Work-related stress – A Personal Story 4

After last year’s difficulties, I decided a break was in order. Skye is one of the most breathtaking places in this country. I spent one week hill walking with no phone signal and no emails. Bliss!

I decided to keep only those who contributed positively to my life. I kept some of the best people I have ever met.

When I returned to work, I received an email stating that I had failed my appraisal due to this year’s issues and my increased workload. A meeting was scheduled to discuss it. I had to attend in two days and sign a form stating how much of a failure I was.

The day of the meeting arrived, and I found myself sitting opposite my accusers. They walked me through a plan that they wanted to follow. They asked me if I was sleeping well. I hadn’t really thought about that for a few months. Well, sleep issues are nothing! One of them got up at 4 am to do some work. Imagine if I had a baby! I definitely wouldn’t sleep then. Am I feeling stressed? Stress is nothing compared to what they must deal with, so read this book. It will help me think clearly. All of it, I asked? Which parts are most useful? You could read the bloody index page if you wanted, but it would be pointless! You could be world-class, they said. I still don’t know what that means.

When people want to criticise you, they change how they think about you. They make up a story to make it seem like they are the good guy. If they make up a story, they can win any discussion they have invented.

I was presented with a list of improvements I had to make:

• Be faster
• Be more accurate
• Communicate better with colleagues
• Communicate better with customers
• Take responsibility

The one thing you can note about these improvements is that none of them is measurable. I was to have one meeting every three months until I achieved these targets.

After the meeting, I thought having a trade union rep present would be much better. I went to my union rep and discussed the last year. How I have to take responsibility for group issues, Comments about job security, insults thrown, and competitions in meetings.

Do you have to fill in anyone in the group’s appraisal? He asked. Then you aren’t responsible for them. You might mentor them, but you are not responsible. As an employer, you can’t threaten someone’s job security if they have a contract. Having competitions in these meetings is ridiculous and defies the point of the meeting.

I remember listening to some Simple Plan as I was leaving.

Read on for Part 5