u/samar_995

Hi everyone. I’m a 30(F) marketer based in Pakistan. I started my career back in 2018, and while I’m doing really great now, a toxic workplace experience from 2021 still occasionally haunts me. I wanted to share this story to dissect exactly how a toxic group dynamic can systematically target and isolate an individual.

In 2021, I joined a marketing agency. My interview with the manager went incredibly well, and I got the offer the same day. But the moment I stepped into the department (5 guys, 5 girls including me), the vibe was completely off. The team, including my manager, refused to talk to me. I tried to gel in, but they treated me like I was invisible.

One day, my manager asked for some files. I asked for 5 minutes to share them. Instead of waiting, he walked to my desk, grabbed my mouse, and started searching through my personal laptop. When I got confused, the entire room started laughing. When he found the folder, he aggressively said, "What is this garbage?"

I firmly told him, "Please leave my mouse. You cannot touch my laptop or accessories without my permission." The girls in the department just looked at each other and laughed at me. Setting a basic boundary made me an immediate target.

A married, slightly older colleague (let’s call her Faiza) was treated like royalty. Everyone called her "Faiza Baji" (an honorific) out of forced respect. I carried myself with confidence, dressed well, and treated her as an equal colleague. One day she confronted me: "Nobody calls me just by my name. You don’t respect anyone."

I calmly replied, "We are the same age and colleagues. I don’t think I need to call you Baji to show respect." That was the absolute last day of my peace. Her ego was bruised because I refused to bow to her self-made office hierarchy.

A male colleague, Faheem, stepped in as my "savior," warning me that they were scheming against me. Being isolated, I trusted him. During a company-mandated vaccine drive, he was the only one who accompanied me, even filming me jokingly when I was scared of the needle.

Later, during a work lunch, he crossed a major line—he touched me inappropriately and claimed he was "physically attracted" to me. I was disgusted and immediately started maintaining a strict distance from him.

Soon after, I caught Covid-19 and was on bed rest for a month. When I returned, my desk had been moved next to the door. The team asked, "Didn’t you quit? The manager told us you quit and hired a replacement." HR assured me it was just a "joke," but the bullying worsened. In meetings, when it was my turn to speak, they would openly say, "Why do we even need to ask her?" while the manager laughed along.

The breaking point happened over a 5-minute practical favor. My food delivery app wasn't working, so I needed to run to a nearby ATM during the end of my break. Faheem saw me, insisted I’d be late, and offered me a lift on his bike. Out of time pressure, I accepted.

The next thing I knew, the office clique used this to entirely assassinate my character, labeling me a "loose/bad girl." Faheem had clearly leaked it to his friends to feed the gossip mill and punish me for rejecting his advances. The hypocrisy was insane—these same girls vaped and swore with the guys daily, but I was targeted for a 5-minute bike ride.

I finally called an HR meeting with the whole department. It was a circus. Everyone denied everything. Faiza’s friend, Ambreen, stood up and started screaming at me at the top of her lungs, accusing me of being "jealous of Faiza." The neighboring departments could hear her screaming, and people were laughing.

HR told me not to resign because "if you leave, they will think you're the liar." I didn't care. I submitted my resignation and walked out the very next day.

A year later, Faheem texted me trying to apologize because his alliance with the office clique fell apart. He tried to blame others and asked to "be friends." I told him I would never forgive him and blocked him.

Looking back, I realize I was a victim of corporate mobbing—where a toxic group uses psychological warfare to drive out anyone who is independent, competent, and refuses to conform to their toxic hierarchy. I survived, I left, and today I am thriving. But the psychological impact of being ganged up on is very real.

Hey everyone,

I’m writing this because I just experienced a major shift in how I view AI, and honestly, it left me feeling a bit hollow.

Have you ever been dealing with something deeply personal, stressful, or overwhelming, and decided to vent to ChatGPT? You’re typing away, pouring your heart out, and for a second, it feels great. The responses are empathetic, fast, and seemingly understanding. You start feeling like you’re actually being heard.

But then... it happens.

You ask a specific follow-up, or you push for a deeper human perspective, and the AI hits you with a response that is so sterile, so formulaic, or so obviously a canned disclaimer that the illusion shatters instantly.

In a split second, you realize: “Oh. I’m not talking to anyone. I’m talking to a heavily trained, predictive text LLM that is just guessing the next statistically probable word.”

It’s such a specific kind of disappointment. You go from feeling supported to feeling incredibly lonely, realizing you’re just shouting into a digital void. Like, AI bhi ab aap ka morale low kar raha hai (Even AI is bringing your morale down now). You look at the screen and think, "I just wasted all this emotional energy on a machine because I couldn't or didn't talk to a real human."

Has anyone else hit this wall? That moment where the "empathy" feels completely manufactured and it just leaves you feeling more disconnected than before? How do you shake off that weird, post-AI vent blues?

I’m a Lahore with 8 years of experience in content marketing, including managerial roles. Since February, I’ve had to leave three toxic, manipulative jobs. Recently, I’ve made it to the final interview rounds at top companies like Tkxel and Systems Limited. The feedback is always impressive, but right at the salary discussion, I get ghosted or rejected without explanation.

I used to pray Tahajjud and Astaghfirullah, which helped immensely, but due to exhausting routines, I drifted away this past year. Now I’m jobless, completely fed up, and feeling disconnected from Allah. I feel like giving up.

Have you ever experienced a miracle or a sudden turnaround when everything felt completely hopeless? Please share.

I’m based in Lahore with 8 years of experience in content marketing, including managerial roles. Since February, I’ve had to leave three toxic, manipulative jobs. Recently, I’ve made it to the final interview rounds at top companies like Tkxel and Systems Limited. The feedback is always impressive, but right at the salary discussion, I get ghosted or rejected without explanation.

I used to pray Tahajjud and Astaghfirullah, which helped immensely, but due to exhausting routines, I drifted away this past year. Now I’m jobless, completely fed up, and feeling disconnected from Allah. I feel like giving up.

Have you ever experienced a miracle or a sudden turnaround when everything felt completely hopeless? Please share.

I’m a Lahore with 8 years of experience in content marketing, including managerial roles. Since February, I’ve had to leave three toxic, manipulative jobs. Recently, I’ve made it to the final interview rounds at top companies like Tkxel and Systems Limited. The feedback is always impressive, but right at the salary discussion, I get ghosted or rejected without explanation.

I used to pray Tahajjud and Astaghfirullah, which helped immensely, but due to exhausting routines, I drifted away this past year. Now I’m jobless, completely fed up, and feeling disconnected from Allah. I feel like giving up.

Have you ever experienced a miracle or a sudden turnaround when everything felt completely hopeless? Please share.

Anyone on this reddit community who ever worked at IPS (INFORMATION PROCESSING SOLUTION) BPO based in Lahore?

Actually, I joined their digital marketing department as a content team lead 2 months ago. But now I'm seeing so many red flags, not only in my department but in entire organization.

If anyone have the similar experience then please let me know.