Probabation and hostile manager

inkypinky999 · 17 March 2017 at 2:44PM

hi,

I am looking for some advice, my friend has recently started new job and is in probation period, yesterday he had his performance review (after 4 weeks from joining date) and they have highlighted quite a few points of development. The way they have highlighted the issues have been projected very negatively while he admits there have been some mistakes made as he is still learning the work but the attitude of the manager is very much negative picking on each and everything. Today he responded to the review by saying that he will actively work towards improving on the development areas identified and send feedbacks to manager.

The issue he is seeing is that he is being pin pointed for each and every thing and there are some issues where he is being unfairly blamed. {e.g. he placed the Coffee cup after cleaning yest evening and manager said he did not and he has not way to prove that}

What are his options here for unfair treatment being met here, does he have any right under probation to raise concerns?

TELLIT01 · 17 March 2017 at 3:24PM

Probation is the time when the new employee has to prove that they fit with the way the company is run. The manager isn't going to change his/her way of working. Does the manager treat all the new staff the same way, and is just very direct in picking up on things they don't like?
Bottom line is that your friend has no security of employment and can be terminated at any time. If they are confident enough to raise concerns then do so, the manager may actually respect people who are willing to stand up for themselves.

inkypinky999 · 17 March 2017 at 4:23PM

thanks he is only new joiner in the team, he has been working hard to improve. if he raises concerns will the manager take issue of that and terminate earlier.

Also assuming he gets terminated during probation how do other employers see this, the job market is anyhow very tough but i want to be able to help and encourage him to reach his potential rather than stopping to work at all.

Malthusian · 17 March 2017 at 4:41PM

inkypinky999 wrote: »

thanks he is only new joiner in the team, he has been working hard to improve. if he raises concerns will the manager take issue of that and terminate earlier.

Maybe, maybe not. Does he want to continue working there even if the management continues to take this attitude towards him? If the answer is "no" then he has nothing to lose. If the answer is "yes" then he needs to decide whether it's worth the risk.

If he's working hard to improve then that implies the points the management have highlighted are valid and not just nitpicking.

Also assuming he gets terminated during probation how do other employers see this

If I was fired after a month I would simply leave it off my CV, and leave the references as they were.

inkypinky999 · 17 March 2017 at 4:49PM

Malthusian wrote: »

Maybe, maybe not. Does he want to continue working there even if the management continues to take this attitude towards him? If the answer is "no" then he has nothing to lose. If the answer is "yes" then he needs to decide whether it's worth the risk.

I think he is not happy with the treatment but reality of life kicks in, he better work and support his family and look for job

If he's working hard to improve then that implies the points the management have highlighted are valid and not just nitpicking.

by nitpicking he meant each and everything even small mistakes which he has vastly reduced. (i know mistake is a mistake so cannot be called as an excuse)

If I was fired after a month I would simply leave it off my CV, and leave the references as they were.

by the time his employment ends it may be 2-3 months, he got his job after a long gap of 2-3 yrs before that he had very good performance and feedback but had to leave due to some personal reasons. Will removing 3-4 months not show in any reference/credit search new employer will do and then it will become tricky to explain why the period was not mentioned.

cavework · 17 March 2017 at 5:22PM

Were there any 'high points' to this early review? or where there only negative things raised?

Fireflyaway · 17 March 2017 at 5:43PM

I think he seems to have a positive attitude in that he accepts there are improvements to be made and has agreed to get stuck in. If the manager is just a control freak or not very nice in general that could be an issue going forward. Its easy to get rid of someone at any point before 2 years by just saying they are not up to the job and there isn't much you can do.
I'd stick out probation and see how it pans out. Might change if the manager sees all the issues have been addressed. If the manager still makes working there unbearable mightcbe worth looking elsewhere.

inkypinky999 · 17 March 2017 at 11:04PM

cavework wrote: »

Were there any 'high points' to this early review? or where there only negative things raised?

there was one positive and rest kept at negative

[Deleted User] · 18 March 2017 at 1:25AM

inkypinky999 wrote: »

I think he is not happy with the treatment but reality of life kicks in, he better work and support his family and look for job

If the job ended Monday would he go to bed once he got home or would he stay awake and fight (ie listen out for phone ringing from other employers)

Is returning to old job any possibility?

I remember telling one employer in 2015 to do one at day 5 when they were trying to quiz me day 2 alone and I know it was the best thing I did, met loads of great people that year.

I turned to mindfulness thinking when last thought I had trouble at work recently, turns out it's blown over a week later. It's still really hard when I compare it to the places I didn't feel I fitted in.

inkypinky999 · 18 March 2017 at 8:27AM

Deleted%20User wrote: »

If the job ended Monday would he go to bed once he got home or would he stay awake and fight (ie listen out for phone ringing from other employers)

From what I know about him, He will not go to bed and if he does I will kick him out of his bed and will do all I can to help him get back on his feet to get work, even if it means he starts some education degree course.

I spoke to him about the worst case scenario, he was scared that being terminated on probabation will scar his resume and he will never be able to get a good job as he would have to explain reason for termination on last employment.

Is returning to old job any possibility?

yes he is exploring that option as well looking at current jobs of the prev.employer.

it is just that he had worked very very hard for last 10-15 months to get a job after giving so many interviews he got this one and then getting a setback in 2 months is really hard for him.

Probabation and hostile manager

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