Performance Review at Work | ADHD Information
Does everyone go through this ritual these days? I had never experienced it until I joined my present employer, and I find it very difficult to understand what these interviews are all about. I had one this morning.
"Come in, Mark" said my manager "take a seat". He was dressed all in black, reminding me of the bad guy in an old western (though he'd spoiled the effect somewhat by dyeing his hair cherry red - but perhaps I'm just getting old).
"How do you think you did this year?" He asked
"Fine" I replied
"What have you achieved this year?"
"Ermm.. dunno"
"What do you mean 'you don't know'?"
"Can't think of anything"
"Well, you've done this, you've created this, you've fixed this..."
"Oh. I've achieved that then"
"What?"
"What you just said"
"You can't just say that, you have to show me proof!"
"What?"
"What do you mean 'What'?"
"I don't need proof, you know what I've done better than I do."
"Yes but you are supposed to prepare for this interview, and bring documentary evidence to support your claims"
"What claims?"
"What you claim to have achieved"
"But you've just told me what I've achieved!"
"Yes, but you should've brought me proof"
"Why don't you just pretend you've seen proof?"
"Don't be cheeky"...
And so it went on. A very surreal experience, I have to say, and at the end of it my performance was rated as 'meeting expectations but not exceeding them'. As an ADDer, I guess that's not a bad result.
Mark -
Same problem here..except my reviews always say "does not take initiative". Or things like "Does just enough to get by. Performance not below level, but does not exceed level either" I can't think ahead. It's not an issue of initiative. If I had some forethought throughout my day I might actually be exceptional, but I spend all of my day just trying to piece together normal thought patterns to accomplish the regular work I already have. Oh, and I can't get through 1 week without screwing something up. I messed up 2 weeks ago and found out about it yesterday. Sticky notes, date books, notepads..none of it work. I will not remember no matter how much is glued all over my desk. I finally told my manager I would use the Lotus Notes pop-up reminder to fix it. Its pretty bad, because the item I am fixing is one of my company's customers that is the biggest sticklers for perfection. It drives me crazy that I can never get it right. I am constantly nagged about my memory. I try to explain the ADHD thing but they all roll their eyes and say I am making up excuses for letting my work slip. I want to cry most times. To try my best and only crappy work comes out of what I do.
Mark -
You are so funny. I really think you could write a successful little book about your life and perceptions. I keep picturing the guy with the black suit and the cherry red died hair ... I hope he doesn't know about this board.
Mark, I've been through the exact same thing. Performance reviews have got to be one of the biggest piles of BS I have ever encountered in my life.My previous manager liked to do one every 3 months. She liked to ask questions like, "what do you feel you have contributed to the team?", "what individual goals would you like to set for yourself for the next 3 months? For the next year?", "What department goals would you like to have set?"
Gimme a break. Thankfully my newest manager isin't that full of BS.
Why SHOULD we outperform expectations on these stupid things anyway? What incentive do we have? Employers are full of sh*t, and the workplace can suck the life out of you. I see NO shame in doing your job, going home on time, and having your own bloody life!
Good for you, Mark, for getting the boss to call you "cheeky"
I agree with you DesertHanyou. I feel no incentive whatsoever to outperform expectations. it's not like it'll get me a raise. This company is so cheap it's not funny.
One of my co-workers comes in early, leaves late, only takes half of his lunch time, and actually ENJOYS his job. It boggles my mind.
Yeah, Mark! You started a topic! And a darn good one, at that. You're boss sounds a little loopy to me.
You're right, he answered his own questions, so why bother you?
Actually, bcgirl,
I was one of those that usually came in early and occasionally left late (I liked the OT). And it wasn't because I couldn't get my work done in the allotted time....I really did love my job!
But when I was ever asked where do I see myself in 3 years....I always said 'doing just what I am, because I like what I'm doing. I do it well, and think I'm an asset to the company doing exactly what I'm doing.' I never had any desire to be a manager or supervisor. After all, what's wrong in doing exactly what you were hired for, it's what I applied for originally, isn't it? GypsyWomyn38448.4651851852
Mark,
I know exactly what you're talking about! I work for the phone company, and I'm sure it has a similar, if not identical, stucture over there. They have random crap they like to pull closely relating to your performance.
Corporate BS bothers be beyond belief. I feel I'm turning into a corporate drone!
Good luck with those TPS reports! (If no one understands that, I'm sorry.)
[QUOTE=focus]
Good luck with those TPS reports! (If no one understands that, I'm sorry.)
Is that a stab at the movie "Office Space"? Or does TPS stand for something witty?
If I'm totally off base, then disregard this post.
TPS reports is an "Office Space" reference. Man, that movie was the best depiction of Corporate BS ever.
I just had my performance review. "Fully Met Expectations" but with the usual ADHD problems - my production could be higher (cuz I get bored and drift onto the Internet). This job is not the ideal for ADHD, too much repitition and tedium. Yet one more reason to finish the novel...
[QUOTE=JerBer]I just had my performance review. "Fully Met Expectations" but with the usual ADHD problems - my production could be higher (cuz I get bored and drift onto the Internet). This job is not the ideal for ADHD, too much repitition and tedium. Yet one more reason to finish the novel...[/QUOTE]Actually, JerBer, perhaps your job IS ideal for an ADHDer....since you can be on the Internet and not get fired.
In fact, all of you who can access this Board while at work are very fortunate. I had a good friend lose their job just because they ordered a book on line while at work. 
But I do know what you mean by the repitition and tedium.
[QUOTE=GypsyWomyn]Actually, JerBer, perhaps your job IS ideal for an ADHDer....since you can be on the Internet and not get fired.
In fact, all of you who can access this Board while at work are very fortunate. [/QUOTE]I am one of those people - but to be honest, it's terrible! I don't WANT to be on the internet while at work! It makes me feel so lazy and incompetant. It makes me feel like my work ethic is in the toilet. I feel guilty that people around me are stressed and trying to get their work done on time, and I have NO desire to help them.
Nope... I really don't feel fortunate at all.
But maybe it's just me. Edit to add: Okay.... I know what you meant Gypsy.
I guess I am lucky in a way - I probably would have cracked up, or
quit, long ago if I hadn't been able to break up the monotony of my day
by popping onto the 'net once in a while. And of course this forum is
the best part! 
bcgirl197838449.4277777778I once worked for a company that did performance reviews all of the time. We had to beat our heads against the wall to fill out a stupid form, and answer senseless questions. The company had thousands of people doing this, and thousands of management hours spent getting together and talking things over. Guess what? They went down the tubes. I can't imagine what it costs to run with such inefficiency.BS - a nice, big, steaming pile of it might help you climb to the top, but it doesn't provide a good, stable footing for very long!
On the other foot..
Take it from someone who has to give these things, many of us in middle management hate them more than you do. ITs always corporate and HR who comes up with these ideas, trying to improve things by forcing us in a room and hoping we can squeak out a bit more productivity.
My company requires me to give performance reviews 4 times a year, a formal review once a year, and two pay evaluations twice a year. So I am stuck meeting with each person (I have 15 that work with me) seven times a year and telling them my opinion of them, and trying to snake some opinion from them. Talk about making them self concious. I feel so bad doing it, but I have about as much choice in doing it as they do.
The thing is I like these people and respect them, we talk all the time and have a good working relationship, they work hard and don't need to be sitting with me every other month wondering if I am going to be dropping a weight of my opinion on thier head.
For a ADD person, thats allot of paperwork and tracking. its very hard to juggle 15 egos every other month. YIkes, its not fun.
[QUOTE=bcgirl1978]Mark, I've been through the exact same thing. Performance reviews have got to be one of the biggest piles of BS I have ever encountered in my life.
My previous manager liked to do one every 3 months. She liked to ask questions like, "what do you feel you have contributed to the team?", "what individual goals would you like to set for yourself for the next 3 months? For the next year?", "What department goals would you like to have set?"
[/QUOTE]
I HATE these. I tend to resent authority, anyway. I don't wanna have to answer to nobody...I wanna come into work, do my job efficiently, and go home, and recieve my paycheck.
Heck, very soon my husband and I are just gonna throw all caution into the wind and start our own business. We are free spirits. We hate being tied down to mundane jobs, it feels like we are still back in school, answering to the teacher.
Oh, I hate performance reviews. I think they teach them in manager class as a way to torture employees.I work for a human services agency and I am used to performance evaluations, it is a bunch of bunk but it determines if you are deserving of a raise. It is done yearly and I even get a goal the supervisor gives me, added stress. But mark you are funny how you put things.[QUOTE=Jillette]I work for a human services agency and I am used to performance evaluations, it is a bunch of bunk but it determines if you are deserving of a raise. It is done yearly and I even get a goal the supervisor gives me, added stress. But mark you are funny how you put things.[/QUOTE]I fail to see how being a good BSer should make you more deserving of a raise.
If you are doing your job properly, and doing it well, that's all that should be required.
At least, that's my take on it.
I hate these things too because they rarely reflect your performance and seem to have far more to do with whether or not the powers that be feel that you are feathering THEIR cap or not.
Lets face it, almost anyone has positives and negatives that can be expressed.
It was really funny to me when a previous boss used to turn her negatives to look like positives. She overcharged customers - she didn't hire a subcontractor to do certain work that was part of the customers' payments. Then when there was extra money left over - she phrased it in such a way to her boss as though she had done something great.
However, that being said, I've decided that jobs aren't supposed to make sense and most decisions in the world are made based on subjectivity and ego. Politics, coalition building and corruption.
No one owes me a job and if they pay me, I guess jumping through their stupid hoops and stroking their egos is just part of it.
One of the hard parts for me was realizing that - like in Alice in Wonderland - people often don't mean what they say. I took people at their word.
I just look at that part as a game now. I don't do the crap to others though.
Also, I believe that most people who do treat others bad, do so because of their own insecurities and hurts. I can't believe my previous boss felt good about lying to cover up her negligence. She probably felt like she had to do it and it probably reminded her of her many short comings, etc. ...
yellowdog38451.5078009259
The company I work for, the upper management employees tell the human resources department to make the review stuff. The questions are just like Mark Goodes. "How do I think I did this year" "How have you contributed to the team"
I get so sick of hearing the words "for the team" hehe
I guess in reality I am more of an anti-social that has verbal diarrea and just "seems" social. 8) I wish I had a job where I could work completely alone and accomplish a lot with no distractions. In fact, all the work I do can be done at home but my office won't hear of it. My performance would increase if I worked at home because I would finish everything in 1 day. I wake up at 5 am for no reason & could get all that work done and handed in in no time.
Reizende: I'm with you on the this whole "team" charade. I'm so sick of hearing it at work. Its totally not true. We are not a team. We are a bunch of individuals who work at the same place in order to live and feed our families.
My "team" is my wife, my two kids and my Labrador. I've had jobs where there was a sense of comradery, but we didn't have to overuse the term "Team" 'Teamwork" or "Teaming".
The place I work now is so dysfunctional. There is not a speck of teaming or comradert, yet the bosses continue to flog that dead horse like we were the 1929 Yankees.
Team my ass. We're the inmates.