Process for sacking due to poi performance

[Itscurtainsforyou]

I'm having problems doing my work to the standard my boss requires. They're very picky (& a bit over the top) but ultimately they're the boss so if I'm not performing to their standard, it's a problem. I'm completely sleep deprived which is part of the reason I'm not performing well. I worked there for 3 years before mat leave where I didn't have these problems.

They've not formally started any performance improvement process. Do they need to start a formal process before they try to get rid of me? How does it work?

I am truly doing my best re sleep and the impact on my performance but I don't think it's going to improve overnight.

I'd speak to the boss proactively and come up with a solution yourself.
We had a similar issue at work and it turned out the person had major personal issues but never said.
If you are making mistakes you need to think about consequences / if they are minor then don't worry. But if they are losing the company money or resulting in external complaints then you will have less of a leg to stand on.
I'd speak to the boss. Communication here is important rather than jumping on the defensive.

Can you show your report to someone else and see what they say about it?

We don't know if the boss has a point or if you are making lots more mistakes than normal, due to sleep deprivation.

Thanks all.

I'll try to answer all the questions.

Boss only formally became the boss while I was on maternity leave. Before then he did review my work and was picky, but not as much as now (I don't think).

I'm doing all I can to manage sleep - OH and I take alternate nights seeing to baby, getting early nights etc. I've had a traumatic few years and wonder if that is catching up with me, making me less able to perform at work. Boss knows of the issues I've had/am having.

Business is around 100 people, boss is the buffer between me/team and customer so no expensive mistakes made yet. Only one other junior member of our team so not really anyone else to review the report technically.

I honestly don't know if it's me or him. But I know I can't carry on like this. I obviously can't see the mistakes I'm making/poor quality of my work, otherwise I'd be doing something about it. We're at a stalemate. He thinks my work is crap and I'm not taking on board his comments. I can't see what I'm doing wrong.

If only I could win the lottery so the mortgage was paid - that would solve all the problems...

OP I think you need to tell this all to your boss and see what they say. As a starting point at least.

It could be that thus really isn't the right job for you. I've had people working for me who just weren't capable of operating in the way that was needed for the role. We should never have hired them and by hiring them into a role they were unsuitable for, we were setting them up to fail (no matter how hard they tried).

Or it could be that your boss is very picky but there's a valid reason for it and you might be able to learn from them. Although with the lack of sleep learning is probably the last thing you feel like! I had a team member that was "given" to me and he used to bitch and moan about how picky I was. I liked him as a person but he was a pain in the arse to have working for me as he was constantly answering back and not doing what I asked. It drove me nuts. Eventually I left the company (unrelated to his behaviour) but he got in touch with me a few years later to thank me. He said that it wasn't until I left and he worked for someone else that he understood why I was being the way I was. So many things went wrong under his new boss that could have been prevented if his boss had the same attention to detail as I did. He wanted to thank me for giving him such a good grounding and apologised for being so ungrateful at the time. I was quite taken aback but it was nice to get such positive feedback. He's go on to do well and I'm proud of him.

Alternatively, your boss could be a complete arsehole.

The only way to find out is to have sit down with them and have an upfront conversation.

Picked up an email telling me how my report is poor and how disappointed he is - and to tell him how long it will take me to put it right. Answer - I have no idea, I've done my best and it's not good enough.

Has boss provided any information on how it's poor? Does it need more data to back up the information? Is it the wrong format? Is it seen as too personalised? (That's a favourite of my manager - you can't highlight any individual's contribution and point out that someone did a particularly good job, just focus on the work which was done, not who did it.) Ask for constructive, specific feedback about which areas you need to focus on. (You might not get it, but at least it might show them the support you need. )

Out of interest, is there anyone else that is performing to your boss' required standards? Because if so, it would be a good idea for him to deploy them to provide the support you need.

The success of this strategy relies on you actually understanding where you are going wrong. Without rapid and constructive feedback, you may as well be playing tennis in the dark.

Can you leave and do temping?

Can you leave and do temping?

Not a good idea if there are genuine performance issues, as the OP won't find herself invited back. It's a shortcut to starvation and going to lead her further towards a downward psychological spiral, and that can be very tough to break free from if you're already down. It would be so much better in the long run if she squares up to the problem - whatever it is - now.

On the diary keeping - totally do it. I kept a record of incidents with a previously impossibly picky boss (wonder if Kardashian and I had the same one?), made attendance notes of meetings and emailed them to myself at home, so I had contemporaneous records etc. It is very good practice to do so if you have an awkward boss or some other situation at work.

Years ago I had this in a large accountancy firm... A partner was on long term sick, her PA had less work and wanted my work... So I was put on a performance review and offered a job part time along with my usual job in accounts dept. But I'm not an accounts clerk i was a PA!

The manager in charge of the secretaries was kind and pastoral and HR were sort of useful (small HR dept but 4/5 people). I was told "if you take us to court we'll win). Been I was offered the performance appraisal I left within a month! Trouble with that is you can panic look or accept another job!