Working in UX at HubSpot was one of the most demoralizing and traumatic professional experiences of my career. The gap between the glossy employer branding and the actual day-to-day reality is enormous.
UX leadership is incompetent, invisible, and completely disconnected from the work.
There is no compelling vision for the product, no clear direction, and no accountability at the top. Instead, decisions seem to be driven by politics, performative culture language, and whatever looks good in a slide deck. Leadership routinely avoids difficult conversations, ignores systemic issues, and disappears when support is actually needed.
Psychological safety is nonexistent.
Feedback is vague or contradictory, expectations shift weekly, and people are left guessing what leadership wants. Instead of coaching or clarity, the default response is pressure and blame. It’s an anxiety-inducing environment that erodes confidence and makes it nearly impossible to succeed.
Operations is treated like a dumping ground. They're expected to absorb every gap, fix every broken process, and hold everything together with no authority, no resources, and no support. When things inevitably go wrong, leadership points fingers rather than taking responsibility for the chaos they created.
HubSpot loves to talk about culture, but doesn’t live it. Underneath the slogans is a culture that rewards overwork, favors the loudest voices, and quietly punishes anyone who asks for clarity, boundaries, or real leadership.
Leaving was the best thing I could have done for my mental health and career.
