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Ask HN: My boss doesn't think I'm doing good work, how to proceed?

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Re: Ask HN: My boss doesn't think I'm doing good work, how to proceed?

#411

Post by bluehatbrit »

rendall wrote: post #332
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You called in sick yesterday and went to the beach with your buddies? I'm glad you did! We all need a mental health day once in a while. Being happy actually makes you more productive in the long term. Not quite. It's great when employees take care of themselves and make a point to enjoy their time outside of the office. However, it's not really cool if you commit to be somewhere on a certain day, no-show, and then…

Cross-cultural programmer here, and I can help. In Europe, calling in sick when you're not actually, recognizably ill is a pretty serious breach of trust. No cutesy "mental health break" exceptions. That said, you likely have at least 20 days of paid vacation, plus holidays. In the US, where 10 days paid vacation is the norm and you're often punished in some way for actually taking it, the occasional "mental health b…

Slight tangent, I've been seeing a lot of companies from the US advertising remote roles in the UK and advertising "20 days paid vaccation + public holidays" as one of their "amazing benefits". I often wonder if they realise it's a legal entitlement over here and not seen as all that amazing.

Re: Ask HN: My boss doesn't think I'm doing good work, how to proceed?

#412

Post by mijoharas »

psyc wrote: post #98
zwieback wrote: post #8

The first meeting where your manager just abandoned you and you ended up talking to your manager's boss is totally inappropriate. Being so new to the job basically all the responsibility is with your direct manager and her boss is wrong to dump on you without your manager present. I'd give it another chance though, sounds like the work is fun and maybe you can communicate your concerns to your direct manager.

This was my reaction as well. The skip-level should not be the first person to let them know they're perceived as under-performing. OP: Schedule a 1 on 1 with your direct manager and have a conversation about all of this. My skip-level at my first MAAAM job used to snipe at me when I was a new hire. He told me to my face he "would not have chosen me" and "didn't know how I got in." It made me so angry it was all I co…

sorry, not aware of that acronym, is that a new acronym for FAANG? I could see facebook turning into meta, google to alphabet... can't see netflix in there? is the other M microsoft?

Or is it something else?

Re: Ask HN: My boss doesn't think I'm doing good work, how to proceed?

#413

Post by bluehatbrit »

barry-cotter wrote: post #361
acbart wrote: post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> without bothering the professor What the hell kind of academic culture is this? Maybe in graduate research, if I expected a research assistant to know how to do a task... but certainly not true in an undergraduate course! If they can't do the assignment, that is the perfect time for them to come to me and learn from me how to do the assignment. That's like, the whole point of my job as a teacher is to help people l…

> That's like, the whole point of my job as a teacher is to help people learn. Many professors see teaching as a distraction from their real job, research, not an adjunct to it.

This resonates with me, I had a real mixed bag when I was doing my undegrad degree. There were some incredible professors who wanted to teach, were very approachable, and would always make time and reply to emails with good detail. Then there were other professors who clearly only had their open office hours because they had to, would rarely reply to emails, and the moment you stepped into their office it was clear their top priority was getting you to leave.

Re: Ask HN: My boss doesn't think I'm doing good work, how to proceed?

#414

Post by snickerer »

Anyone who picks on subordinates is an asshole. If you need opponents, you should look for them in your own weight class.

Keep an eye open for another job. Keep in mind that you could always quit and do something meaningful together with people who deserve your help. Have that mindset when the toxic boss approaches you next time.

Ask for a meeting with the manager soon. Check if the manager has a backbone and is supportive to you.

You should not be managed by two persons at the same time. You should only report to one superior — which is your manager. Ask your manager to shield you from the boss.

If your manager is not able to shield you from the toxic boss — find a better place to work.

Your mental health is much more important than this job.

Re: Ask HN: My boss doesn't think I'm doing good work, how to proceed?

#415

Post by bmn__ »

dusted wrote: post #365
tomcooks wrote: post #355

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In EU companies have to appoint a medical expert that checks worker's health (for free) upon joining the company, and routinely (1-2 times a year, depends on country I guess). Edit: Could be something that only companies whose workers have to do physical labour ("blue collar" jerbs) If you call in sick for more than three days you usually go through your own doctor, so that you get a certification that you're taking…

EU citizen here, never heard of that, what country is that?

.at .de .it .nl .no .pt .se for certain

Re: Ask HN: My boss doesn't think I'm doing good work, how to proceed?

#417

Post by collyw »

Get a new job.

I had a similar thing with my first job, (though it wasn't fun), just an undocumented, unintuitive system, plus pretty introverted team, so not very good at helping. I was unproductive. When I did ask for help it was terse explanations so they could get back to their own work.

Changed jobs to a more extroverted group and got on a lot better.

At the time I had thought it was all my own fault, but looking back on it, it was very poor management.

Re: Ask HN: My boss doesn't think I'm doing good work, how to proceed?

#418

Post by Claude_Shannon »

acbart wrote: post #359
mushufasa wrote: post #24

> Part of the reason it had taken so long is because I put a substantial amount of work into a part of the project that's no longer necessary due to changing requirements, which I don't think I could have forseen. One of the things that I've experienced with new grad junior devs is that there's an adjustment needed to change from academic working to business working. In academia, usually the professor gives an assign…

> without bothering the professor What the hell kind of academic culture is this? Maybe in graduate research, if I expected a research assistant to know how to do a task... but certainly not true in an undergraduate course! If they can't do the assignment, that is the perfect time for them to come to me and learn from me how to do the assignment. That's like, the whole point of my job as a teacher is to help people l…

In my uni in Poland, had I asked teacher for help, I'd be at best laughed at. Homework/assignment is graded and it is fully expected that student does it all by themself.

And if you have questions, it is fully expected of you to just study harder and check for the question in books.

Re: Ask HN: My boss doesn't think I'm doing good work, how to proceed?

#419

Post by Claude_Shannon »

alsetmusic wrote: post #304
alfor wrote: post #296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Definitely agree, I would say, if you think about something we might have fallen short (likely) go ahead and say it, the abilities to see your own shortcoming is gold for a manager. They should be expecting rough edges with a junior dev, but if you are willing to talk about your weakness real or imagined you will grow fast.

> if you are willing to talk about your weakness real or imagined you will grow fast. Similarly, owning up to mistakes (rather than making excuses) is gold. It wins respect and trust when you really weren't at fault.

I just don't understand that part. Where I live, admitting to making a mistake would be equal to admitting to your incompentence, and I'd be shown the door on my way out.

Re: Ask HN: My boss doesn't think I'm doing good work, how to proceed?

#420

Post by dusted »

bmn__ wrote: post #415
dusted wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

EU citizen here, never heard of that, what country is that?

.at .de .it .nl .no .pt .se for certain

interesting, we don't have it in dk, never heard of a company doctor or anything like it
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