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A couple things....

First, at least in my experience, your performance review was probably completed weeks ago and there is a reasonable chance it was reviewed with other people before you'll even get to see it. Particularly if it's tied to a salary adjustment. If you are worried about this ruining your review, you are probably in the clear (though, it might come up for the next one).

Second, deleted files aren't necessarily gone, the data is likely still on the disk. At the very least, I'd run some recovery software. If you are more technically inclined, shut down, boot from some external media and use a tool to scan the disk for lost files. I mean, depending on what level of access you have to your workstation. If you are in a situation where you can't or you don't know how, it might be worth reaching out to the IT folks who have probably dealt with this before.

Finally, as a former manager, the worst thing you can do is try to hide it. People make mistakes, not communicating it makes it a bigger mistake. As soon as you can have an uncomfortable talk with your manager. Explain what happened, explain how you understand your mistake and how you will ensure this will never happen again.

Hey Boss - it looks like I made a mistake and accidentally deleted about two days of work. I failed to commit/backup/stash any of my changes to source control; I know I should have and I'm truly sorry. In the future I'll be a lot more careful and make sure this doesn't happen.

 

I know we have a tight timeline and I want to do everything I can to improve this situation. There is a chance the deleted files are recoverable, would you like me to try and recover them using 'undelete' software, or talking to someone from IT? Otherwise, I'll do my best to redo my work, it shouldn't take me two days since I just worked through it, but it will add (however long you think) to my timeline.

A couple things....

First, at least in my experience, your performance review was probably completed weeks ago and there is a reasonable chance it was reviewed with other people before you'll even get to see it. Particularly if it's tied to a salary adjustment. If you are worried about this ruining your review, you are probably in the clear (though, it might come up for the next one).

Second, deleted files aren't necessarily gone, the data is likely still on the disk. At the very least, I'd run some recovery software. If you are more technically inclined, shut down, boot from some external media and use a tool to scan the disk for lost files. I mean, depending on what level of access you have to your workstation. If you are in a situation where you can't or you don't know how, it might be worth reaching out to the IT folks who have probably dealt with this before.

Finally, as a former manager, the worst thing you can do is try to hide it. People make mistakes, not communicating it makes it a bigger mistake. As soon as you can have an uncomfortable talk with your manager. Explain what happened, explain how you understand your mistake and how you will ensure this will never happen again.

Hey Boss - it looks like I made a mistake and accidentally deleted about two days of work. I failed to commit/backup/stash any of my changes to source control; I know I should have and I'm truly sorry. In the future I'll be a lot more careful and make sure this doesn't happen.

 

I know we have a tight timeline and I want to do everything I can to improve this situation. There is a chance the deleted files are recoverable, would you like me to try and recover them using 'undelete' software, or talking to someone from IT? Otherwise, I'll do my best to redo my work, it shouldn't take me two days since I just worked through it, but it will add (however long you think) to my timeline.

A couple things....

First, at least in my experience, your performance review was probably completed weeks ago and there is a reasonable chance it was reviewed with other people before you'll even get to see it. Particularly if it's tied to a salary adjustment. If you are worried about this ruining your review, you are probably in the clear (though, it might come up for the next one).

Second, deleted files aren't necessarily gone, the data is likely still on the disk. At the very least, I'd run some recovery software. If you are more technically inclined, shut down, boot from some external media and use a tool to scan the disk for lost files. I mean, depending on what level of access you have to your workstation. If you are in a situation where you can't or you don't know how, it might be worth reaching out to the IT folks who have probably dealt with this before.

Finally, as a former manager, the worst thing you can do is try to hide it. People make mistakes, not communicating it makes it a bigger mistake. As soon as you can have an uncomfortable talk with your manager. Explain what happened, explain how you understand your mistake and how you will ensure this will never happen again.

Hey Boss - it looks like I made a mistake and accidentally deleted about two days of work. I failed to commit/backup/stash any of my changes to source control; I know I should have and I'm truly sorry. In the future I'll be a lot more careful and make sure this doesn't happen.

I know we have a tight timeline and I want to do everything I can to improve this situation. There is a chance the deleted files are recoverable, would you like me to try and recover them using 'undelete' software, or talking to someone from IT? Otherwise, I'll do my best to redo my work, it shouldn't take me two days since I just worked through it, but it will add (however long you think) to my timeline.

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Rob P.
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A couple things....

First, at least in my experience, your performance review was probably completed weeks ago and there is a reasonable chance it was reviewed with other people before you'll even get to see it. Particularly if it's tied to a salary adjustment. If you are worried about this ruining your review, you are probably in the clear (though, it might come up for the next one).

Second, deleted files aren't necessarily gone, the data is likely still on the disk. At the very least, I'd run some recovery software. If you are more technically inclined, shut down, boot from some external media and use a tool to scan the disk for lost files. I mean, depending on what level of access you have to your workstation. If you are in a situation where you can't or you don't know how, it might be worth reaching out to the IT folks who have probably dealt with this before.

Finally, as a former manager, the worst thing you can do is try to hide it. People make mistakes, not communicating it makes it a bigger mistake. As soon as you can have an uncomfortable talk with your manager. Explain what happened, explain how you understand your mistake and how you will ensure this will never happen again.

Hey Boss - it looks like I made a mistake and accidentally deleted about two days of work. I failed to commit/backup/stash any of my changes to source control; I know I should have and I'm truly sorry. In the future I'll be a lot more careful and make sure this doesn't happen.

I know we have a tight timeline and I want to do everything I can to improve this situation. There is a chance the deleted files are recoverable, would you like me to try and recover them using 'undelete' software, or talking to someone from IT? Otherwise, I'll do my best to redo my work, it shouldn't take me two days since I just worked through it, but it will add (however long you think) to my timeline.