Extreme Toxic Work Culture in QA Team

The work culture within the QA team at Nykaa is extremely unhealthy and unsustainable. The team experiences very high employee turnover, with many team members leaving within short periods. This instability is further amplified by the fact that several leaders and managers have quit, indicating deeper systemic issues in leadership and management practices.

Employees are regularly expected to work 10+ hours every day from the office, with no work-from-home flexibility. Even after returning home late, team members are still expected to continue working remotely, effectively extending the workday without acknowledgment or compensation.

The team is also required to support early-morning releases, yet there is no relaxation in working hours, shift adjustment, or compensatory time provided. This leads to prolonged exhaustion with little to no recovery time, making burnout inevitable.

The management structure is heavily bloated, with too many managers per individual contributor, resulting in excessive micromanagement. Daily work is closely monitored, autonomy is minimal, and decision-making is centralized, creating constant pressure and lack of trust.

Performance management practices are deeply concerning. There is a direct “fire” culture with no proper Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) or structured opportunity to improve. Employees are often pushed out abruptly rather than being supported or coached. Despite meeting expectations and delivering assigned tasks, individuals frequently receive unfairly low performance ratings, which negatively impacts morale, confidence, and long-term career growth.

Salary and appraisal practices further add to the toxicity. Annual salary increments are often withheld, and employees are reportedly pressured to resign just before the appraisal cycle, resulting in their annual performance bonus being reduced to zero. This creates significant financial stress and a sense of exploitation.

Additionally, constant internal communication around planned layoffs reportedly targeting around 20% of staff per year ,has created an environment of fear and insecurity. Rather than fostering collaboration or growth, the culture is driven by anxiety and survival.

Overall, the QA team culture reflects poor work-life balance, high attrition, weak leadership stability, lack of transparency, excessive micromanagement, and inadequate people management. Anyone considering joining should carefully evaluate these factors before accepting an offer.