End of year review: tired and fed up, should i say it or rest and fresh start in jan?

[Wobblyhousehunt]

I don’t feel like I’m doing very well at work and I have my end of year review soon.

I’m absolutely shattered from parenting a baby and two kids. Working from home culture was impossible with the baby so I tried selling house to somewhere with more space and that has been another part time job in itself.

I’m exhausted and fed up and now I have to go in there and say how well I’m doing and I know I’m not.

The job is with a good company but the role itself has turned out to be quite boring. I’m finding it difficult to gel with company culture because of working from home. I’m not getting job satisfaction.

I’m scared of blurting and ruining my relationship with the company when it could all just be because I’m so tired. Im scared or not saying anything and wasting an opportunity to talk about things.

My manager is approachable but I’m fed up of feeing like a chaotic employee

I don't know about your industry but the discussion at the senior levels in mine are all about retention, The Great Resignation and how to stop people leaving given that in the industry we have more vacancies now than for 23 years and fewer candidates than for the last 16 years.

I'm saying this because it could be a good time to be (fairly) honest. Go in with some ideas about how you could improve things so you get more enjoyment and your employer doesn't have the hassle and expense of recruiting to replace you.

And don’t hang around if you aren’t happy. Like PP said, lots of vacancies currently at all levels.

I think if you don’t say anything now you won’t be refreshed in January because you’ll start the year with that burden on your mind.
Most employers are aware the last couple of years have been difficult for employees. There is nothing wrong in saying you’ve found it challenging, especially if you’re new to the company. I would try to find concrete examples of what would make you feel better, e.g. more informal meetings, maybe a mentor etc...
Don’t forget the review will be primarily about how you perform in your job, so you have to come across that you want to do a good job etc…
If you try to find some solutions with your manager now, you can start the year with a more optimistic outlook. Then see how things go after a couple of months.