Dealing with a toxic work culture as a Data Scientist at ZS Need help
Hi everyone, I’m currently working as a Data Science Associate Consultant at ZS in Pune. I have 6 YOE and a package of around 35 LPA.
The work culture here has become unbelievably toxic, mainly driven by my Consultant and Manager who are aggressively pushing for their own promotions at my expense.
Here are a few examples of what I'm dealing with:
* Insane hours normalized: When I raised an issue about the long working hours and working on weekends, the Consultant straight-up told me that "14-hour workdays are just ZS culture."
* Stealing credit: I worked on stabilizing a project for months. Once it was finally stable, the Consultant told me to step back. He then presented it to upper management, claiming I did no work for 3 months and that *he* fixed everything in just 3 weekends.
* No basic humanity: I was recently admitted to the hospital for 3 days. Instead of letting me recover, they called me about 10 times, telling me to "just give the KT (Knowledge Transfer) and then go do your thing."
* Hostile 1-on-1s: My manager asked me to brief him on my key activities over the last 3 weeks in a 1-on-1. Instead of a review, he just bashed me, accusing me of "only complaining and doing no work."
*Getting pushed out: The project I built was highly successful and brought in over 10 new projects. Both of them took all the credit for this revenue.
Now, they are twisting the narrative to make me look like the villain while they look like the saviors, and it feels like they are trying to force me to resign.
My Dilemma:
I desperately want to leave and have started preparing, but I have heavy family responsibilities and simply cannot afford to quit without having another job lined up.
I’m also terrified about the current market. Is the market good enough right now for a Data Scientist with 6 YOE to match a 35 LPA package? Honestly, my confidence is shot, and I am not in the right frame of mind to make a massive life decision, but I can't survive here much longer.
My Questions:
Has anyone faced a similar situation? How did you cope and navigate your way out?
Is there any way to quit while making them formally accountable for their toxic actions and credit-stealing?
How is the DS market right now for my experience and salary bracket?
Thank you for reading. Any advice would mean a lot right now.
TL;DR: Toxic managers at ZS Pune stole credit for my work that brought in 10+ projects, harassed me while hospitalized, and are now trying to force me to resign. I have 6 YOE (35 LPA) but can't quit without a backup due to family responsibilities.
Need market reality check and advice on how to hold them accountable.