The environment has become increasingly chaotic. Many managers—along with some individuals in HR—resist the CEO's push for a “flat hierarchy” ... This has created a toxic atmosphere. Although individual contributors are theoretically meant to have more autonomy, that promise is not reflected in practice.
Opportunities for real professional growth are virtually nonexistent. Employees are expected to accept so-called "promotions" without any salary increase, or are reassigned to entirely different roles that do not align with their skills or career interests.
These dynamics contribute to a culture of burnout and toxicity. Attempts to raise concerns are often dismissed or silenced, and those who speak up are quickly labeled as the problem—while toxic managers face no accountability and may even retaliate.
Mistakes are magnified, while genuine hard work tends to go unnoticed—unless you're someone who likes to play favoritism, so you became a bestie with your manager. This especially applies ever since lots of positions shifted from Basel to the UK, so a lot of communication gets lost, and culture is different. A lot of people managers from the UK play favoritism, so if they do not like someone, they pin point small mistakes with the aim of bullying the person to leave the company. On the other hand, if they like you, even the small amount of work will get praised. This is incredibly toxic, but any attempts to speak up are silenced. This is unfortunate, because the company is already in chaotic state due to reorganization. I do not understand why and how there isn't someone who recognizes that this types of culture need to be stopped, before it is too late. Bayer used to have a pretty ok culture, but these people managers spoiled it and this toxicity is spreading further and further, it seems, because any speak up attempts get ignored. It didn't used to be like that. This is especially disapointing considering that respect and transparency is one of Bayer core values.
