Writing Samples
An opinion piece on peer review
Peer review is defined as the process where employees are able to submit critical comments about their coworkers in an attempt to enhance their performances. This tactic, however, has more potential negative outcomes than positive ones. Occasionally, the reviews are politically based, meaning those who are popular among the company gain positive feedback despite their performance, while others do not receive the same treatment. Additionally following this claim, peer reviews are known to promote toxicity in the workplace as a result of unbiased and honest critiques. One may perceive this criticism as a personal attack rather than a tool to enhance their performance.
These examples demonstrate the potential damage that can occur to an employee’s morale if they participate in peer reviews. Politics and personal relationships among employees can either make or break a company. If employees believe the politics in the office are unfair and their interpersonal relationships with coworkers are not strong and well-founded, turnover rates will increase. High turnover rates result from disgruntled employees leaving the company. This costs companies a significant amount of money since they must recruit, train, and hire new people to fill those positions.
While feedback is essential to the professional growth of an individual, as well as the company, peer review can oftentimes be taken too personally which creates tension in the workplace environment. Completing employee performance reviews should be left to managers and qualified personnel who can articulate the critique in a non-offensive and constructive way. As a result, employees can achieve their professional goals and thrive within the company without feeling personally affected by the criticism that is often associated with growth.
My biggest weakness
My biggest weakness tends to be that I have trouble saying no. This weakness in the past has led me to then take on too many projects at once. While I have satisfactory time management skills, taking on too many projects at once occasionally reflects in the minute details of my work. The extra time that was spent on one project could have been used to enhance the quality of another to make it exemplary. However, this weakness has also taught me a lot about myself and also aided me in some of the skill sets that I possess today.
Saying no to people as well as projects is usually difficult for me personally due to wanting to assist others to the best of my ability. This has led me to take on a significant amount of work at once and leaves me with little to no free time for myself. This weakness however has had a hand in creating one of my strengths, which is work ethic. Deadlines are paramount and meeting them takes precedence in my work life as well as social life. The extra stress and pressure from taking on too many projects at once has helped me be able to stick to a schedule and divide up the work into manageable portions in order to get it done not only on time but also correctly.
When I realized that I was saying yes too often and taking on more than I could mentally handle I decided to take steps to work on this weakness. Instead of saying yes to every person and opportunity, I prioritize those opportunities that will further my career and relationships with influential people. The opportunities that will aid in teaching me a new skill or working on a weaker skill of mine are the ones that will take precedence in my new-found vetting process. This ensures that I am growing from the projects that I agree to and certifies that I am on track to becoming a well-rounded person and not taking on projects that do not benefit myself or my skillset. Moving forward I am going to prioritize opportunities while still gaining ample amounts of benefits from them without being overwhelmed by the workload.
