but of our culture.

Dec 12, 2025 471
Corporate Culture and Career Advancement #toxicity #burnout #psychological-safety #organizational-culture