Like what I do but my boss is toxic
Earlier this year I was hired through a BPO and was matched with an Australian company. Almost everything about this role is new to me: international employer, siloed work set up, and using my skills in a different industry.
It's almost a complete 180 because I came from a highly collaborative local advertising agency. It's a very exciting opportunity that aligns with my long term goals.
Most of my communication is directly to my manager (a South American who migrated to the AU) through chat or call. I rarely get to interact with the rest of the team. Overtime, I observed some odd instances:
\- cold and blunt to me, the only South Asian on the team, but warm and expressive to our white counterparts
\- Will give me variations of "I know you did not think" whenever there are corrections on my work.
\- will give instructions and completely contradict them once I follow (eg. Said yes when I asked to confirm if I will copy assets from file A and paste to file B, but said no when she saw that I did exactly that)
\- set up unrealistic deadlines, so much so I had to work unpaid overtime on weekends just to meet it. but I was still questioned why I was taking long on the task.
Those are just some examples, but since the beginning I have always picked up a pointed tone from her whenever we have calls.
Thing is, part of me still doesn't want to leave yet. I am only a few months in and this job is niche and perfectly aligns with my long term goals. But I feel like I'm walking on eggshells whenever I talk to my manager. I tense up whenever she's about to call like a child waiting for the hand to strike.
Posted May 28, 2026, 10:49 AM UTC