Those of us who work for someone other than ourselves become so used to “performance reviews” that we seldom stop to consider what they mean.
Though commonly used in human resources circles, the word “performance” implies that our workplaces are ethically fraught.
The word “performance” is supposed to indicate valuable feedback on how to do our jobs better, how to produce more efficiency and create more value.
But we also know that the main effect is to make us anxious and, if we underperform, subject to dismissal.