[f0rfun]

I hate to be in your predicament. Software dev mixed with workplace politics is such a mess. Coupled with non-technical upper management that can be easily manipulated. I don't think the cure is simple and difficult, there probably isn't a silver bullet.

[JohnBooty]

Thank you.

Luckily, I'm out of that predicament. It was actually really hard to see it for what it was when I was in it. That environment had all the trappings of a healthy engineering culture, and sometimes it truly was healthy, but only in hindsight have I realized some of the ways in which it was deeply screwed up.

What helped was talking with former coworkers, and going to work someplace that is actually healthy. It's not totally unlike finding yourself in a healthy relationship again after being in an unhealthy one.