What Should I Document at Work?
What should you document at work? Learn why difficult workplace experiences, accomplishments, recognition, and career milestones can all be worth keeping in your own record.
By Jess Johnson
What should you document at work? Start with the things that bother, concern, or worry you—but don't overlook the good. Recognition, accomplishments, promotions, and other positive moments belong in your record too.
If it's something you'd want to tell a coworker, friend, or family member about, it's probably worth documenting.
When something isn't right
If something at work bothers you, annoys you, upsets you, or makes you afraid—document it. Common examples include:
- Verbal warnings
- Policy violations—by you or your employer
- One-on-one meetings
- Progressive discipline or disciplinary actions
- Probation
- Negative performance evaluations
- Demotions
- Layoff or termination concerns
- Threats, pink slips, or terminations
You don't necessarily have to know whether something will become important later. If it feels significant enough that you want to remember what happened, who was involved, or what was said, it's worth keeping a record while the details are still fresh.
If you are dealing with repeated or serious conduct at work and wondering whether it could constitute a hostile work environment, read How Do I Document a Hostile Work Environment?
The good side, too
The same instinct applies to positive moments. Document them just as consistently:
- Awards and recognition
- Promotions and bonuses
- Positive performance evaluations
- Pay raises
- Certificates of completion
- Leadership roles
- Any special investment your employer has made in you
I can still go back to electronic files from 2003, when I started my first corporate job. Maintaining those records over the years has been invaluable.
They've helped me track not only where I've worked, but how my career developed and progressed over time—including the experiences that ultimately moved me into entirely different levels of responsibility, income, and career advancement.
Those early files have also brought back memories of skills I developed and work experiences I'd long forgotten. Some of those examples now help me better articulate the depth of my experience when interviewing for new opportunities. Had I not kept those records, many of those details might have been lost to time.
Why both sides matter
A file that only captures the bad moments tells an incomplete story—about your workplace and about you. Keeping both gives you a fair, balanced record of your own work history, maintained by you, not just whatever ends up in your employer's file.
Your work record can show the difficult conversations and challenges you've faced, but it can also show your accomplishments, growth, recognition, and progression. And years from now, you may be surprised by how valuable it is to have your own record of the moments that shaped your working life.
Start building your own record of your work experiences while the details are still fresh. CYA Files can help you capture and organize what happened, so you have reports for your own records.