recency bias

Definition

The tendency to weight recent events more heavily than earlier performance when evaluating employees. Why your annual review is really just a reflection of the last six weeks.

Example Usage

I crushed it for eleven months, but thanks to recency bias, my review focused entirely on that one bad presentation in November.

Origin

Psychological principle applied to performance management in the 1980s-1990s

Fun Fact

Recency bias is why smart employees strategically time their big wins for the weeks before performance reviews.

Source: Performance management and cognitive bias terminology

Related Terms

Intermediate

stay interview

A proactive conversation with current employees to understand what keeps them at the company, conducted before they're tempted to leave. Like an exit interview, but you still have time to actually fix things.

👥 Human Resources

Beginner

dismissal

The corporate euphemism for 'you're fired,' packaged in HR-approved terminology to minimize lawsuit potential. It's the formal act of showing someone the door, stripping them of their position, and sending them home to update their LinkedIn profile. Whether you call it dismissal, termination, or 'pursuing other opportunities,' it still means cleaning out your desk by 5 PM.

👥 Human Resources

Beginner

retiree

Someone who has successfully escaped the corporate hamster wheel and now spends their days pretending to be busy with hobbies while secretly napping. The ultimate goal of every employee who's sat through one too many pointless meetings. They're living proof that there is, in fact, life after email.

👥 Human Resources

Advanced

organizational development

A systematic approach to improving organizational effectiveness through planned interventions, change management, and cultural transformation. HR's attempt to apply social science to fixing workplace dysfunction.

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

competency model

A framework defining the skills, knowledge, and behaviors required for success in a role or organization. Usually a 47-page document that nobody reads but HR references during performance reviews.

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

redeployment

Corporate doublespeak for reassigning employees to different roles when their current positions are eliminated, often against their will or abilities. It's like musical chairs, except when the music stops, you're now doing someone else's job.

👥 Human Resources

Translate This Term

See “recency bias” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator

Share This Term

Post on X Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn

Discover a Term

Intermediate

bahdy

A phonetically creative alternative to 'buddy' that adds approximately 37% more casual coolness to your greeting reperto...