Just had my Performance Review..

LegacyUser

..in my job. I started six months ago but I am already having problems. (btw I thought there was a forum for work problems but it seems to have disappeared).
In my review they gave me two out of five for "quality of work" which means "must improve immediately. I also got two out of five for reliability.
Out of the eight sections I was graded in I got 3 out of 5 for six of them which means "meets job requirements" but they were for minor things like punctuality, enthusiasm etc.
The two most important were the two I got two out of five in.
I am worried as I don't want to be a failure and that's what I'll feel like if I lose this job.
My sister has a very successful career already and I have always judged myself negatively against her.
I don't like the job very much but I can't leave it unless I have another one ready and waiting.
My boss (who carried out the review) is not a very nice person (in my opinion).
I have a lot of stress in the job ("tell me about it" I hear you say).
I work long hours sometimes not getting home until 8.30 or nine and I work through lunch most days. The people I work for can be assholes sometimes but I can't say anything back.
I have no friends and social life as I am too stressed to enjoy anything anymore. All I do is worry about work all the time. I don't look forward to the weekend as Monday is on my mind from Friday evening on.
I wake early in the morning with work worries on my mind. I believe I have been judged unfairly in my review but being sacked would be such a crushing blow to my self-confidence, I would probably never be able to work again.
I have always feared being a failure, maybe I am just not able to deal with stress the way others do. Maybe I am suited to a low-paid job with little responsibility.
I have a degree and want to use it but I am just not sure anymore. Is life supposed to be this hard? Surely I am entitled to do a job that I enjoy?
Thanks for reading this.

Marksie

moved to work and jobs

williamb

Fearful wrote: »

..in my job. I started six months ago but I am already having problems. (btw I thought there was a forum for work problems but it seems to have disappeared).
In my review they gave me two out of five for "quality of work" which means "must improve immediately. I also got two out of five for reliability.
Out of the eight sections I was graded in I got 3 out of 5 for six of them which means "meets job requirements" but they were for minor things like punctuality, enthusiasm etc.
The two most important were the two I got two out of five in.
I am worried as I don't want to be a failure and that's what I'll feel like if I lose this job.
My sister has a very successful career already and I have always judged myself negatively against her.
I don't like the job very much but I can't leave it unless I have another one ready and waiting.
My boss (who carried out the review) is not a very nice person (in my opinion).
I have a lot of stress in the job ("tell me about it" I hear you say).
I work long hours sometimes not getting home until 8.30 or nine and I work through lunch most days. The people I work for can be assholes sometimes but I can't say anything back.
I have no friends and social life as I am too stressed to enjoy anything anymore. All I do is worry about work all the time. I don't look forward to the weekend as Monday is on my mind from Friday evening on.
I wake early in the morning with work worries on my mind. I believe I have been judged unfairly in my review but being sacked would be such a crushing blow to my self-confidence, I would probably never be able to work again.
I have always feared being a failure, maybe I am just not able to deal with stress the way others do. Maybe I am suited to a low-paid job with little responsibility.
I have a degree and want to use it but I am just not sure anymore. Is life supposed to be this hard? Surely I am entitled to do a job that I enjoy?
Thanks for reading this.

What industry are you in ?

I can guarantee that with the downturn, there are managers all over Ireland being told to grade reviews so that employees can be sacked for performance reasons (they don't have to pay redundancy if you're fired for cause).

Just a thought, but it's possible this is what you're experiencing.

LegacyUser

williamb wrote: »

What industry are you in ?

I can guarantee that with the downturn, there are managers all over Ireland being told to grade reviews so that employees can be sacked for performance reasons (they don't have to pay redundancy if you're fired for cause).

Just a thought, but it's possible this is what you're experiencing.

That's an interesting point. I work in IT but the work I'm doing is with a stone-age language which I hate (VBA). I much prefer web programming but I couldn't get a job in that area.
Maybe they are telling me to improve as they want to want to keep me on my toes.
Like if they tell me I am meeting expectations maybe they think I will get lazy.
But that's a dangerous thing to do if you want to hold on to your employees. They may get pissed off and look for another job (as I am thinking of doing).
The weird thing is I have just been made permanent.

MIN2511

williamb wrote: »

What industry are you in ?

I can guarantee that with the downturn, there are managers all over Ireland being told to grade reviews so that employees can be sacked for performance reasons (they don't have to pay redundancy if you're fired for cause).

Just a thought, but it's possible this is what you're experiencing.

I just want to add to this, in a few companies they are also increasing probation just so they can sack employees if the economy does not improve.

I suggest you start searching for a job asap just in case it doesn't work out...

It's not the end of the world and please do not compare yourself with your sister... You are two different human beings although ye share dna you don't have to follow her footsteps

AARRRGH

I disagree with the above (except for the bit about comparing yourself to your sister...)

Too many people are too quick to blame the employer. Not enough people take responsibility for themselves.

I have worked with people who were poor at their jobs. The reason they were poor was because they had no interest in what they did, and didn't believe in continuous learning.

I'm going to give me as an example. I love IT, I love learning, and I'm a hard worker. I have never once had a problem, ever, in a performance review. Why is this? Because I am interested in my job, I continuously improve my skills, and I respect the fact that I'm being paid to do my job.

I genuinely have sympathy for you OP, but before you go blaming your boss, take a look at yourself and see is there anything you could improve.

Best of luck.

MIN2511

AARRRGH wrote: »

I disagree with the above (except for the bit about comparing yourself to your sister...)

Too many people are too quick to blame the employer. Not enough people take responsibility for themselves.

I have worked with people who were poor at their jobs. The reason they were poor was because they had no interest in what they did, and didn't believe in continuous learning.

I'm going to give me as an example. I love IT, I love learning, and I'm a hard worker. I have never once had a problem, ever, in a performance review. Why is this? Because I am interested in my job, I continuously improve my skills, and I respect the fact that I'm being paid to do my job.

I genuinely have sympathy for you OP, but before you go blaming your boss, take a look at yourself and see is there anything you could improve.

Best of luck.

Ah well true... but you have to agree that some companies are really taking the piss these days...

AARRRGH

MIN2511 wrote: »

Ah well true... but you have to agree that some companies are really taking the piss these days...

Yeah, there are a lot of wanker managers and employers out there. I think as well no employee should ever reach the stage where she gets a poor performance review - her manager should be helping sort out her problems way before the review is due! So I would blame the manager for that.

But in general I think people should look at themselves first, and then at their employer.

LegacyUser

I was thinking that maybe my boss gave me a bad review just to keep me on my toes as I am still new in the job. Maybe he's thinking if he says I am doing OK then I will slack off.
The weird thing is I have been made permanent at the same time as I get this bad review.
As for the poster who said it's easy to blame your boss when things go wrong and that I should look at myself, I totally agree but in this case I believe I have been harshly treated.
I am interested in my job although the language I am working in is not exactly cutting edge.
I prefer web programming, jscript,css and things like that but I had to take this job as I couldn't get a job in that area.
It is also impossible for me to judge how I am doing as I don't work under his supervision. I don't want to give too much away obviously but I work as a field engineer and if there are complaints from the places I've been it is usually because the people who work there will complain about you anyway even if you do everything they ask.
I have been keeping my options open, I have a sideline thing that I am hoping will look good on my CV.
But I can genuinely say that I have been doing my very best in this job and I believe the quality of my work has been on the whole, good.
I think my boss is just a grumpy bastard who is impossible to please.
But maybe the next job I take will be the same?

pirelli

Well I suggest you consider an appeal ,
As for quality that is my strong point, I have a city and guilds in quality.
I bet you feel you deserve it. I assume he felt you didn't contribute as much as the rest of the team and made some mistakes, most likely that happened because your new, it also happens because someone has to get the bad mark and your new.

You should try get a good start, being punctual etc is very good in my book,
did you really make more mistakes than average newbie starting off, were you really that slow and you work hours do they exceed the organisation of wrktime act. if they do, make a point of this and the fact your punctual and the obvious extra work this results in. Then ask them to give you what you deserve a 3/5. Quality, this sounds like a very factual aspect, could yyou not ask for proof and explain you were new etc..


If you get a raw deal it MIGHT destroy your next review.If they are guilty under the organisation of work act, they cant dismiss you for taking them to court over it.

Act NOW do something..Your entitled to a redundancy.

seamus

If you're in a programming job and doing long hours, then the problem is one of two things:

1. Your workload is way too big
2. Your efficiency is very poor.

If you're new to programming and have never used the language in question before, some allowances are understandable. Since quality is highlighted as an issue, that says to me that you may not have had much exposure to business programming in the past. I've no idea what they mean by reliability - perhaps you could expand on this, I'm sure he told you what made you "unreliable".

They way I see it, you have two options;
1. Leave. You hate the job, it's not what you want to do. Look at your options - if you can spend 6 weeks living on the breadline and aggressively going out looking for jobs, you may do OK.

2. Grab the job with two hands and do your best, whether you like it or not. To improve your quality, ask your employer about training - particularly programming for enterprise. Even just appearing to be eager about the job will improve your chances. And training very rarely goes to waste, even when it's not exactly in your target area.

LegacyUser

pirelli wrote: »

Well I suggest you consider an appeal ,
As for quality that is my strong point, I have a city and guilds in quality.
I bet you feel you deserve it. I assume he felt you didn't contribute as much as the rest of the team and made some mistakes, most likely that happened because your new, it also happens because someone has to get the bad mark and your new.

You should try get a good start, being punctual etc is very good in my book,
did you really make more mistakes than average newbie starting off, were you really that slow and you work hours do they exceed the organisation of wrktime act. if they do, make a point of this and the fact your punctual and the obvious extra work this results in. Then ask them to give you what you deserve a 3/5. Quality, this sounds like a very factual aspect, could yyou not ask for proof and explain you were new etc..


If you get a raw deal it MIGHT destroy your next review.If they are guilty under the organisation of work act, they cant dismiss you for taking them to court over it.

Act NOW do something..Your entitled to a redundancy.

Talking about redundancy and court is a bit extreme. The thing is I have to sign the Performance Review under a line that says:

"I have read, had an opportunity to discuss, and am in agreement with the above appraisal."

Well I'm not in agreement with it (and nobody has discussed it with me either).
If I sign this then where does it leave me in the event of them dismissing me? Does it mean that I basically agree with them when they say I am s*** at my job?
What are the legal ramifications from my point of view?

dade

Fearful wrote: »

"I have read, had an opportunity to discuss, and am in agreement with the above appraisal."

If you are not in agreement don't sign it. the way i see it if you sign it you agree,. so I'd refuse to sign until i discussed all issues raised in it and came to an agreed resolution with your boss. these resolutions should them be included ion a redrafted review which you should be then happy to sign

Dudess

I presume, considering the stress you're experiencing and the very long hours you're working, you're on the lookout for a new job the whole time...?

I agree that it can be tempting to blame the employer rather than considering the employee might actually be the one at fault, but the pressure alone seems to be enough reason for you to move on.

Darragh29

AARRRGH wrote: »

I disagree with the above (except for the bit about comparing yourself to your sister...)

Too many people are too quick to blame the employer. Not enough people take responsibility for themselves.

I have worked with people who were poor at their jobs. The reason they were poor was because they had no interest in what they did, and didn't believe in continuous learning.

I'm going to give me as an example. I love IT, I love learning, and I'm a hard worker. I have never once had a problem, ever, in a performance review. Why is this? Because I am interested in my job, I continuously improve my skills, and I respect the fact that I'm being paid to do my job.

I genuinely have sympathy for you OP, but before you go blaming your boss, take a look at yourself and see is there anything you could improve.

Best of luck.

I have to disagree with this post. There is a problem with the standard of people management in Ireland. We shouldn't be surprised at this, because the vast majority of people in management jobs in Ireland as far as I can see, got the position in typically Irish fashion, by "knowing" someone or by pulling a stroke. When I was in PAYE jobs, I never once had a manager who had any professional training as a manager. I had loads of manager's however who were pretty good at talking and spouting bullsh*t for hours in meetings if necessary, but I never had one single manager who inspired me or who I considered an effective leader. I never had a manager who could lead by example. The one thing about Irish manager's I've noticed is their absolute fear of transparency and due process in the workplace.

Darragh29

AARRRGH wrote: »

Yeah, there are a lot of wanker managers and employers out there. I think as well no employee should ever reach the stage where she gets a poor performance review - her manager should be helping sort out her problems way before the review is due! So I would blame the manager for that.

But in general I think people should look at themselves first, and then at their employer.

This is what I'm talking about. There is not a single problem in the workplace that a manager is not ultimately the cause of...

whiskeyman

A Performance Review is one thing... knowing how you're getting on is another.
They may have marked the review down also to avoid pay rise (a good review could have been a good bargaining tool for you) or for a bonus.
How has your workload and productivity gone down since you began? Surely someone has told you how your getting on / if they're happy with your work. It's a bad sign if you've no idea and have to wait for a review.
Also, being made permanant is a good sign, so I wouldn't think your job is in doubt.

Best of luck.

LegacyUser

whiskeyman wrote: »

A Performance Review is one thing... knowing how you're getting on is another.
They may have marked the review down also to avoid pay rise (a good review could have been a good bargaining tool for you) or for a bonus.

That's what I'm thinking too although I think it's more a case of them not wanting me to get too full of myself if I get a good review.

whiskeyman wrote: »

How has your workload and productivity gone down since you began?

Mainly because the product I support (software) is ****e.

whiskeyman wrote: »

Surely someone has told you how your getting on / if they're happy with your work. It's a bad sign if you've no idea and have to wait for a review.

No they are very half-assed in that respect.

I am a little bit annoyed with myself as when I got the review I should have just confronted the guy (he's not actually my boss, just Team Leader) but I bottled it.
It's now about a month since then and I haven't signed it and I don't intend to. I don't know what to do now.
From a legal viewpoint I don't want to sign it. I am just wondering is it common in industry to have a Performance Review like this (ie where you have to sign it).
I think it would be more fair if they just gave you the review, spoke to you and left it at that. It seems like they are trying to shaft me this way.

whiskeyman wrote: »

Also, being made permanant is a good sign, so I wouldn't think your job is in doubt.

Best of luck.

I hope you are right. My hand has actually been strengthened since as a few other people have made cock-ups that made my job harder. I am wondering what will their Performance Review say? Oh probably nothing as they have been working there for years and get away with messing things up all the time.

cronos

Fearful wrote: »

That's what I'm thinking too although I think it's more a case of them not wanting me to get too full of myself if I get a good review.

Mainly because the product I support (software) is ****e.

No they are very half-assed in that respect.

I am a little bit annoyed with myself as when I got the review I should have just confronted the guy (he's not actually my boss, just Team Leader) but I bottled it.
It's now about a month since then and I haven't signed it and I don't intend to. I don't know what to do now.
From a legal viewpoint I don't want to sign it. I am just wondering is it common in industry to have a Performance Review like this (ie where you have to sign it).
I think it would be more fair if they just gave you the review, spoke to you and left it at that. It seems like they are trying to shaft me this way.

I hope you are right. My hand has actually been strengthened since as a few other people have made cock-ups that made my job harder. I am wondering what will their Performance Review say? Oh probably nothing as they have been working there for years and get away with messing things up all the time.

I work for an american consultancy that does the same thing so its not unheard of.

cooperguy

This thread is old enough now but can I suggest simply taking your review to your reviewer/team leader/manager and discussing it point by point with him/her. Basically say you are a bit concerned with your result, want to know how it came about and what improvements they think are needed etc. This has a few advantages in that it makes you look proactive and keen to improve yourself and it can put your mind at rest as to what they actually think. It also gives you the oportunity to argue your case if he makes a point unfairly against you.

I doubt you are doing too bad if you have been made permanent anyway.

Eoin

cooperguy wrote: »

This thread is old enough now but can I suggest simply taking your review to your reviewer/team leader/manager and discussing it point by point with him/her. Basically say you are a bit concerned with your result, want to know how it came about and what improvements they think are needed etc. This has a few advantages in that it makes you look proactive and keen to improve yourself and it can put your mind at rest as to what they actually think. It also gives you the oportunity to argue your case if he makes a point unfairly against you.

Excellent advice. The third advantage is that it will help you work to the level they are expecting.

AARRRGH

Darragh29 wrote: »

There is not a single problem in the workplace that a manager is not ultimately the cause of...

What an absolutely ridiculous statement. I've read your other threads and I can see a bit of a recurring theme.

Why can't you accept that sometimes the little guy (i.e. not the manager or landlord or politican) is responsible for his own actions and may not always act in an upstanding way?

pauldiv

Have a Google for "10 reasons why you should never get a job" at read the top article. It's good and might cheer you up.