M3: Reflection Paper

My company does performance evaluations on a yearly basis where monetary benefits

and/or promotions are determined for eligible employees. This is usually based on just one

person’s feedback, my manager. Since it happens at a fixed time of the year, I usually plan a few

months ahead to showcase my best work and positive attitude around the same season of when

these evaluations are done. This keeps my positive contributions fresh in my manager’s mind for

him to give me a reasonable feedback that I can then translate to a good raise and bonus for the

year. That said, most of the year, I’m not motivated at all to go above and beyond in what I do.

This is simply because my additional effort is not meaningfully recognized at the right time. It is

fairly easy for me to meet expectations most of the year and I just look for one or two

opportunities that are closer to the performance appraisal time to do tasks that are noteworthy to

my manager to earn a bonus.

The current appraisal system is probably having a mixed impact on my overall

performance. I tend to do well and deliver more when it is the performance evaluation season,

while the rest of the year, I don’t have to perform at the same elite level to make myself known.

Even if I were to do that, it would probably not make much of a difference in the feedback I

receive and the merit that gets determined for me. The real negative impact I notice with this

system is it is incredibly results oriented down to the numbers on paper. There is no focus around

overall upbringing, applying new technologies and improving skillsets. I am consistently less

motivated to think outside the box and risk trying something different than a legacy solution that

has always worked well for the company. Because of that, there are times when I easily get bored

with my job.

The only motivation that I get from the current system is the yearly monetary benefits that

tend to grow in value. Apart from a pay raise, my company offers decent stock options as bonus

every year that likely grows over a period of time, so it is up to the individual if they want to hold

on to them over the long term to make great returns. I think of these benefits as assets that

almost increase in value because cash is something that gets devalued overtime.
 Although monetary benefits are motivators, after more than four years with the company,

they are somehow becoming less appealing to me because I have not grown as much as I would

like. So, I see stronger motivators in mentorship, opportunities to grow, explore different roles and

improve skills. As covered in Re-engineering Performance Management, in the modern

workplace people are looking for “interesting work that makes a difference in the world and aligns

with their personal sense of purpose” (Wigert, B., & Harter, J 2016, pg 13). For me, this is how I

seek meaning and growth in my career to become a well-rounded individual with various

perspectives in building a product and running a business.

References

Wigert, B., & Harter, J. (2018). Re-Engineering Performance Management. Gallup Inc.