All the above is available if your manager is a professional individual. I began as a graduate with high hopes - this was my first proper job after finishing university. I really applied myself, stayed long hours to finish work and couldn't understand why my feedback was so shocking. My manager would regularly crush my confidence pointing out I need to sit up straighter, that I apparently looked bored. They would compare me to other colleagues “Look at them and then look at you”. I left one of these meetings in tears. I was compared to the same colleagues who would take cigarette breaks every 30 minutes, claimed back double their expenses and strolled into work late and left early.
After weeks of continuous horrendous feedback (which did not make sense) I stopped eating properly and could not sleep at night. I was then approached by a manager advising me I was in the firing line and to look for another job as soon as possible. This same manager advised me my own manager had specifically asked them to provide BAD FEEDBACK and I was in no position to challenge them. I could see they empathised me with and felt helpless. What could I do? I had no proof, no one willing to come forward and approach HR with me. It became evident after this conversation that the entire department knew what was happening to me and this was not the first time someone had been pushed out.
I was then brought into a meeting room and practically forced to hand in my resignation. I was left jobless. It was only until I logged on the system to put through my final expenses I received an e-mail containing all the original feedback - which was amazing and not corrupted! If only I had this document a few hours earlier… Long story short I was bullied out of a promising start in my career. What worries me is that most of the senior managers knew what was happening to me but did not step forward to avoid any trouble.
