throwaway44295

It's the only way to tell the story. Of course it's an uncomfortable read, how could it be different? IMHO this should be indeed picked up by a journalist though. It's not an engineer's job to write catching stories.

> She no longer works for Apple, and probably doesn't want to ever work there again, so why the threat, and why the ultimatum?

I'd definitely check with a lawyer on this. I think one could get into serious legal trouble when publishing names

Exactly this, this should become common knowledge, especially among the people who actually care to create something great. Work is work and private life is private life.

I've also worked in very toxic environments but nowadays I'm not surprised by anything anymore. People ask for uncomfortable/impossible accomplishments? Just explain in a very objective way what needs to be done, where the projects is at and how much effort it is normally. Also I highly encourage people to study the Jira boards (or whatever tool you use), chances are it's full of non-sense but also might contain hard facts how long tasks really take by other more established team members. This will make you confident on what the real metrics are and see what is a nonsense request and what not.

When people say slightly insulting things it's also best to not be emotional, say nothing or if you feel creative to respond with a respectful but tough response. In any case, it's normal to switch every 2 years and in larger shops there are enough unexpected but safe opportunities to tell about this nonsense. (E.g. when quitting)

Also I strongly agree with not speaking to HR/managers, it usually just gets worse (=stressful) the more you do it.