The excitement of starting a new job can quickly subside once signs emerge that the workplace culture is toxic.

Sara McCullough recalls the excitement and anticipation she felt about a job she was looking forward to starting. However, she says that feeling faded and turned to dismay as time went on.

The number of issues in the workplace piled up, but the final straw came when her manager said she wasn’t meeting her weekly goals despite working long hours. During a discussion about her performance, she learned she was being judged on goals that were double what could be realistically achieved in a week. Discussions with colleagues revealed many of them were also underperforming against what they saw as unrealistic goals.