B.C. by Mastroianni and Hart for December 04, 2024

so this is the “balance” in the job market that i hear people seek?

What does BC and Peter do for a living?

That’s what happens when there is more applicants then vacancies on the job market

These reviews were in the days before workers joined a union.

For me, it was mentor and train a new younger employee or else. Of course when the staff was cut later on, I got let go, but the person I trained got my job.

Recent example of union benefits for the rest of us…Longshoremen get a 62% raise, don’t allow any automation, and theft on the docks is a “cost of doing business”. Anyone think those costs won’t get passed on to the rest of us?

Annual reviews are a farce. Feedback should be constant. An annual review is like looking out the windshield of a car, memorizing the road, closing your eyes and then start driving.

My personal review process, regardless of what the company policy was, was to give verbal feedback as required and to have one sit down session each quarter where we could have an open and honest conversation. There are things that you do NOT want to put down in writing on a formal company document.

I told my team members that although I was taking notes, this was an entirely informal conversation. I might use the notes to jog my memory as to what they promised to do and what I promised to do. No numeric ratings were given at these reviews.

I also used these sessions to reset goals. They DO change as the year goes by. Some get overtaken by events and some get accomplished early and it is time to move onto the next.

I once told a fellow manager that I spend 25% of my time on personnel issues. He told me, “You must have a lot of problem employees!” I told him that I had NO problem employees because I spend 25% of my time on personnel issues.

The last job review I had was all right but did not stop me from walking out. And retiring the next day

Threats never work!!!!!!

I know that there are no limits to which the powers of privilege will not go to keep the workers in slavery

—Mother Jones

Sounds like some job reviews I’ve had.

When I finally decide to retire, I walked into the owners office and said, “I’ve decided to retire.” “Congratulations, when is your last day?” “Yesterday.”

Same as it ever was – same as it ever was.

And things haven’t changed…….

“I’ll settle for some stocks”

It’s still an improvement from the days when the workers were locked in.

I just ask that they keep up with the cost of living. Evidentially, that’s a ‘No’.

If every year sees you threaten to quit if you don’t get a raise and then back down, the boss will never take you seriously.

Also, how is that a review?

This gave me a flashback of a trickle down my whole body.

The company I retired from always said, raises were based on good annual reviews, and then, at the end of the year they would say there’s no money in the budget for raises nobody’s getting a raise. It was such an exercise in futility.

Sounds like my entire working life.

A victory of sorts.

Did he fire the birds?

In 2017, it was getting to be time for the year-end review. Right before the meeting with my boss (great guy BTW) I went online and filled out the retirement stuff. When I went it, he said, “Something you want to tell me?” He’d received the message about that. Made for an easy review, we just talked about our respective histories and when to plan for my departure. I wanted to go into 2018 a bit to be able to put the profit-sharing bonus into the 401k.

Meet the new normal, same as the old normal.