In a previous newsletter, we discussed the “Great Resignation and Great Reshuffle,” with employees jumping ship to new companies. In this newsletter, we want to discuss that shift into the new company, specifically the first 90 days of a job, “The Dreadful 90.” Many hiring managers create 90-day work plans for new employees to create a focused onboarding. Work plans include a list of people to meet, expected deliverables to be completed, recommended training courses, etc.
For the employee, this is an anxious 3 months. They were once the smartest person in the room with established work relationships and process. Now they are nobody.
A steep learning curve is ahead of them, where they will need to adapt to a new culture and domain knowledge. They will need to recreate their credibility. Anxiety levels are similar to a teenager starting a new school in the middle of a semester with a midterm exam in 7 days.
But why should you care?
The dreadful 90 is a stressful period for your patient. They will worry about setting the right first impression and desperately seek opportunities to add value to the company. It’s also a time they are cultivating new relationships with busy individuals that are most likely all remote. Your patient will feel lonely by not having a go-to person to chat with in these early months. They will have insecurities about their manager’s opinions of them. They will feel pressure to succeed in these first 90 days, starting from zero. Imposter syndrome will immediately kick-in.
Advice to consider during sessions.
For the employee, this is an anxious 3 months. They were once the smartest person in the room with established work relationships and process. Now they are nobody.
A steep learning curve is ahead of them, where they will need to adapt to a new culture and domain knowledge. They will need to recreate their credibility. Anxiety levels are similar to a teenager starting a new school in the middle of a semester with a midterm exam in 7 days.
But why should you care?
The dreadful 90 is a stressful period for your patient. They will worry about setting the right first impression and desperately seek opportunities to add value to the company. It’s also a time they are cultivating new relationships with busy individuals that are most likely all remote. Your patient will feel lonely by not having a go-to person to chat with in these early months. They will have insecurities about their manager’s opinions of them. They will feel pressure to succeed in these first 90 days, starting from zero. Imposter syndrome will immediately kick-in.
Advice to consider during sessions.
- Your patient may have feelings of uselessness in the beginning. Remind them of the skills and experience that helped them obtain this job. Have them reflect on the big wins they had from the last job and the seemingly insurmountable obstacles they endured.
- Remind them that as a new hire, they aren’t on a pedestal where every single person is tracking their progress. People are too busy thinking about themselves and their work than thinking about a new hire. That’s a good thing and should feel less pressure.
- Remind them that after the 90 day hump, it’ll start feeling like their old job. The initial learning curve is stressful, but that’s usually a sign of growth and acclimation.
- Remind them to be in listening mode. Before conveying strong opinions and driving change, your patient should actively listen in meetings and coffee chats. Attempting change before establishing respect and credibility will make it difficult onboarding. Your patient also doesn’t have the full picture of company plans and projects yet. So it would be wise to learn as much as possible first before driving change.
- Quick, low hanging fruits also help mitigate the 90 day anxiety. By going after smaller, ignored projects, your patient can achieve quick wins to improve their self-esteem and establish credibility early. Their manager will perceive them as being driven and dependable.