Like rats fleeing a sinking ship.
Toxic culture creep is real - and once it takes root, it spreads. It fuels churn. It’s bamboo in the yard. (IYKYK.)
I’ve seen some big local orgs try to play both sides:
- Claim to be the face of the community
- …while pushing rank-and-yank hard.
Firing swaths of people. Treating workers like they’re disposable. As if when they clock out, they stop being human.
But humans talk. Especially in places like Richmond, where small businesses *are* the community.
You can’t relocate someone’s family and fire them months later with no warning and expect people to forget. That kind of thing gets... impressive. (Bad impressive.)
I read a quote from one of these companies recently. They thought they’d be the anchor, a hub for startups and production houses in the region.
Maybe not because of how they treat workers.
Maybe in spite of it.
The truth is, the number of small businesses out here that were born because of mistreatment by the big 3?
That’s saying something.
But when the little guys link up, something beautiful happens.
Collaboration. Not competition. Real, organic, human stuff. I love it.
Rising tides raise all boats kind of stuff.
Seek it out.
Spend your money with other humans.
Make them the face of your community.
And for the love of chips:
- Read Glassdoor reviews
- Question those culture scores
- Get to know your neighbors
We’re out here trying to warn you which berries are poisonous.
And planting new ones that are not.
Rising tides, not sinking ships.
Real human stuff.
