Challenging Environment: Navigating Hurdles While Working at Zendesk - Enterprise BDR Zendesk Employee Review

3.0
Aug 10, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Zendesk goes above and beyond industry standards to ensure that its employees are well compensated for their dedication and hard work.

Cons

I had the unfortunate experience of working at Zendesk, and I can confidently say that it was one of the most mentally and emotionally taxing periods of my professional life. The primary source of this distress was none other than my partial manager, who seemed determined to make my time at the company a living nightmare. From the moment I joined, it became evident that my manager had a personal vendetta against me. Despite putting in immense effort and consistently hitting my targets, I was subjected to constant micromanagement, undue pressure, and a complete lack of support. The breaking point came when I was inexplicably placed on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) for over three months, a period of utter humiliation and demoralization. Despite investing countless hours and sacrificing my well-being to meet the demands of the PIP, my manager's attitude remained hostile and unsympathetic. To my disbelief, after finally achieving the objectives outlined in the plan, I was told to leave the organization without any explanation, without any opportunity to voice my concerns, and without any communication from the HR team regarding any wrongdoing on my part. The toxic environment fostered by my manager's behavior had severe repercussions on my mental and physical health. The constant stress, anxiety, and feeling of being unfairly targeted took a toll on me that extended far beyond the workplace. It's disheartening to think that a company like Zendesk, which boasts about its positive work culture, allowed such a detrimental situation to persist. Looking back, I deeply regret ever crossing paths with this manager. Their actions have left a lasting negative impact on my professional confidence and overall well-being. I sincerely hope that nobody else has to endure the kind of mental and emotional torture that I experienced during my time at Zendesk. My advice to anyone considering working there is to proceed with caution and be prepared to face a potentially hostile and unsupportive work environment.

Explore other reviews about Zendesk

5.0
May 4, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great culture, good work life balance, excellent team mates, Everyone is focused on extremely bright solutions-oriented collaboration.

Cons

Many systems to learn, but this is true for any large company.

2.0
Jun 12, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The people you work directly with are nice and the unlimited PTO was nice, and everyone was very chill about you taking time off when you needed.

Cons

It used to be a pretty good place to work but then after Zendesk got acquired everything slowly got worse and worse culture-wise. There were also multiple layoffs and re-orgs that caused a lot of confusion and cognitive debt, all the while management was still expecting more productivity somehow???? With layoffs practically every year and veiled threats about having to use AI more (more how?! There was no direction), working there kind of felt like working with a gun to my head.

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