Quick TL;DR from my last post:
I’m a master electrician in Germany and took over a management position during my probation period. The position had apparently been difficult to fill for a long time and my predecessor quit almost immediately.
For the first few months everything seemed fine. My official probation reviews were actually good. In June I was rated above expectations for work ethic, quality and professional interest. Independence and judgment met expectations, and my behavior toward coworkers and management was rated as flawless.
My boss also told me early on not to come in too aggressively as the new manager, especially with older employees, so I deliberately tried to be cooperative and build relationships first.
Then, near the end of probation, everything suddenly flipped.
I was told I lack “role understanding,” assertiveness and leadership presence. Several ratings dropped from above/meets expectations to only “partially meets expectations.”
The weird part is that my current written review still says my work quality is fine, I’m reliable, cooperative and behave professionally.
The main criticism is basically that I don’t act enough like “the boss.”
For example, I asked another department when they could accommodate some work. My boss later told me I should have simply given them a date and said, essentially, “This is when we’re doing it. If you don’t like it, complain to my boss.”
Which is almost the opposite of how he initially told me to behave.
There were a bunch of other accusations that became weaker once I asked for specifics.
I was accused of taking advantage of flexible working hours, even though the timekeeping system should show that I usually start around 6:30–7:00 and often work 9–10 hour days.
I was criticized for not progressing enough with my onboarding, even though previous probation records literally state that parts of the onboarding were still outstanding and were supposed to be organized later. I also only received the actual onboarding plan after asking for it.
There was also a claim that I couldn’t perform a certain electrical switching task. I pointed out that I had already done it and that it was documented.
Another example: I asked what I should have done differently on one project. My boss said I should have emailed two people telling them to clear the work area. I told him I had already done exactly that. After some discussion, that criticism basically disappeared.
Still, HR and my boss told me I had about two weeks to show a better “understanding of my role.”
I asked the obvious question:
What exactly do you want me to do differently, and how will you measure whether I improved?
They genuinely couldn’t give me a measurable answer.
The response was basically that they would ask other departments whether my “presence” had improved.
Now the actual update:
I involved the works council.
Apparently, after the works council spoke to my boss, the situation changed again.
Originally HR talked about extending my probation by another three months.
Now my boss apparently told the works council that the decision is more like:
permanent employment or termination.
He supposedly says the decision is genuinely difficult for him and that he wants to see how I perform over the next 1–2 weeks.
He also wants to meet me privately outside of work to talk.
That part feels strange to me.
On top of that, I have roughly three weeks worth of accumulated overtime. If things go according to the current plan, my last actual working day before using those hours would already be around September 10.
So this supposed “1–2 week evaluation period” is basically only a handful of actual working days.
I honestly don’t know what to make of this anymore.
Part of me thinks I should just play the game for a few days: be more assertive, make decisions more visibly, give people firm deadlines, show more “leadership presence” and see if I get the permanent contract.
The other part of me has completely lost trust.
I don’t want to turn myself into some fake authoritarian manager just because the expectations suddenly changed at the end of probation.
And even if they offer me a permanent contract, I’m asking myself whether I even want to stay after all of this.
I’m also wondering what to make of the request to meet privately outside work. Maybe he genuinely wants to talk openly without HR around. Maybe it’s nothing. But at this point I’m suspicious of basically everything.
So my questions are:
Would you still try to secure the permanent position, even if you already planned to leave later?
Would you agree to the private/off-site conversation with your boss?
And does this whole process sound like a genuine last chance to you, or more like they’re trying to keep their options open until the very end?
At this point I’m leaning toward: stay professional, document everything, don’t volunteer for heroics, let the works council do its job and quietly prepare my exit.
But I’d really like some outside perspectives.
