Self-Evaluations
Self-Evaluations Although performance appraisals are typically made by supervisors, input is often sought from coworkers, subordinates, clients, customers, and others whose opinions are relevant. You may not realize it, but by filling out course-evaluation surveys in college, you may have had an influence on tenure and promotion deci- sions involving your own professors. As when workers are asked to evaluate their managers, these evaluations provide valuable “upward feedback.”
One particularly interesting source of information comes from self-evalua- tions. If you’ve ever had to describe yourself in a personal statement for a job application, you know that a self-evaluation is not a lesson in modesty. Most people see themselves in overly flattering terms, taking credit for success, deny- ing the blame for failure, having an inflated sense of control, and exhibiting unrealistic optimism about the future. Add the fact that people want to present themselves favorably, and it comes as no surprise that self-evaluations in the workplace are consistently more positive than the ratings made by superviso—and less predictive of job success. In a simple illustration, studies have shown that workers tend to underestimate the number of times they’d been absent compared with coworkers.
Another reason why self-evaluations should be taken with a grain of salt is that individuals differ in the extent to which they tend to present themselves in a positive light.
