"No! We ain't gonna take it! We're not gonna take it any mooooooooooore."

I can't help it, but images of men in drag parade through my head as I find myself chanting that old Twisted Sister anthem.

You see, when I ranted (over at Blogster) about my lousy performance review at work, I wasn't alone. My whole team got crappy reviews -- and not to toot our horn, but none of us deserved it. Funny, but I'd really like to know when someone going to give Manager *his* review? Hmm?

At her wit's end, last night my co-worker, T, wrote to Manager disputing the grades she received, and backing herself up every step of the way with the hard facts that support her achievements.

Then today another awesome co-worker of mine, R, gave his two week's notice. After over 10 years working for the company, he can't take our boss anymore and has found a great new job elsewhere. I don't know if I'm more excited for his terrific opportunity, or the fact that the company will really be impacted by such a significant loss. I heard that R might also email the CEO and let him know that the real reason he is leaving is because Manager is completely useless. Gosh, I *really* hope he does!

Now, as for myself, I've kinda been stewing in my juices for the last couple weeks. I wanted to write to Manager to give him a piece of my mind, but I've held back. What's the point? It just felt futile. After all, when I had tried to book a meeting with him to communicate a few things, he turned that meeting into an opportunity to interrupt every point I made, and then he handed me my performance review, (which I was not expecting) that only emphasized how much I suck (which I also was not expecting.)

Today J n' my co-workers rallied around, encouraging me to use this opportunity to speak my mind while everyone else had Manager's attention. I worried that I'd merely look like a bandwagon jumper, only kicking Manager while he was down... but I started writing a letter anyway, and it felt good. By the end of the day, I felt confident in what I had written and clicked send.

Below is what I wrote... with a few details tweaked so I don't somehow incriminate myself by b*tching about the company I work for online. :oP

Also, the "T committee" I refer to is a group of people who have been assigned to determine how to successfully merge our two companies. (Technically, as it stands I am the only writer working for both companies.)

Okay... now on with my letter:


Hey Manager,

I know we have to sign our reviews regardless if we agree with them or not; however, I know that I won’t feel better until I communicate how I’ve been feeling these last couple of weeks.

As you know, I originally booked our meeting because I wanted to discuss my workload. At that time I expressed how I often feel very overwhelmed. The to-do list you saw me write when you were in town is nothing out of the norm – ambitious marketing campaign or not – each week I fill a page of items that I am expected to get done, and that does not include all the other requests that arise throughout the week. This is because as Marketing’s only writer, I need to touch every project and request that comes through this department – whether I write it from scratch or proof someone else’s work – it all ends up on my plate. Because there are only so many hours in a day, I wanted to use that meeting as an opportunity to vocalize how important I feel it is that we hire a second writer, at least part-time, to help distribute the workload.

When I tried expressing my concerns, I felt that I was unable to fully get my point across without being interrupted. While you did agree that ideally I shouldn’t have to do all of the work that finds its way on to my task list, in the end we did not come to any sort of resolution. I realize that in many ways the final decision to hire another body is out of your control, as the T Committee needs to evaluate these issues first -- but in the meantime, I would really appreciate a solid idea of when you think we may be able to hire some additional resources? Also, if you feel that the T Committee will not support your request to hire the resources we need, do we have a back up plan to somehow reduce the workload in other ways? Answers to these questions would at least give me some peace of mind knowing that relief is on the horizon.

Additionally, when I pointed out how I am making considerably less than the average wage for someone in my position, (and those were eight year old statistics from 2000), your response was that I have always been underpaid, and that at least my annual cost of living increase has brought me somewhat closer to what I should be earning. I do not feel that this was a fair statement. To say that I have always been underpaid is not a legitimate reason as to why I continue to be paid less than what I am worth. I know that it was honestly not your intention to offend me, but I couldn’t help but feel dismissed and undervalued only because it has always been the status quo. Not to mention, you told me that if we hire another writer to help with the workload, it would impact any wage increase I might receive. Again, I totally realize that it wasn’t your intention to make it sound like an ultimatum, but please understand that this is how it came across, and I don’t know how I’m supposed to take it.

Finally, because I was the one who had taken the initiative to originally call this one-on-one with you, I was not expecting it to end up being a review. With no time to re-examine my goals beforehand, I was left feeling completely unprepared. I can’t even begin to express how disappointed I was, (and still am) over the fact that all the hard work I do amounts to nothing more than a ‘moderate’ grade. Truly, this only adds insult to injury. Instead of my review being based on my overall performance, it is only based on three goals that I did not set for myself.

I should point out that in many ways my goals were completely out of my hands because they were either not as urgent as everything else that finds its way on my immediate to-do list, such as the proposal template, or because they heavily relied on the involvement of others. For instance, one goal was to get the client newsletter out in September and December, and we only got one issue out in October; however, I can only put the newsletter together once you send the articles to me. In fact, due to external factors, we have already missed our intended deadline for this quarter, even though I passed my contribution off to L back in January. Actually, since L is now the one who puts the newsletter together, I don’t feel this goal should even pertain to me anymore going forward.

Anyhow, it just doesn’t seem appropriate that my review should be so black and white, as it gives a strong impression that the rest of the work I do on a daily basis accounts for nothing. I always work to the best of my ability, given the workload I’m buried beneath and within the timelines I am expected to meet. When somebody needs something right away, anyone in this office will attest to the fact that I have never once let them down and that they can always count on me to get the job done. I do not feel that this was accurately reflected in my review.

I have always believed in our company, our products and our mission, but I have to admit, given the issues listed above, I can’t help but feel less than satisfied. I really hope that we can come to some sort of resolution, and that you will consider either revising my review or including an addendum that addresses how I was unable to meet my goals because I was working hard to meet more critical deadlines. I also hope that we can hire another writer, even just part time, without it affecting my compensation.

Thank you for listening and for your consideration!

~Mellowdee


Only a couple short years ago, I never would have had the nerve to write a letter like this and actually follow through and send it. But right now, I'm really glad that I did. I mean, what's the worst that can happen? I'll get fired? Bring. It. On.