performance review
/pərˈfɔːrməns rɪˈvjuː/
Very CommonA formal evaluation of an employee's work, usually held once or twice a year, often dreaded regardless of outcome.
In corporate culture, performance reviews are often loaded with anxiety even for high performers. Online discourse tends to treat them as arbitrary and manager-dependent.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | performance review season is here and i am not okay | The person is stressed about the upcoming evaluation period. | x, 2024 |
| 02 | got 'meets expectations' after working 60-hour weeks. performance reviews are a joke. | The person put in far more than expected and got a mediocre rating, which feels unfair. | reddit, 2023 |
| 03 | my performance review is in 20 minutes and i have not eaten since yesterday | The person is so anxious about the review that it's affecting their basic functioning. | x, 2023 |
| 04 | the review said i was a top performer then gave me 2% when inflation is 8%. make it make sense. | A disconnect between the verbal praise and the financial outcome. | linkedin, 2023 |
Use it when
- Talking about the formal evaluation process at a company.
- Expressing stress about an upcoming work evaluation.
- Discussing whether someone got a raise or promotion after a review.
Do not use it when
- Referring to informal feedback or a casual 1:1 check-in.Use “1:1” instead.
Origin and context
Standard corporate HR practice that predates the internet. The term itself is old, but the social media discourse around its dysfunction grew noticeably in the 2020s.
- First seen
- pre-2000s
- Confidence
- high
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/performance-reviewUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0