LinkedIn is loud, and corporate is hell.

Ramon van Sprundel

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LinkedIn is loud, and corporate is hell..

Posted on 2025-11-22
:: Tags:

linkedin,

corporate,

hell

Disclaimer: this is based on emotions and not much else

I'm so tired of reading the same post 10x because everyone wants to be included.
What's hot right now is the CloudFlare outage. Everyone misses the actual issue which was that there were no (automated) tests/QA that were done to prevent this bug. Even a feature flag would've been sufficient so they could've seen the issue early-on.
This is what every LinkedIn poster does:

Open ChatGPT
"Rewrite this linkedin post about the cloudflare outage"
AI steers towards the use of .unwrap()
LinkedIn man doesn't fact check anything or reads the post-mortem

Result:
"Le unwrap is le dangerous. Here's how the unwrap works"
I'm so fucking tired. I don't care about your company, nor do I care about you. I don't care because YOU don't care either about what you post. You don't care about your career, only how it looks. In hindsight, this is the perfect representation of how LLM's function, so I'm not surprised managers are best friends with ChatGPT.
I'm not surprised corporate social media is lifeless, but I'm surprised no one actually cares. How do these people stay motivated to do anything. It can't just be money, right?
I added a disclaimer because I do feel like this post is very short-sighted. This feeling roots into the fact I'm tired of corporate hell, and these feelings resulted in me not being very productive at work. This also resulted in me being let go soon (also known as a PIP!).
You can skip this part if you don't care about my career.
When I started out at $COMPANY, it was mostly building tools with, from time to time, a manager doing a check-up. This worked amazingly, as I had time to learn and improve, and I was able to deliver.
Fast-forward a few months, we now have 3 managers, 1 dev (hi), and a buttload of busywork that needs to be done yesterday. From what I understand, a manager is supposed to be your safetynet and keep the context switching to a minimum. Tickets should feel like little updates, yet they take up 40% of my work (which could've been spent on solutioning). Since I'm the lead dev, any busywork will move tickets further back. This also means I'm to blame, because I should've been way earlier with alerting them about the project's drift. I'M NOT A PM! It's my job to make the project and keep you up to date. If this isn't sufficient then go to the PM (oh wait, that's not me!). Another big issue I have with this workflow is that we're sometimes moving priorization mid-cycle due to client requests. This is fine if it wasn't low priority stuff a client wants but doesn't need.
I get almost nothing done and I've grown tired of living in Linear. I wouldn't say I'm burnt-out. Similarly to an orgasm, you'd know if you had one. The company has turned into a startup with only the shortcomings and all of the corporate hell I wanted to avoid.
As I mentioned before, I'm being let go in January (as well as other people at the company). 2026 is going to start interestingly, but I think it would be free-ing. I still wish everyone at the company the best, because there are some smart and kind people I will miss.

Ramon van Sprundel’s LinkedIn post, dated November 22, 2025, expresses a profound and disillusioned sentiment regarding the current state of corporate social media and the increasingly problematic dynamics within modern professional environments. The core of the post centers around a feeling of exhaustion stemming from a perceived disconnect between genuine technical expertise and the superficial, performative nature of online engagement, particularly within the realm of LinkedIn. Van Sprundel’s frustration is amplified by a personal experience—a performance improvement plan (PIP) leading to his eventual departure from his company—that serves as a tangible illustration of the issues he describes.

The immediate subject of the post is the CloudFlare outage, but Van Sprundel quickly pivots to critique the subsequent online discourse surrounding the event. He argues that the focus shifted away from the underlying cause—a lack of automated testing and quality assurance—and instead became dominated by superficial commentary. A common tactic, as highlighted by the author, is the utilization of generative AI, specifically ChatGPT, to rephrase existing content. This process, Van Sprundel contends, results in a further dilution of critical thinking, with AI steering towards simplistic explanations and a disregard for factual accuracy, exemplified by the suggested use of ".unwrap()" in addressing the core problem. This exemplifies a broader concern about the potential for technology, specifically LLMs, to exacerbate existing issues by favoring easily digestible, often incomplete, solutions over thorough investigation and problem-solving.

The author’s personal narrative—the shift within his company—provides crucial context and illustrates the systemic nature of his grievances. Initially, Van Sprundel’s work environment fostered a collaborative approach characterized by focused development, periodic check-ins, and the opportunity for continuous learning and improvement. However, this model devolved into a complex structure involving multiple managers, increased busywork, and a prioritization of immediate demands over strategic development. This shift is presented as a classic manifestation of “corporate hell,” where individuals are burdened with unnecessary tasks, deflected from their core responsibilities, and ultimately made accountable for issues beyond their control. The role of the manager is portrayed as having transformed from a supportive guide to a source of unproductive demands and shifting priorities, contributing to a sense of overwhelm and ultimately preventing meaningful work. The author’s frustration is heightened by the expectation to be a ‘project keeper,’ a role he explicitly denies holding, underscoring the lack of clear role definition and the resultant confusion.

A key component of Van Sprundel’s argument is the critique of prioritization, where client requests, frequently for low-priority items, were introduced mid-cycle. This demonstrates a disconnect between strategic project planning and reactive client demands, creating a feedback loop that hampered progress and further strained the development team's time. The author's use of the term "Linear" suggests a dissatisfaction with the feeling of being trapped within an inefficient workflow, comparing the experience to an orgasm—a rush that quickly fades, leaving behind only dissatisfaction.

The impending departure, slated for January 2026, represents both a personal and symbolic culmination of these frustrations. While Van Sprundel expresses well wishes for his colleagues, his narrative suggests a desire for personal liberation. The impending change is presented not simply as a termination of employment, but as a chance to escape the constraints of a dysfunctional corporate environment.

Ultimately, Van Sprundel’s post is a lament for a lost professional ideal, a critical assessment of the commodification of expertise, and a warning against the dangers of prioritizing superficial engagement over genuine problem-solving and productive work. His candid and emotionally charged account offers a sobering reflection on the challenges of navigating modern professional landscapes.