I just left an environment that was eerily similar (on a point to point level of the article) a few weeks ago, after management started panicing that their new

I just left an environment that was eerily similar (on a point to point level of the article) a few weeks ago, after management started panicing that their new product (which is a pivot of the code base) was slipping (almost day-for-week in some aspects). It was getting so bad that only one of the developers would actually show up in the office (and everyone else working from home) just so that they didn't have to deal with the awkward silences. Nobody wants to speak up or admit responsibility, so mistakes are swept under the rug. When you remove the ability for individuals to speak openly and freely (either because of pedestals, political reasons, or silos), you lose the dynamic that allows for true innovation to foster with your development team. Calling an all-company meeting to say that "We're not going to promote anyone to any new position, we're going to hire everyone externally" doesn't feed the team/company spirit, it makes you feel like you're in a dead-end job...and when you feel that you have no motivation/skin in the game, your quality of work, life, and support start to diminish. Ultimately, I started seeing that I was becoming miserable in spending any time working, and I started to notice the quality of my own work starting to diminish as I started to take on less and less risky moves; something that is completely unacceptable to me. While I've left without a formal offer in hand, (and I'm confident that I'll find something that works for me) I've found that I've been in a BETTER mood, knowing that I don't need to deal with the stress, the mis-management, and the 'zombification' of my former coworkers. I'm happier -- and that's what matters the most to me -- and I've now noticed first hand what the warning signs are so I can avoid places like this in the future.