...
I can't resist. I've worked as a PM and engineer at GE and HP. If I heard the sort of premise and attitude being displayed by Josh - that person would be canned. Simple.
Results oriented middle management are not push-overs - don't let Josh make you think this.
...
My experience is that most engineers at tech companies, and especially staff engineers, don't need to put up with that non-sense. Nor do competent managers need to or wish to create such an environment. In a reasonably well functioning environment everyone knows what needs to be done, when, and why. Everyone trusts that the other persons are doing their best so there is not a lot of haranguing. Most of "You done yet? No, go fuck yourself!" banter is of a joking nature and is usually a lot of fun. I've worked primarily with start-ups though. Some were successful and some not so much. Even large companies can function with the same mentality but I suspect that it is less common.