Toxic work environment for "admin staff" (A&T level) - Recensione dipendente - Sales Specialist presso Procter & Gamble

I've posted and deleted a review so many times, because I've struggled to put into the appropriate words just how bad my experience was at P&G. Frankly, the discrimination and blatent mistreatment of admin staff was shocking. Now that I'm in a new career where I am utilized for my talents, treated with respect and have life-work balance, I realize just how toxic my experience was. For starters, I didn't even know I was hired into a dead-end track, from which there is no growth or promotion opportunity. This, in and of itself, is a demoralizing, no-win situation for any employee. Add that onto the fact that managers get frequently promoted and move every 2 years, and it creates within P&G a caste system and an "us vs them" mentality, where admins or "A&T track" employees are routinely ignored, absorbing blame, and treated as less than. Sadly, many of the employees within that track are women or people of color, so the entire concept reeks of discrimination. That's not to say there aren't women and people and color in leadership roles, as P&G largely does a good job at EDI, but the fact that so many leaders and HR teams are blind to the classist demarcation between categories of employees and the clear prevalence of minorities within those "less than" roles is astounding. Setting aside the lack of advancement opportunities, I would describe the treatment of A&T class employees as discriminatory, patronizing and punitive. If an A&T track employee is good at what they do and have potential (as I did), they are taken advantage of and given extra work, but receive no credit for their contributions. In my case, I was doing nearly triple the work of most of my colleagues, but was not permitted to be "leveled up" to a higher class of admin employee, even when overperforming consistenly. Instead, those promising employees become so overloaded with work, they can barely keep up with their workload. When they can't, they are admonished and blamed when they are being set up fail. If one asks for help or attempts to seek resolution with management or HR, the treatment only gets worse. Meanwhile, admins with more tenure and higher levels have learned how to "game the system" and some do the least amount of work possible, but as long as they keep a smile and accept the maltreatment, they are praised over those who are making more substantive contributions to the business. Additionally, there are so-called affinity groups within the organization that are created to recognize and educate on EDI initiatives. However, those in A&T roles aren't usually included at leadership levels within these groups, though they are permitted to participate. Notably, in the past, I learned that A&T's at one time weren't even permitted to belong to the groups, and it was only after raising this issue to HR and P&G leadership that A&T employees were even able to participate. For example, I was able to participate in the Women's Network, but I did not recieve the monthly newsletter and was not informed of happenings company-wide, because those newsletters didn't go out to A&T employees unless you request "special permission." Then, let's talk about burnout. In my last months at P&G, I had so much on my plate that I couldn't work effectively and was putting in insane hours just to keep up. There were a number of reasons for this, but a big one is that my boss was trying to help get me a higher level distinction. So, while I was already doing more work than most A&Ts, I had to somehow "prove myself" on top of work I was already doing. I ended up being assigned a project that was poorly managed from the top, therefore was difficult (if not impossible) to execute. Add onto it that, as an A&T, your opinion isn't particularly valued, and you are simply expected to perform the tasks you are being asked to do, even when you know better. Then, when the project or initiative goes south, you often shoulder the blame as well, even when you made great efforts to point all this out in real time. As a result, most A&T employees at my office in Rosemont were disengaged, afraid of their own shadow, and constantly apologizing for themselves for doing simple things like walking into a meeting or, you know, existing. Asking for help or setting boundaries is frowned upon. Leadership will say otherwise and try to pretend as though the culture is supportive, which is really just gaslighting and part of what makes the culture so abusive and toxic. I tried numerous times to seek assistance for my workload, and was met with blank stares and accusations of a "negative attitude" or told it was a "time management issue." No matter how I presented it, the blame always fell squarely back on me and I ended up in a worse position than when I started. By the time I left P&G, I was facing extreme burnout due to the burden of having too much work assigned to me and no assistance with that workload. I was receiving nasty emails from superiors throughout the organization from a failed project that had nothing to do with me or decisions I made, but I was an easy target to absorb the blame. As a result of the poor decisions of leadership, I had to burnout just to quit my job and get my desk back in order. What's sad is that I had communicated what I was going through at the time with grace and professionalism, and I was treated reprehensibly. After leaving P&G, those last few months of overwork and abuse left me clinically exhausted and facing both mental and physical health consequences as a result of long hours at a computer, undue stress and near verbal abuse. A year later, I am still facing physical health consequences of that burnout, though thankfully I am in a new position that is the opposite of my experience at P&G. Sometimes, I blamed myself for not being able to keep up. I was made to feel that I wasn't good enough, or smart enough or capable enough to succeed. Stepping foot into a role where I am at a senior level, where my primary responsibility now IS to have a voice, and to be recognized and rewarded for my contributions feels liberating. SRealizing that I am not a negative person, I am not a complainer, I don't have time management issues, I am thriving because I am treated with respect and dignity every day. This inspired me to speak out here on Glassdoor, because no employee should ever be made to feel the way I was at P&G. It was inexcusable. Generally, other cons include: group think; culture is fake/phony enthusiasm; lack of innovation; poor software programs and usage of technology; lack of training programs for A&T employees particular; no work life balance; disorganized because leaders move jobs every two years; slow to adopt new tech/initiatives; cumbersome career track progression/bands; slow to take action on competitive strategy