"Extended" Probation

Wow, in April of this year, my "new" supervisor of four business days has put me on probation.

For those of you unfamiliar with this process, let me explain as I have come to see it...

Probation is where your job performance is monitored under a slanted pre-judged microscope or through a dirty colored prism for a designated number of weeks/months until the employee makes an employment error which legally allows a company to terminate the employee without fear of legal repercussions.

During the probationary period, any and all work related questions asked by the employee will be viewed as "dumb, uninformed, unqualified, or just stupid" questions and grounds for termination.

and

During this time, any and all actions pertaining to the day-to-day job related business will be viewed as "dumb, uninformed, unqualified, or just stupid", therefore grounds for termination

and

During this time, group lunch hours and breaks, one-on-one and group discussions where laughter is seen or heard confirms the "conspiracy to undermine your supervisor" and of course grounds for termination

and

During this time, the use of vacations, personal days, summer Friday's and/or extended lunches directly implies the "hunt" for new employment and therefore...grounds for termination.

Do I sound a bit paranoid, maybe. I am the only person to feel this way, maybe not.

You see, the judge and jury of my "current state of probation", has admitted that when she originally put me on probation, she initially judged me based on the wrong set of roles and responsibilities; those of a senior level associate in the same department. (ah-ha! so I am not screwing up my job and I am not on probation, niiiiiice) Now, you would think that an apology would ensue, the small matter of probation would be swept quietly under the employer's rug, no harm-no foul and I would return to my job with the calming mindset of not being under the stress of losing my job at any minute(ummm no!)

My supervisor learned of her error only when she presented the documents to human resources. HR thought it only right to inform my little supervisor of my correct title, job description, role and responsibilities. Now, you would think my "new" supervisor would take a step back and say...wow, what an egregious mistake I've made against this person, I hope this doesn't get around the office that I put a loyal, dedicated, hard-working associate on probation without cause. (ummmmm, nope)

To not be made a fool of, my supervisor decided to "extended" the probation that really wasn't. (incredible huh?)

This little bit of accurate professional information did not yield that action, NO PROBATION. I was told that, although she had my job description, title, role and responsibilities wrong, she would "extended" my probation because of other things. (huh?)