How honest should I be in probation meeting?

monkey84

I have my probation review meeting coming up at work and am pretty certain I will pass it with no issues. The problem is that I really don't like the job; I'm not enjoying the work I do, I'm in the office after hours most evenings to try and get through the massive workload, and the pressure of trying to maintain my performance is making me physically and mentally ill. I want to leave as soon as I can.
I have bought up the workload and stress to a limited extent previously and although my manager was supportive, they have not really done anything to help. I'm scared of revealing the true scale of the problem as I think it will make me look incompetent and unprofessional.
So, my question is, how honest should I be in the probation meeting? I obviously don't want to spend my time listing all of the things that are wrong. However,on the flipside, I also don't want to pretend that all is fine, only to hand in my notice at some point in the perhaps not too distant future!
Also, on a related question, in any interviews that I have next, how do I explain that I left my current position due to stress? What is the best way of putting this forward?
Thanks for your advice.

TELLIT01

As you have raised the workload issue before I don't see that there is a problem in raising it again now. Your manager may have thought the problem was just down to unfamiliarity with the work and that the problem would reduce or disappear over time.
If you do leave you don't need to mention stress or illness at all to a prospective employer. Simply say that the work wasn't what you expected and that you weren't enjoying it. The fact that you stuck it out for several months will indicate that you didn't just jump ship without giving it a good try first.

monkey84

Thank you. I'm scared as being seen as a job hopper if I leave after only 6 months, but it really doesn't make me happy.

steampowered

I wouldn't be worried about appearing "incompetent or unprofessional". You'll be judged on the work you do more than what you say in the probation meeting. Sometimes jobs just don't work out and that's life.

If you are intending to leave anyway, I don't see any problem being honest with them. It is better for them to know you are unhappy rather than just getting your resignation one day. The key is to express yourself in a way that demonstrates you are unhappy but doesn't start blaming or criticising.

agrinnall

Is this your first job? If so then I don't think that leaving after 6 months is that big an issue, as long as you aren't looking to move to do the same thing somewhere else you can simply explain it away as finding that the work wasn't something that interested you but that the experience has confirmed that you now what to do (insert whatever the new job is here...).

aife

I'd be careful about saying too much until your probation has been signed off on
Managers can take offence or interpret criticism as you not being committed
Leaving a job after 6 months is one thing , failing a probation period will make it much more difficult to get another job. Don't assume your employer/manager will be fair , a lot of the time they're not

getmore4less

agree with the above.

get through probation then start to mange your time.
if they raise the issue then be honest but positive about trying to resolve the workload with ideas on priority delegation if possible identify things that add no value.

if stuff can't get done in the time allocated(how long they pay you to work + bit). then you need to look at why.

there is someone that could do it quicker/better,
it is just a waste of time,
it is not that important so can wait
you need more training or tools to do the job quicker/better

short term peaks are acceptable but if the load is constantly too much there is no slack to take holidays, cover sick, training and other key things needed to run a business.

what happens now if you are on holiday?

MacMickster

I agree with the above. Once your probation is signed off then that is effectively confirmation from your manager that you have learned how to do your job and are doing it effectively (as well as attendance, attitude etc being OK).

Shortly after, request a further meeting with your manager to ask what, if anything, is going to be done to address the concerns regarding workload that you have already raised. If the answer is nothing then start searching the job pages. It would be very difficult for your manager to give a bad reference if they have given you a glowing probation report only weeks beforehand.