I just inked a FT, benefited, REMOTE offer. Pay is about the same, but the peace of not hating my life 8-10 hours a day doesn’t have a price tag.

I joined the state just over 1 year ago, before transferring into a small dept under HHS. I’ve been a SSM II here, even though new to the state. I’m very much a subject matter expert in my field, and was intentionally hired specifically to do that work here. Sadly, my experience has been nothing like the job description or management made it sound. (I worked in Community/ DEI sorta stuff)

Now about 9 months into this job, it’s been miserable for the most part. My manager comes to Sac mayyybe 1x a month for 2 or 3 days, then back to Southern California. [Arrive Tues @ moo We’ve talked in-person maybe 6 times in the past 9 months. While I don’t really care about their location, it demonstrated a significant chasm in how the State can treat people.

As an SSM II, I was told to basically “figure it out”. So I tried! Everything I brought to my boss was either rejected, ignored, or picked apart over largely stylistic/subjective feedback. When work was kicked back, no direct feedback was given like “fix the alignment of photos” or “maybe try this sort of graph here”. It was “try again” and I was explicitly told “do not submit work to me that is not 100% complete and ready for review”… Even trying to iterate versions of a presentation was contentious, as they felt it took too much feedback for a product they liked. Now I don’t mean to be arrogant, but I have a Master’s in my field from a great school and have given hundreds of presentations about the subject at hand to other governments, companies, etc. But, to see my boss write about me on my evals— you would think I’m as professionally functional as CoCo the gorilla.

My first assessment was shining. A month later, my boss and I had a disagreement that I think really soured them on me. Long story short, I stood ten toes down about the importance of some information I felt needed shared during a training that I had been tasked with creating. My boss disagreed, as they felt it distracting. [For context- it was a historical overview of Tribes in the State, and some important considerations to take when trying to build relationships.] After that, my reviews tanked. Now my ratings indicate a failure to collaborate with other staff (I don’t have a team), failure to take feedback or make corrections as requested, and lots of other subjective shit. The narrative was being built a few months back as we started looking towards my 1 year probation mark, and by month 7, I was told “I don’t think I’m able to pass your probation without immediate change”. I would bet money that they have spent more time hate-writing my reviews than they have meeting or collaborating with me.

So, I made immediate changes, as requested.

Now instead of someone working on disadvantaged community relations, the department has literally 0 staff dedicated to diverse community engagement.

I’ll take my month of accrued leave, final paycheck, and run.

For those of you who continue to grind and keep this State moving, even in spite of the turds they find for upper management, THANK YOU!

Anyone here who is shitty to their staff— shooting stars become falling stars real quick. BE NICE.

✌🏼✌🏼

(Bonus ⭐️ if you caught the song reference in title 📦)

Anyone else’s office super busy and disruptive to productivity now they were in full time? Nobody has time for this nonsense it’ll be more difficult to turn work in with the amount of chaos & doesn’t help that all of our workspaces are open so u can see and hear everything . Not sure what he’s trying to accomplish but loud environments are not good working conditions

Firstly, I'm asking for state specific advice. I won't say what department I work for because disclosing a schizophrenia diagnosis is like the kiss of death.

I've been having active symptoms over the past couple months and it's been impacting my work, unfortunately. My boss is really unhappy with me and has threatened me with demotion.

My question is: what can he realistically do? Can he actually demote me? I've been working under him for 4 years so I'm long off probation. I'm a bit afraid of getting fired.

Im new to the state, approaching the end of my probation and so far have received very positive informal feedback and probation reports. I was looking forward to cruising through probation. Then I went to an all day in person meeting and literally fell asleep in the meeting. My supervisor is telling me he doesnt know what the consequences will be but that at the very least I will get an expectations memo. I know this is bad but I can’t tell how bad. Do I have any hope of passing probation after something like this? If I do manage to pass probation, will having this expectations memo in my file kill my chances of getting my 5% raise at the end of the year? How does this impact my ability to get considered for promotions in the future?

I started as an analyst II 2 weeks ago. I arrive to work early, do all of my assignments, ask engaging questions, and I’m polite with everyone I meet.

I had to fly down to SoCal with another Analyst II for 3 days, but he’s been there at this job for about 2.5 years. He’s good at his job, but his tone and personality is very abrasive. Even then, I try to put that aside and think “it’s cool. Let’s see what I can do by humbling myself and learning from him. He’s probably wiser and more mature than me at nearly 50. I’m only 33: I have a lot to learn.”

Just a few very small but noticeable things about his demeanor while we were down there:

Driving dangerously on the highway on 9/22; operating a phone while driving. Driving aggressively fast, not giving space to others on the freeway. This eventually became less of an issue on the 2 days after.

Repeatedly talking down to me when I asked a fair question that he deemed not valid or where I should know better. I’d go quiet during his inspections to not ask too many questions, then he’d start talking again and inviting conversation and discourse. Then get mad when I asked questions, snapping at me “wait” multiple times.

Making comments like “(my trainer’s name, who’s 26 years younger than him and analyst I) is the wonder kid” during an inspection on 9/23 and pointing out an error he made during a different inspection for the same school but a different branch. Again the tone and condescension here was unnecessary and petty.

Saying about my manager “(my manager’s name) doesn’t even do inspections. That’s weird that she’ll be shadowing you.” It was less the messaging here but more so the tone, implying that she doesn’t know enough about my job to effectively shadow me when I lead an inspection in 2 months.

Oscillating between “know the laws and regs” and “you’ve only been here 2 weeks. I don’t expect you to pick at all up.” A lot of emotional instability here.

Idk what to do here. I’m half tempted to tell my trainer (who’s a very level headed and mature 23 year old Analyst I). He’s been incredibly kind, communicative, and helpful; easy to talk to. He’s the polar opposite of my aggressive co-worker.

Thankfully, my other co-workers and I get along well, but it’s because they’re easy to talk to and I’m easy to talk to. This guy just seems to not like me and went out of his way to be demeaning even when we stopped our inspections and were just driving to our hotel or grabbing food. Unnecessary jabs at me “you seem to have a lot of opinions” when the guy would go full rant mode about politics, culture, religion, work, etc.

Hi All,

After years of experience working in the private sector, I wanted to join a company that offers strong benefits and a solid retirement plan. I took my time to research, and I discovered that working for the State of California aligned with my long-term career goals, especially as I plan for retirement. I told myself, "I am 29 years old. It is not too late to build a career with the state and retire after 30+ years of service with full benefits."

Leaving my previous position after 4 years was a very difficult decision, but I was excited when I received an offer to join the state workforce. However, after 2 months in my new role, I realized it wasn't as easy as I expected. It was totally different environment. I had to unlearn of what I knew as an HR Rep because the states operate very differently. It felt like I am starting over from scratch and had to relearn everything. On top of that, I was also taking online courses, working towards my BA/BS degree, which made the transition even more challenging.

After a few months, I began to adjust. I made some minor mistakes but learned from them and gradually became more confident and independent in my role. My 1st probation report was positive. I hit the standards and met the expectations, with only a few areas to improve on. Although these was minor mistakes I was told it wouldn't affect my probation status. Mistakes were acknowledged as part of the learning process. My second probation report was similar, but I showed improvement and made a fewer mistake. There were stills areas to work on, but nothing major.

Unfortunately, an emergency required me to take time off with short notice, which led to a significant issue in my role. It was related to something I had been coached on since my first probation report. Although I resolved the issue, but management felt I hadn't shown enough improvement and decided to terminate my probation two weeks before my one-year mark and before my 3rd probation report. I was told I had no rights to return to the position.

I am seeking guidance and advice because I still want to pursue a career with the state of California and make it my long-term path to retirement.

My main concern is: Will failing probation in my 1st state role affect my chances of becoming a state employee in the future?

Please advise.

I’ve been with the state for almost a year and can count on one hand how many check-ins I’ve had with my manager. Other than my quarterly probation reports, I’ve received zero feedback or direction on my performance and it’s relatively unsettling. Is this normal for other state folks?

Long story short, we've reported countless quality issues to the supervisor and manager, and I'm sure things are happening in the background we aren't aware of, but I also know that it's hard to take action for less egregious issues like this.

Is there a formal complaint process we can use to make this more official than a million and one emails pointing out individual events? Some official form to submit, either to immediate management or HR? Something to get the ball rolling faster so we're not ripping our hair out reporting this person's DAILY mistakes 😭 thanks!!

ETA: I did try googling a bit to see if I could find any info, but the results mainly address harassment/discrimination complaints rather than quality/work ethic.

ETA 2: to clarify, we love our sup and manager and the goal here was not to go above their heads, we want to support them in this process. We're only trying to help give them something they can point to in the process that may carry more weight than a bunch of random emails of specific events, and we wouldn't be doing it behind their backs. We know it's super frustrating for them too, but if that process doesn't exist, then we'll keep reporting and trusting that they're doing what they can as fast as they can.

I'm new to State for like 4 months now. I have another 2 months until my probation period ends. Management has been micromanaging and being picky about some things. I had a probation review and apparently I thought I was doing well, but I am not. They said my grammar is an issue and I keep making minor mistakes that lead up to big ones. I didn't know they would count that against me. For the next 2 months, my plan is to work harder and make sure that I don't make any mistakes when writing letters to applicants.

I think I am here to vent and please feel free to give advice!

Throwaway account. I'll try to sum it up the best I can without disclosing too much. From day one I got almost no training or clear direction. Whenever I asked for guidance, I was told things like “you should be able to figure it out” or got really vague answers. Even so, I worked hard, stayed late to finish tasks, and turned in completed items.

Despite that, I was let go before my first probation report, my supervisor pulled me into his office and rated me “unacceptable” or “needs improvement” in almost every category—things like skill, knowledge, and even learning ability. A lot of this comes from one supervisor who gave very little direction and was pretty hostile, so it felt impossible to meet expectations that were never clearly explained.

I appealed soon after because what he did really hit me by surprise. I knew that his impression of me wasn't great, but how he went about it was really shady. HR had to provide the evidence to me because he had not and he told HR that I had refused the appeal process (not true). Majority of his evidence is pulled from is verbal conversations, so much of it will fall under "he said, she said". The other "documented" items I believe I could fight, but I don't have access to the work as it would be on a shared server at the workplace. I appealed anyways with a detailed explanation of each aspect and was surprised that I actually got a response to my appeal. I got a letter in the mail for a notice of prehearing/settlement conference and wanted to see if anyone has been through the appeal process and gone thru this before and what your experiences were like? What is there to gain from even going thru this because I'd be going back to a very hostile work environment? I would have just resigned if it were to not show up on my record or impact future opportunities in government, but I feel like no one is being honest with me. My supervisor had told me that the dismissal due to not passing probation would not show up on my record due to my short time there, but then HR told me that it would show up, but no one would notice it. I don't have an answer that I can trust because HR was also trying to tell me that appealing may be pointless as well. Any help is much appreciated. The prehearing isn't until over a month later. I'll likely be employed elsewhere non-government before then.

EDIT: I am non union exempt. No representation. The due date for the probation report was a week or two out, but he had given me the report on the same day of my dismissal. Does anyone know how these virtual prehearings go? Like who is in them and what do they ask and etc?

Hey all,

I recently (3 weeks ago) started as an Analyst I at EDD. I'm noticing there's very little formal training, and the scope of work is huge for how small our team is. I'm doing my best to learn on the fly, but I'm worried about probation.

For those who've been in a similar spot:
- How did you get up to speed without much training? Did you ask for a desk manual, shadow someone, request an IDP, or just figure it out as you went?
- How do you handle a big workload as a new person without looking like you're falling behind? Did you push back on scope or ask to prioritize?
- What actually gets people rejected on probation? Anything you wish you'd known early?

For context, this is my first real office job, and I'm extremely nervous. From what I've read online, it feels like getting rejected on probation would follow me forever and I'd never get another state job. Is that actually true, or am I overthinking it? Any reassurance or reality check would really help. Any EDD-specific tips are appreciated too. Thanks!

Private sector has a lot of pressure to produce code and overtime is common.

The salary published on job posting is about 1/3 of private sector. I wonder if workload is much lighter? Will there be a lot of meetings? How is performance evaluated? How much energy do you need to spend to deal with the management chain ?

My 1 year probation was completed 3 weeks ago, however, I did not get a final probation report. My SSM I left recently and I’ve been reporting to another manager for about a month. The other manager recently spoke to me about my work and sent me FMLA paperwork in case I was feeling “overwhelmed”. Fast forward to this week and this new manager scheduled my final probation report meeting. Being that my 1 year has already passed, my last two probation reports were outstanding, this manager can’t fail me, right? I have a couple of promotional interviews coming up and I’m worried that this new manager who I’ve only been reporting to for 1 month will write something negative in my final probation report or worse, try to fail me. Does anyone have any insight?

Thank you!

Does anyone have any experience with name clearing hearings that they'd be willing to share?

What do you mean i don't get a parade paid by tax-dollars in my honor?

On a more serious note, thank you to all the posts that have assured past post-probation folks that hearing nothing is a good thing. My last job was in the private sector and I got completely blindsided by a poor review and a PIP despite putting in so much time and effort and having a history of good assessments.

I'm still getting used to how "fast" things work around here, and admittedly I probably have some trauma now associated with performance reviews and not hearing from my manager, so I appreciate this reddit. Now I can sleep tonight lol.

I know my manager has been unhappy with my work. Today, she sent me a counseling memo and asked me to sign it. She also mentioned that it will be on my Official Personnel File (OPF) for a year.

I'm uncertain about the implications for me and hesitant to sign it because the contents reflect only her perspective. However, I'm unsure what other options are available. Her upper managers were copied on the email, and it feels like they're siding with her. I'm disappointed that no one, including HR, has asked for my side of the story and has only listened to her. What should I do? Contact my union? She asked me to sign it by Friday.

I'm interviewing for a job that has a focus on supervising and I know progressive discipline procedures will come up.

I've never had any serious issues with my employees in the last 10 years as a supervisor. I do regular annual performance evals (and probation reports of course) with areas to improve and have worked with individual employees to strengthen skills etc., but never anything more serious than that.

As part of the three phase progressive discipline process does that mean I've never gone beyond phase 1 (preventative actions)? What are things I can say about phases 2 and 3 that make me sound like I know what I'm doing? I would not have an issue going to Phase 2 and 3 if needed. Also just curious in general about how common phases 2 and 3 are?

Thanks for any help!

Do your agencies require a brand new manager to do performance reviews for employees they don't even know yet? Just curious if they all handle it the same.

I recently received my probation report, which was marked as satisfactory, but I noticed that while most areas were rated as satisfactory, three were marked as needing improvement. There were no outstanding ratings. My concern is that my direct manager’s boss (who ultimately signs off on the report) may be biased against me.

Here’s some background:

• My direct manager initially wrote a much shorter report, but his boss asked him to expand it to almost three pages.
• My direct manager supports me in some ways, but he also prefers to keep things smooth with leadership, which makes me feel vulnerable.
• My manager’s boss has a reputation for being toxic, constantly changing his mind, and not providing clear guidance. Even my supervisor avoids dealing with him.
• I always complete my tasks and follow up, but my manager’s boss doesn’t respond to emails or MS Teams messages. Later, my probation report suggested that I had not completed certain tasks when, in reality, I had already done them and asked for his review.
• I suspect that my relationship with my boss’s close colleague (whom I previously asked to do their job) may have influenced my probation review.
• My direct manager actually suggested that I start looking for other jobs because of how difficult his boss is, and I’ve already started applying elsewhere.

I’ve been working with the state for nearly five months 12 months of probation, and this has been extremely stressful something I never experienced in my previous private-sector jobs. I have requested a review of my probation report with my manager’s boss since he is the one who signs off on it and sends it to HR. However, I’m now worried about my second probation report and whether they are trying to set me up for failure.

Do you think should I talk to HR about the hostile culture and the environment that was created by the bosses boss?

I’m a CSUEU member (BU 7), (was) on probation. I got my 6-month review, and it wasn’t good. Long story short, I got into fights with my manger over how our Professional Development budget was split up (It was a two-person department, manager+me, I only got 10%, plus zero travel or accommodation — all of that went to the manager. Plus, I was initially told to apply to go to a conference, and then after I applied and won a scholarship, was told it was ‘inappropriate’ for me to go. I had to lie to the conference about why I had to give the scholarship back.) There were other, previous issues, but this one is the main one. After bringing my union steward into my review, my steward recommended that I receive a PIP from my manager to work toward getting back toward satisfactory status at my 11-month review. My steward also advised that I wait two weeks and email to follow up with my manager if they didn’t give me said PIP and CC her.

I did what my steward told me to do this past Thursday, and lo and behold, yesterday, my manager walks me into a conference room yesterday at 4:45pm to be greeted by HR, where I’m notified that I will no longer be continuing with probation.

My union steward is on vacation. She forwarded my email to some other person, but let’s face it — I’m boned, right? Even if there’s something to be done, what good could come of it? I get my job back, working in a department that just tried to oust me rather than try to help me get better?

Does anyone have any advice/help?

https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/5775420-remote-first-productivity-growth/

I’ve been working for the state for a year now in April and I asked my supervisor about a performance review. He said he didn’t think I was due for a review because I just transferred to their office at the end of February. I’m still with the same department and I switched offices to be closer to home. Is this true that transferring offices changes when you will get a performance review? If I have to wait until February of next year then It will be almost two years I’ve been with the state before I get a performance review and a raise.

If you made a mistake at work, what was it and did it keep you from passing probation?