@managers.mentor: I gave a write-up with nothing to back it up. It went straight over my head and it should have. 👇 I'd noticed performance slipping for weeks. Late clock-ins, attitude shifts, a few customer interactions that didn't sit right. But I'd never written any of it down. I had a feeling. Not a record. So I sat them down and gave a formal write-up. To me it made total sense. I'd seen the pattern. To them, it came out of nowhere. No prior conversation. No heads up. Just a formal document with consequences attached. They went straight to HR. And asked a completely fair question: where's the documentation? The prior conversations? I didn't have any. The write-up got pulled. They were right to escalate it. My manager and HR were right to push back. It took months to rebuild that trust. This one mistake taught me three things at once: 📝 Document before, not after. The moment you notice something write it down. Without a paper trail, it's just your word against theirs. ⏱️ Setting and timing matter as much as the words. Zero warning = it will always feel like an ambush, even if the issue is real. 👥 Never go in alone. A witness protects everyone including the employee. Including you.

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Tuesday 16 June 2026 00:26:04 GMT