I haven't worked in a corporate environment but these reviews sound so stupid.
Putting people into some checkbox ranking seems lazy and useless vs just having specifics about what you've done well & what you can improve on. I guess these ratings are used to justify not giving pay raises?
*ding ding ding* Tell him what he's won, Chuck!
He's won sad insight into the state of late stage capitalism, Johnny!
I do worry that so much of everyone's feelings about self-worth are tied into their work. The catch is, if you work for a corporation, that entire system is about negging you just enough so you work 10% harder.
Don't take the bait. You're good enough I'm sure.
__________________
"You know, that's kinda why I came here, to show that I don't suck that much" ~ Devin Cooley, Professional Goaltender
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Thanks for all the comments. To clarify, I work at a big US company (remotely, from Calgary). It's more ruthless than you might expect. Meets most rating is an automatic firing in a lot of cases and there's a quota for a certain percentage of people to be in each rating. The only other senior engineer with MM rating in our org this year got fired yesterday. I know it's dehumanizing but I like the pressure and they pay pretty well.
I suspect that I was the easy scapegoat for the low rank quota because I left the team for another in late December. The problem I'm working on is to internalize the rationization instead of the rejection. Helps to see posts here.
Thanks for all the comments. To clarify, I work at a big US company (remotely, from Calgary). It's more ruthless than you might expect. Meets most rating is an automatic firing in a lot of cases and there's a quota for a certain percentage of people to be in each rating. The only other senior engineer with MM rating in our org this year got fired yesterday. I know it's dehumanizing but I like the pressure and they pay pretty well.
I suspect that I was the easy scapegoat for the low rank quota because I left the team for another in late December. The problem I'm working on is to internalize the rationization instead of the rejection. Helps to see posts here.
#### those guys. You have a unique skillset that many organizations are looking for. Their "evaluation" of your ability is not your true metric. It's a game. Say #### you to their game and find another spot to land.
Trust me, there aren't a lot of excellent young people that are able to take your job. I should know, I teach this generation.
__________________
"You know, that's kinda why I came here, to show that I don't suck that much" ~ Devin Cooley, Professional Goaltender
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I haven't worked in a corporate environment but these reviews sound so stupid.
Putting people into some checkbox ranking seems lazy and useless vs just having specifics about what you've done well & what you can improve on.
I guess these ratings are used to justify not giving pay raises?
The reviews are pretty dumb, it's just a way for out of touch leadership far above your own manager to try and feel like they're making things better.
It does give a chance to have a formal discussion about specifics (and I'm glad my manager does this) so I guess it's ok that at least there's an official framework for that. But a good manager should be handling that anyway.
But where I work the ratings don't even seem to be related to pay raises.. everyone gets basically the same. Well except me because apparently I'm already making at the top of my pay grade and they don't change the pay grades when they change the salaries, so my pay increase is zero percent while everyone else gets more.. their idea to work around that until they can figure out a way to fix it was to give me a bonus that covers that amount (that was last year's idea) but of course that doesn't compound, and they didn't even do that much this year.
Then they wonder why people quit and why they can't attract any good talent. "Oh sorry your pay band doesn't move with inflation so eventually you just start making less and less until you quit, that's our long term retention plan." I guess makes sense when you want to trim the expensive people and replace them with people who don't know what they're doing.
__________________ Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position.
But certainty is an absurd one.
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I've had lots of meets expectations. Didn't mean you were getting schitcanned at all. Problem is the usially alowe 1 or 2 above expectations per manager. And you can usually tell those folks who play the I'm so busy role best.
I haven't worked in a corporate environment but these reviews sound so stupid.
Putting people into some checkbox ranking seems lazy and useless vs just having specifics about what you've done well & what you can improve on.
I guess these ratings are used to justify not giving pay raises?
I should do these kinds of things for my employees...it might be kind of fun.
In a 'mess with people's mental health' kind of way.
I just treat my employees like people. It seems to work out pretty well.
If I tell them to do something, they do it. If I get angry, and that is very rare, they know that some #### is afoot because 99.9% of the time I'm as easy-going and laid-back as they come.
__________________ The Beatings Shall Continue Until Morale Improves!
This Post Has Been Distilled for the Eradication of Seemingly Incurable Sadness.
The World Ends when you're dead. Until then, you've got more punishment in store. - Flames Fans
If you thought this season would have a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention.
I told a lady three times yesterday she rules. We were trying to get these IONs ASAP to partners and she killed it. But looking back she is polish and maybe doesn't know what that phrase means.
Having a high day. Just man hugged Ryan Huska from behind. His kid scored in the shootout in a 0-0 game against the top team team in the league. He was standing there all stoic as he does and i grabbed him behind and said fata me that wasn't fun and he started laughing.
__________________
I am an Edgelord!! Woohoo.
Last edited by fotze2; 02-21-2026 at 05:08 PM.
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Of course the lord taketh and gives it way or whatever. My cousin i used to be besties with. His life is in shambles. Wife left him has no money. Takes the bus. He ysed his ex wifes car and crashed it. He's suicidle i think.
Why the fata do people phone me because i will answer the call 100%.
My half brother used to phone to chat hut he was religiois and wanted to talk about Jesus all the time so I started not answering the calls because I hated them. He ended up hanging himself in his kitchen for his wife and kids to
Find him. He was abandoned by my mom who gave him up for adoption, re-connecedand then I abandoned him again. Regret for days on that. Like right now.
Of course the lord taketh and gives it way or whatever. My cousin i used to be besties with. His life is in shambles. Wife left him has no money. Takes the bus. He ysed his ex wifes car and crashed it. He's suicidle i think.
Why the fata do people phone me because i will answer the call 100%.
My half brother used to phone to chat hut he was religiois and wanted to talk about Jesus all the time so I started not answering the calls because I hated them. He ended up hanging himself in his kitchen for his wife and kids to
Find him. He was abandoned by my mom who gave him up for adoption, re-connecedand then I abandoned him again. Regret for days on that. Like right now.
I think you need to weigh up whether it's worth answering the call and helping your cousin if it's gonna cause you a lot of anguish. Sounds like you've got plenty of things that are causing stress in your own life, you're not responsible for a cousin, even though they are family.
You're also not responsible for the suicide, but I can sympathise with the regret you felt or still feel. Your mental health and that of your immediate family are the most important thing.
