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I recently joined a new company in a technical role. My line manager is a very nice person and fully understands the challenges or my position, I am really happy to be working in this team.

However, the office is relatively small and there are lots of ego/personality clashes among heads of something/something managers/team leaders/squad leaders/group leades/directors/assistant directors/associate directors/director directors/etc.

My line manager got demoted shortly after his start: now things seem OK, but the "opposite team" might want to finish the job. Recently I was told that, after reviewing everybody's requests, our team was not given money for conferences, training days or workshops.

Moreover, several people got moved out of our team and are now working on something else. At the first meeting we were 8, now we are 4 with one leaving soon.

I am trying to stay away from politics and stress, but if my LM leaves my work environment might change drastically. Does anybody here have any experience of such a situation?

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    It's not clear how, if at all, this affects you. What is the problem you want solving? Is there training you need that you're not getting? Are you on a sales team that can't pitch a product if you can't go to a conference? Are you concerned about redundancy? Do you have something to fear from being moved to another team?
    – user52889
    Commented May 30, 2015 at 11:01
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    Stay out of it. Unless you want to become a casualty in it, keep you head down and do your job to the best of your ability.
    – Jane S
    Commented May 30, 2015 at 11:12
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    user52889, I take the lack of money for events as a sign that our team is being demolished: marginalisation is used to fire people, right?
    – user32664
    Commented May 30, 2015 at 11:34
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    No, awkward conversations, letters, and formal procedures are used to fire people. Marginalising a team is either incompetence or spite. If the team's work was genuinely unnecessary you'd all be shown the door. It's possible that if your line manager leaves your team might be fine afterwards if the marginalisation is personal. But if this is part of the culture in the business then look for somewhere else - even if you're fine today, it's only a matter of time before either you're the target or the company's culture sinks it. Sounds like you neither know enough nor have enough power to fix it.
    – user52889
    Commented May 30, 2015 at 16:17
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    I don't agree with the answer to leave. Lay low. If your LM leaves you will just get another LM.
    – paparazzo
    Commented May 30, 2015 at 20:04

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Sounds like an awful toxic environment - start looking to move, because there's probably not a lot you can do to improve it

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Start looking because it may be a shorter term position than you were hoping for. Of course continue to work hard. Your hard work may make you a survivor in the intra-company struggles.

Short term you want your position to survive, but you are too new to know if that is the best thing for your long term survival. Making sure that you provide benefits to the project and the company that are noticeable to those outside the team can make you worth saving in the eyes of the rest of the company.

Ultimately you do not know if you joined the wrong team, or the wrong company, or just at the wrong time. Working hard and looking for a new job will maximize your options until it all becomes clear.

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