You probably already learned that rule but if anyone is in a situation similar to this one - DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. Even if it’s a memo to yourself or your friend. It may seem petty or insignificant at the moment but there’s a world of difference between remembering maltreatment patterns years later and having a mound of tiny reminders that document both your contributions to the org and the reactions of peers and superiors going back a few years. Especially in places like arbitration boards and labor courts.
Yes, I had documented the mistreatment. That's why I was able to defend myself when my manager tried to put me on a PIP and push the narrative that I was incompetent, lazy, and a difficult employee. They were really shocked when I had a meeting with management and HR at how well prepared I was to pushback. I laid out specific examples and "brought the receipts." When you say the word "discrimination" to HR, you get everyone's attention. My manager backed way off after that meeting.
There is one particularly huge employer in tech field that abuses PIP as a method of pressure and rotation, basically mandating managers to sacrifice percentage of their team even when nobody is performing worse in reality. So managers must either roll some dice or just act on personal biases. From what I heard, it’s pretty hunger-gamesy in some departments, with people padding their record with all sorts of stupid. I could never fathom the urge to push out people who they spent so much money hiring and onboarding in the first place…
You are right on all fronts. I just published a book on Amazon titled, "Disposable: When Bad Managers Use Performance Improvement Plans to Punish Employees. It follows my personal story of being put on PIPS by two different managers and how they were used against me. I also included research about the fact that losing employees is very expensive for the company. It's kinda crazy to me that, as you said, managers are looking for reasons to fire people, especially in the tech field when the companies have experienced record breaking profits. There is no such thing as job security today, especially in tech fields.
I wonder if this has anything to do with the psychological makeup of engineers--especially male engineers, although I realize that covers nearly all of them. And I hate that this is still happening. I wrote about women in male dominated professions more than 20 years ago and am truly disturbed that this is still the case. I'm going to send you a copy of that piece I wrote. You can tell me if I need to publish it.
Jeanne Anne, I think the fact that it is a male group with technical mentalities probably is part of why I got the responses I did. They are "logical" thinkers. Then again, none of the treatment I received from my manager was logical. It was purely based on his personal biases against me. He used is own bigoted perspective and weaponized it against me since he was in a position of power. That is the biggest travesty about all these discriminatory situations. People who abuse their power to punish people who unfortunately have to work for them. Yes, you're book is still very relevant to what women experience in a male dominated workplace. It is exponentially worse when you are a women of color. Two strikes against you for the start. I honestly wish I didn't have to talk about these things. But this is all my real life and unfortunately I don't get to "take a break" from it. I am reminded on a daily basis.
I am so sorry that this has happened to you! It's even more disturbing to know that you have been discriminated against for a very long time, several times over! To realize that you have absolutely no allies at work within your team must have been devastating, let alone every young and dumb engineer that you worked with. So glad you've brought this to the surface and that you're whole and outta there!!!
Hi Julie. Yes, it is a bitter pill to swallow that after such poor treatment, my coworkers really didn't care. It is a very isolating experience. It really does make a person feel alienated. I knew I had to get out of that environment as quickly as I possibly could. Thanks for taking the time to read my article!
You probably already learned that rule but if anyone is in a situation similar to this one - DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. Even if it’s a memo to yourself or your friend. It may seem petty or insignificant at the moment but there’s a world of difference between remembering maltreatment patterns years later and having a mound of tiny reminders that document both your contributions to the org and the reactions of peers and superiors going back a few years. Especially in places like arbitration boards and labor courts.
Yes, I had documented the mistreatment. That's why I was able to defend myself when my manager tried to put me on a PIP and push the narrative that I was incompetent, lazy, and a difficult employee. They were really shocked when I had a meeting with management and HR at how well prepared I was to pushback. I laid out specific examples and "brought the receipts." When you say the word "discrimination" to HR, you get everyone's attention. My manager backed way off after that meeting.
There is one particularly huge employer in tech field that abuses PIP as a method of pressure and rotation, basically mandating managers to sacrifice percentage of their team even when nobody is performing worse in reality. So managers must either roll some dice or just act on personal biases. From what I heard, it’s pretty hunger-gamesy in some departments, with people padding their record with all sorts of stupid. I could never fathom the urge to push out people who they spent so much money hiring and onboarding in the first place…
You are right on all fronts. I just published a book on Amazon titled, "Disposable: When Bad Managers Use Performance Improvement Plans to Punish Employees. It follows my personal story of being put on PIPS by two different managers and how they were used against me. I also included research about the fact that losing employees is very expensive for the company. It's kinda crazy to me that, as you said, managers are looking for reasons to fire people, especially in the tech field when the companies have experienced record breaking profits. There is no such thing as job security today, especially in tech fields.
I wonder if this has anything to do with the psychological makeup of engineers--especially male engineers, although I realize that covers nearly all of them. And I hate that this is still happening. I wrote about women in male dominated professions more than 20 years ago and am truly disturbed that this is still the case. I'm going to send you a copy of that piece I wrote. You can tell me if I need to publish it.
Jeanne Anne, I think the fact that it is a male group with technical mentalities probably is part of why I got the responses I did. They are "logical" thinkers. Then again, none of the treatment I received from my manager was logical. It was purely based on his personal biases against me. He used is own bigoted perspective and weaponized it against me since he was in a position of power. That is the biggest travesty about all these discriminatory situations. People who abuse their power to punish people who unfortunately have to work for them. Yes, you're book is still very relevant to what women experience in a male dominated workplace. It is exponentially worse when you are a women of color. Two strikes against you for the start. I honestly wish I didn't have to talk about these things. But this is all my real life and unfortunately I don't get to "take a break" from it. I am reminded on a daily basis.
I am so sorry that this has happened to you! It's even more disturbing to know that you have been discriminated against for a very long time, several times over! To realize that you have absolutely no allies at work within your team must have been devastating, let alone every young and dumb engineer that you worked with. So glad you've brought this to the surface and that you're whole and outta there!!!
Hi Julie. Yes, it is a bitter pill to swallow that after such poor treatment, my coworkers really didn't care. It is a very isolating experience. It really does make a person feel alienated. I knew I had to get out of that environment as quickly as I possibly could. Thanks for taking the time to read my article!
Always my pleasure! ❤️