Toxic management turned a great job into a living hell - werkgeversreview Senior Mobile Developer bij Doccla

My time on the Mobile team was unfortunately marked by a culture of fear, poor leadership, and a lack of psychological safety. Open communication is strongly discouraged, and expressing a differing opinion—particularly with certain managers—can quickly backfire. For those on probation, this dynamic can be especially precarious. Even small disagreements may be reframed as "performance issues," with little room for discussion or redemption. Rather than encouraging collaboration or learning from mistakes, management often fixates on isolated incidents to support pre-existing narratives. Context and intent are regularly dismissed. Feedback sessions often feel performative, with limited opportunity for meaningful dialogue or growth. Team culture suffers as a result. Despite talk of teamwork and shared goals, the reality is that conformity is valued over contribution. Genuine feedback is ignored, and peer input carries little weight in decision-making. This leads to an environment where strong, independent voices feel increasingly unwelcome. Over a short span, multiple talented individuals exited the team under similar, abrupt circumstances—yet there was little effort to understand the underlying issues. This pattern was deeply demoralising to witness, and speaks to a deeper systemic problem. Leadership, including the CTO, appears either unaware of or unwilling to address these dysfunctions. Efforts to raise concerns constructively are often met with defensiveness rather than reflection, and critical feedback is viewed as a challenge rather than a catalyst for improvement. If you’re evaluating this company, I strongly recommend reading a wide range of reviews—particularly those that offer specific, constructive criticism. While some positive experiences are no doubt genuine, many of the more critical voices reflect patterns I personally observed during my time there. There are passionate, talented people within the company who genuinely care about the product and its mission. But unless there are serious changes at the leadership level, the current culture risks driving away exactly the kind of talent needed to succeed.