no rest for the wicked, but they still get PDRs, which seems unfair

[incandescens]

Quite a useful day at work: got a number of things done, and hopefully done to satisfaction and not requiring redoing. Also shared opinions with a coworker about the utility and enjoyableness (not and not) of PDRs, which was very comforting for both of us.

It started raining at around three-thirty and came down quite ferociously, but fortunately it had stopped by the time I was heading home. Mental note: take along an umbrella tomorrow in case it decides to stay unsettled.

Currently working on re-edit of book 2, bearing in mind just-completed re-edit of book 1. Plus I need to write more of book 3. Is no rest for wicked, sai Molesworth.

---

“If you can’t trust a total stranger who you meet on the train, who can you trust?” Athanais said lazily. “It’s not as if we were plotting to murder each others’ enemies, after all.” Whatever his origin, he was apparently a Hitchcock fan.

“Of course not,” Martha said quickly.

“Definitely not,” Sterrington agreed.

“Quite absolutely not,” Zayanna murmured.

“Such illegalities would be not thought of,” Atrox Ferox said firmly.

Comments

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

Had to google PDR and am still not much the wiser. Physician's Desk Reference? Product Data Record? Something undesirable, I gather, but can't figure what.

[incandescens]

Performance Development Review. In which the person's line manager and the person herself go through previously decided-upon objectives from the past year (or six months, or time period of choice) and discuss whether or not they were met, what the person's performance for the last (time period) has been like, if said person has any issues, what objectives the person should have for the next (time period), etc.

Maybe in theory it is not too bad an idea, but in practice I find it about as welcome as a trip to the dentist.

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a waste of everyone's time. Well, perhaps it's a way of pulling up habitual slackers, or at least letting them know the Higher Ups know they're slacking, which is useful for documentation. But IME these things merely fray the nerves of the conscientious and affect the entitled not at all.

[incandescens]

I think it's one of those situations where a basically good idea ("people's managers should talk with them every now and again about their recent work and encourage them to have targets/objectives to work towards") has ended up being forcibly documented, scheduled, and rammed down people's throats. A problem with turning the basic good ideas of any job into required procedures.

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

a basically good idea... has ended up being forcibly documented, scheduled, and rammed down people's throats

The MO of all bureaucracies. I know a daycare where the staff spend their time doing required paperwork (monthly developmental checklists on the kids, weekly programming schedules for the kids, daily sanitization rotas for the kids' toys) and the casual P/Ters... look after the kids. Clear evidence of priorities, there.

[incandescens]

I can sympathise to some extent, in that I've found that things can slip between the lines/responsibilities if some stuff isn't documented or recorded. But in practice ... something goes wrong.