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Comment by joezydeco | Hacker News Reader

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.

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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.

"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!

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