Questionable ethics and unprofessional environment - Business Development TikTok Employee Review

1.0
26 Apr 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Free meals in the SG office (that's all) Views from CBD office.

Cons

The title of your role and the actual scope of work can vary significantly. Based on my personal experience in the T&S department, the calibre of employees, particularly in non-tech functions such as Business Development, Operations, and Product is surprisingly low. Individuals who are more skilled at talking than delivering results are often rewarded during performance reviews, while those who are truly competent, technically capable, and results-driven are frequently sidelined or overlooked. Performance reviews are largely pre determined. The whole system including HR is a known fraud. The peer review process feels more like a formality than a meaningful evaluation, as your direct manager ultimately holds the power to either accelerate or block your career growth. As a result, many capable employees have already left. What remains is an environment dominated by individuals of average ability, where being vocal, even without substance - is mistaken for intelligence. Constant re-org in the dep where I was at, distasteful experience having to work with different colleagues all the time, stupidity was the only constant. Politics exists in every workplace, but the kind practised here is particularly notorious for deteriorating employees' mental health. Colleagues are often engaged in subtle, cunning attempts to probe each other's "work levels," with some constantly flaunting their level and pay grade as if it defines their entire identity. At the end of the day, you are merely a chess piece. A truly smart individual would never feel the need to broadcast their pay or rank for the sake of shallow comparison.Camaraderie may seem strong at first, as everyone shares the same daily dread, but once you take off the tinted glasses, you’ll realise there’s little genuine connection - only shallowness beneath the surface.

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2.0
15 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Pay is level with industry and actual work is somewhat interesting depending on the team you're on

Cons

In my experience, career growth can feel very limited if you are not part of the dominant internal language and cultural network. A significant amount of important context, communication, and decision-making happens in Chinese, which can make non-Chinese-speaking employees feel excluded from key conversations and promotion opportunities. The environment did not feel as inclusive as it should be for a global company. Advancement often felt less tied to performance and more tied to whether you were connected to the right groups or able to operate fluently within the Chinese-speaking side of the organization. Over time, it felt like non-Chinese-speaking employees had fewer long-term career paths and were at risk of being replaced by people who could better fit that internal operating model. Things also move very slowly because employees are often given access only to the bare minimum needed to do their jobs. There is a heavy push toward using AI tools, but in practice it can make it harder to get help from real people. Instead of getting quick support, you often have to spend time going through AI bots or internal tools before getting a useful answer.

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