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Comment by tlack | Hacker News Reader

I agree with everyone else: you should quit.

However.. I think there may be an opportunity for personal growth here. Though it's probably too late to fix this situation, you can be prepared for the next time.

Put yourself in his shoes. He wouldn't do this for no reason. What makes him think you aren't working hard enough? What do you think are his main issues with your specific behaviors and actions?

Are you failing to show the results of your labor? Are you busting your balls on 80% of the problem, but never closing out that last 20%, making it look like you never did anything?

It's important that your boss understands your role in detail, your accomplishments in full (soon after they happen), and your value to the company.

What is getting lost between your effort and his comprehension of that effort?

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The main reason why it seems I'm not performing as my CEO expects is because I'm overloaded with work and this is something I've said multiple times over and over again.

Also, my CEO doesn't have enough insight into my work, unlike my superior who I've never had issues with nor was I ever verbally or in written manner told I was falling behind on work.

However, my superior wasn't in the office at the moment this happened and I couldn't get him to stand behind me, but looking at this now (few hours later), the CEO chose the perfect moment to do this.

So, to summarize: I did say I am overloaded, I presented my accomplishments, but the decision was final.

DOCUMENT EVERYTHING FROM HERE ON IN.

Also, start daily status reports. Mail them at normal closing time and again after your overtime if you do it. Mark what you got done, what is in process, and what is next up.

When a new task comes in, add it to the list in the proper place. If a running task was bumped to make room for an emergency, that gets an ALL CAPS NOTE marking the change in priority.

Mail these to the boss and BCC them to yourself in a personal account. Keep copies of his replies as well.

At best, the act of mailing these alone should show that you're trying to keep on top of things. It might reveal to the boss how much you have on your plate. At worst, you have a paper trail if it does lead to a constructive dismissal situation.

"DOCUMENT EVERYTHING FROM HERE ON IN."

This sounds like a lot of work and a waste of time in my opinion. If they can't tell what OP is working on, he/she is either:

a) in a really bad situation and should leave ASAP

b) there is some validity for the pay cut

c) there is money issue with the company

Maybe I've been fortunate with my previous employers as they were generally willing to bend over backwards to make me happy, since I got things done. If his/her employer is clueless as to what OP is doing, then really it's a bad situation for all.

Unless OP is in love with their current job, adding paper work to their day to day task would be a waste of time in my opinion.

We're talking a 60-second email that can even be cut-and-pasted from the previous day's email. It's not a Powerpoint presentation.

If OP really wants to hold onto the job this is a tactic to keep the termination at bay and micromanaging to a minimum...possibly. It's also a backup where if bnt is fired and wishes to get a lawyer in the mix, he has an audit trail. Boss might say "bnt did nothing" when the email in fact shows he was working as best as he possibly could and was completing tasks and boss was acknowledging those completions.

You probably have as much insight as I do about bnt's location, family situation, cash reserves, and local job market conditions. "Leave ASAP" could be a week or it could be 6 months.

I'll definitely ddocument everything from now on, but my 6-month plan is to leave. I'm the second most experienced person in the company and don't feel like working for an entry-level pay.

Sounds like a smart move. Don't lower your expectations on the next job because you're eager to get out of the current one. Good luck.

Whatever you do, make your exit professional. Also, don't take six months to find a new job (6-month plan?). You really need to make this happen as soon as possible.

Documentation is fine if you get into a wrongful discharge situation or you're looking to fight opinion of you but unless you're planning to sue these guys, or you really think you're going to cause an epiphany for the CEO, it's better to just GTFO and move on with your life.

Good-luck!

This is exactly the correct thing to do. Spend 60 seconds a day updating both your boss and your CEO of your activities for that day. It is entirely possible they have unrealistic expectations of you, and it may be that your peers are getting more done than you are, but either way the only constructive way to have this discussion is around work assigned, work delivered, and work quality. Your notes will help make that possible.

Honestly, the relationship you have with the company is over. There is no recovering from this. You'd have to work even harder to prove your worth and it's already not being seen. I imagine this is simply a ploy to lower costs. I'm guessing not is all good at the company and they are looking at ways to lower expenses. This may sound bad but I would give them the amount of effort they are paying for. If to you that is 20hrs a week, give them that amount of effort while looking for a new job. Sorry this happened to you, but I've been in positions where this kind of stuff starts. There is simply no way to recover the relationship, even if you end up recovering your salary.

This is probably a worse situation than you might realize. At best you have a micromanaging CEO. Your supervisor is in the role to deal with this. There could be a hundred reasons why your CEO bypassed him, but very few are good. There is a possibility the CEO is very detached, does not trust your supervisor to lead the work, and thinks you are a slacker.

Take some of the advice many people have provided:

- Document everything - Stay professional - Look for another job

I wish I didn't have to disagree with you, but having a boss with a similar mindset to OP I can tell you it really isn't like that. Not everyone works logically. Not everyone needs a reason to do things - They need an excuse. If his boss wanted to pay lower salaries, this is just an excuses. Some bosses don't want to understand and frankly don't care enough to understand your role in detail. They only care about results. You'll be surprised how many people actually think programming is the easiest job in the world "All you do is push a couple buttons".

Alternate hypothesis: the OP's level of work is entirely acceptable but the boss lacks scruples and possibly funds.

99% of the time this ends up being a funding issue. It's better than been told the company is broke and you have no job. At least now OP can find something while getting paid.

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