ByteDance reviews

- Less annual leaves than my previous company (but with the ability to carry forward unlimited leaves), - Slower career growth for non-China based employees (according to my co-workers) - and the occasional language barriers when dealing with international teams (which honestly isn't a huge deal breaker because everyone can speak English to some degree anyway)

- Watching thousands of videos a night with horrible songs slowly but surely melts the brain. - Intense pressure to have a next to perfect accuracy. With badly translated guidelines and constantly changing rules, this is impossible. - Stretching the limits of the law beyond imaginable. In the first week, I had to sign an appendix to the contract allowing ‘rotational’ shifts to be put in place, night work, work on holidays, work on weekends. It was either sign or resign. After a few months, these shifts have become standard. Only one person is “granted” to do the early shift for one week, maximum. Everyone else works in the night shift and on weekends plus holidays. Extra pay is the lawful minimum. - Days off are completely random, could be a Monday and a Thursday this week. A Sunday and a Tuesday next week. 6/7 day in a row work weeks are commonplace. - 6 month probation period, during which 70% of the team has been fired by the supervisor while they were sick or on holidays. The HR guy didn’t even bother to inform them. - During the job interview, the senior recruiter lies about “possibilities” in the company. But you have to wait out the 6 month probation period. After this, you’re told there are none. End of the line here. - Supervisor is incompetent beyond belief. Supervisors work hours are roughly from 11 to 18:00 hours. 99% of the team arrives at 16:00 and stays till 01:00. Who exactly are you supervising then? Doesn’t take the effort to get to know anyone, only communicates with favorites. Doesn’t know the very basics of the work we do after being on the job 6 months. - Supervisor intimidates and lashes out at anyone who dares to be critical. Does not have any sense of self-criticism. Blames the whole world. Needs to be told by lower-ranking team members how to do job. - Constant lies about reasons for radical changes or why there isn’t any new staff hired to take the pressure off the workload. Blame is always put on “China”, where in fact only the local supervisor decides these things. - As the office in which its located doesn’t have staff operating after 17:00 the air-condition is either off and leaves it smelling like a dump or on freezer mode and leaves everyone sick. Windows can’t be opened. Dishes aren’t done during the weekends, toilets smell like a sewer. - Pay is terrible, especially considering the toll it takes on personal health and family life.