Probation (workplace): Difference between revisions

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In a workplace setting, probation is a status given to new employees of a company or business. It is widely termed as Probation Period of an employee. This status allows a supervisor or other company manager to closely evaluate the progress and skills of the newly hired worker, determine appropriate assignments and monitor other aspects of the employee – such as how they interact with co-workers, supervisors or customers.

A probationary period varies widely depending on the business, but can last anywhere from 30 days to an entire year. If the new employee shows promise and does well during the probationary time, they are usually removed from probationary status, and may be given a raise or promotion as well (in addition to other privileges, as defined by the business). Probation is usually defined in a company's employee handbook, which is given to workers when they first begin a job.

The probationary period also allows an employer to terminate an employee who is determined not to be doing well at their job or otherwise deemed not suitable for a particular position. Some companies have an at will policy, which allows a company manager to terminate an employee at any point during the probationary period.

Some companies may place employees on probationary status, particularly if their performance is below a set standard or for disciplinary reasons. In this instance, the employee is usually given a period of time to either improve their performance or modify their behavior before more severe measures are used. Similarly, students with unsatisfactory grades may also be placed on academic probation by their institution.

The placement of an employee on probationary status is usually at the discretion of their manager.

v t e Employment
Classifications	Academic tenure Casual Contingent work Full-time job Gig worker Job sharing Part-time job Self-employment Side job Skilled worker Journeyman Technician Tradesperson Independent contractor Labour hire Temporary work Laborer Wage labour
Hiring	Application Background check Business networking Cover letter Curriculum vitae Drug testing Employment contract Employment counsellor Executive search list Induction programme Job fair Job fraud Job hunting Job interview Letter of recommendation Onboarding Overqualification Person–environment fit Personality–job fit theory Personality hire Probation Realistic job preview Recruitment Résumé Simultaneous recruiting of new graduates Underemployment Work-at-home scheme
Roles	Cooperative Employee Employer Internship Job Labour hire Permanent employment Supervisor Volunteering
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Attendance	Break Break room Career break Furlough Gap year Leave of absence Long service leave No call, no show Sabbatical Sick leave Time clock
Schedules	35-hour workweek Four-day week Eight-hour day 996 working hour system Flextime On-call Overtime Remote work Six-hour day Shift work Working time Workweek and weekend
Wages and salaries	Income bracket Income tax Living wage Maximum wage National average salary World Europe Minimum wage Canada Hong Kong Europe United States Progressive wage Singapore Overtime rate Paid time off Performance-related pay Salary cap Wage compression Working poor
Benefits	Annual leave Casual Friday Child care Disability insurance Health insurance Life insurance Marriage leave Parental leave Pension Sick leave United States Take-home vehicle
Safety and health	Crunch Epilepsy and employment Human factors and ergonomics Karoshi List of countries by rate of fatal workplace accidents Occupational burnout Occupational disease Occupational exposure limit Occupational health psychology Occupational injury Occupational noise Occupational stress Personal protective equipment Repetitive strain injury Right to sit United States Sick building syndrome Work accident Occupational fatality Workers' compensation Workers' right to access the toilet Workplace health promotion Workplace phobia Workplace wellness
Equal opportunity	Affirmative action Equal pay for equal work Gender pay gap Glass ceiling
Infractions	Corporate collapses and scandals Accounting scandals Control fraud Corporate behaviour Corporate crime Discrimination Exploitation of labour Dress code Employee handbook Employee monitoring Evaluation Labour law Sexual harassment Sleeping while on duty Wage theft Whistleblower Workplace bullying Workplace harassment Workplace incivility
Willingness	Boreout Careerism Civil conscription Conscription Critique of work Dead-end job Job satisfaction McJob Organizational commitment Refusal of work Slavery Bonded labour Human trafficking Labour camp Penal labour Peonage Truck wages Unfree labour Wage slavery Work ethic Work–life interface Downshifting Slow living Workaholic
Termination	At-will employment Dismissal Banishment room Constructive dismissal Wrongful dismissal Employee offboarding Exit interview Layoff Notice period Pink slip Resignation Letter of resignation Restructuring Retirement Mandatory retirement Retirement age Retirement planning Severance package Golden handshake Golden parachute Turnover
Unemployment	Barriers to entry Discouraged worker Economic depression Great Depression Long Depression Frictional unemployment Full employment Graduate unemployment Involuntary unemployment Jobless recovery Phillips curve Recession Great Recession Job losses caused by the Great Recession Lists of recessions Recession-proof job Reserve army of labour Structural unemployment Technological unemployment Types of unemployment Unemployment benefits Unemployment Convention, 1919 Unemployment extension List of countries by unemployment rate Employment-to-population ratio List Wage curve Youth unemployment
Public programs	Workfare Unemployment insurance Make-work job Job creation program Job creation index Job guarantee Employer of last resort Guaranteed minimum income Right to work Historical: U.S.A.: Civil Works Administration Works Progress Administration Comprehensive Employment and Training Act
See also	Bullshit job Busy work Credentialism and educational inflation Emotional labor Evil corporation Going postal Kiss up kick down Labor rights Make-work job Narcissism in the workplace Post-work society Presenteeism Psychopathy in the workplace Sunday scaries Slow movement (culture) Toxic leader Toxic workplace Workhouse
See also templates Aspects of corporations Aspects of jobs Aspects of occupations Aspects of organizations Aspects of workplaces Corporate titles Critique of work Organized labor

v t e Aspects of workplaces
Topics	Absenteeism Abusive supervision Aggression Anti-pattern Artificial intelligence Bullying Climate Culture Computer surveillance Conflict Control freak Counterproductive behaviour Coworking Culture of fear Democracy Deviance Discrimination Diversity Divide and rule Drug tests Effects of overtime Emotional labor Emotions Employee assistance Employee engagement Employee experience Employee monitoring Employee morale Employee recognition Employee silence Employee surveys Empowerment Evaluation Feminisation Generations Goofing off Gossip Happiness Harassment Health promotion Health surveillance Hostile work environment Humor Incivility Inequality Intervention Jargon Kick the cat Kiss up kick down Listening Machiavellianism Menopause Micromanagement Mobbing Narcissism Office politics Overwork Parkinson's law Performance appraisal Personality clash Phobia Positive psychology Privacy Probation Profanity Psychopathy Quality of working life Queen bee syndrome Rat race Relationships Revenge Robotics safety Role conflict Sabotage Spirituality Strategy Stress Toxic workplace Toxic leader Training Turnover Undermining Violence Virtual Wellness Work–family conflict Workload Workplace harassment Workwear
See also	Corporation Employment Factory Headquarters Job Job sharing Labour movement Labor rights Office Organization Remote work Strike action Trade union Whistleblower
Templates	Aspects of corporations Aspects of jobs Aspects of occupations Aspects of organizations Employment

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 Some companies may place employees on probationary status, particularly if their performance is below a set standard or for disciplinary reasons. In this instance, the employee is usually given a period of time to either improve their performance or modify their behavior before more severe measures are used. Similarly, [[student]]s with unsatisfactory [[Grade (education)|grade]]s may also be placed on ''[[academic probation]]'' by their [[school|institution]].
+The placement of an employee on probationary status is usually at the discretion of their manager.
-The placement of an employee on probationary status is usually at the discretion of their manager. This has allowed managers who have personal reasons unrelated to worker performance to punish or control a worker's status within an organization. The reasons vary, and may include attempts to downsize the workforce. But in many cases there is usually a personality conflict between the manager and the worker. Because of this a manager's reasons may be trivial, petty, outright false, or as vague as seeing a worker as not "fitting in". But as long as the probationary status is formally documented in the organization's prescribed format, it is seen by the organization as an official doctrine of under-performance.  In this way management can move a worker out of an organization when there is no reasonable performance basis for outright dismissal. Challenges or appeals to the human resource department by the worker are usually ineffective as human resource departments usually side with and support management.
 {{Employment}}

Revision as of 22:26, 4 February 2013