Ever Been Put On a Performance Improvement Plan?

Stop jerking off in the men's room. Everyone knows who it is by the shoes.

What do you do?

I don't know why they don't just get rid of you.

There are a lot of qualified people out there who need a job.

Do you have to acknowledge the review? If so, I would be pulling together all information to counter the review in writing.

No, but I put plenty on PIPs during my working years. OP, you're lucky you work for a company willing to expend the effort with you. Many companies would just call you in and fire you.

Hope you’ve started interviewing.

What has changed? A new boss? In any case a PIP usually means they want to get rid of you but are covering their asses legally in case you decide to take them to court.

R7 is 100% right. There is no going back from a PIP. It’s all about documentation to make sure they can’t lose a wrongful termination lawsuit.

You should go to your manager TODAY and ask what kind of severance the company would provide you if you spared them the months of PIP. Your manager is dying to get you out, will dance a jig when you put this on the table, call HR and tell you within an hour or so what the company will give you. My guess is 3 months. That means you are spared the torture of not meeting expectations and a firing where you will get nothing. Trust me on this.

Yes, new boss and the company is losing money. They write about the NYC real estate market and, despite me writing articles published and linked - 16 in total in one year - they are saying that it is not enough, they need more, they don't want more than one draft (!!!). I know I am good at what I do and I also have NEVER had my writing put down before, especially not by non-native English-speakers. I make a big salary and have seniority and the bosses here are all in a clique. They hire and transfer their "friends" and, the boss that assigned me to this job was also the founder of my subsidiary. Unfortunately, he left a year ago for retirement and is camping out in South Beach.

Actually, I have been majorly depressed and hate working from home and worry a lot about my aging parents. I was ready to call it quits after 3 years with this company.

What r7 said, unless you are working for a truly awesome company.

I have written PIPs and monitored their progress. Sometimes it is a productive kick in the pants for employees, most often it is demoralizing and the EE will choose to move on. I will say that the worst managers have the most PIP requests; I will counsel other actions before a PIP.

What's your line of work? Are there achievable goals on the PIP? Realistic timeline? Do you like working there or is it better to start fresh somewhere else?

In a large company you can come back from a PIP, but in a small company they are walking you towards the door. Sorry OP but maybe it’s the way for you to find something that’s a better fit.

R9, that sounds like a no-win situation. I've put employees on PIPs, and it's always been part of a serious effort to get them back on track. But it doesn't sound like your company is doing that.

At least until you find another job, document the hell out of everything that you do. If they find fault with something you do, make them tell you why it's bad. If what they are saying is inconsistent with past statements from them, point it out in writing. If you have a chance to put together some thoughts on why you shouldn't have been put on a PIP, document it and email it to them. At least create the written record that can serve as the basis for an unfair termination claim.

R10 - well I hate working for this company to be honest as much as I hate working from home (not that the office was heaven). I am writer and I have always been a successful writer. The idea is that the whole review can be very subjective. It is unrealistic to write an article in one draft. Also, I have seen how some of my colleagues write and they are far less experienced and, frankly, their English is horrible. They have yet to give me anything concrete in writing but overall, I do want to just take some time away (I have saved some money) as my health has been suffering and travel a bit and THEN go look for something new.

R10 here....it sounds like it is better for you if you move on at this point, OP.

Don't take the PIP personally, just a sign that you are not in the right situation. Take the time to find a position where you will not be so stressed out and can use your talents without worrying about the management clique.

Also, the reason they don't up and fire me is because they don't want to piss off the founder of the company who is a guy I used to hook up with now and then. Since he is old (always liked them a bit older) and has left for South Beach, he is suddenly safely out of the picture. This is a company that has a good PR but, overall, working for them is hell. A twink got stiffed out of $600 by the managers, the director and his 2 drone team leads (good-looking skinny blondes), all three aforementioned got COVID at the same time (working from home), my roommate and I had to be warned against working with the other writer in our company because "5 people quit because of her insane bullying", my roommate (also a native English-speaker) and a damned good writer and analyst also got a warning after months of the bitches saying she was "too American" "not a fit", etc. Worse, she found out from the receptionist that the bitches in charge had said "she slept her way into the job" (which is impossible because the founder is the Nelliest bottom ever and he hired her ffs!!!).

At my job a PIP is merely a formality before firing (unless the employee is willing to resign). Needless to say, I have 20 years until I'm eligible to retire, so I hope to never be put on one.

OP, hopefully you're self aware enough to acknowledge your shortcomings. A PIP is clear in its expectations, that's why employees who don't follow it are easily fired.

The truth is, most people don't get put on PIPs. If you came here looking for solidarity, that's scary. I've been on the other side as management, and the last thing I wanted to do is put an employee on a PIP. However, they refused to do the job for which they were hired. Too many people bring their bullshit to work.

You need to start looking for a job. I have seen this happen many times. A PIP is merely a paper trail to document a decision that has already been made. You are going to be fired - there is nothing you can do to save your job. I agree with whomever said to go to your boss and negotiate a severance package. Be proactive.

[quote]OP, hopefully you're self aware enough to acknowledge your shortcomings.

Why are you so sure OP is at fault? From his side of the story this sounds like the typical corporate bullshit.

You sound like a dick. No wonder you're management.

Some company cultures and some people are truly awful and evil.

However - and I'm not saying this is the case with you OP - some employees are truly shit.

I am steering a new employee toward a PIP because the person is AWFUL and does no work and is at a 200k comp plan. This person is black - so even though we have a mountain of evidence they are basically not working - HR is telling us this person is a protected class and it will be hard to terminate them without months and months of documentation and at least one PIP. I'm now doing 25% more work to document everything and pick up this person's slack.

I can now see why some companies are outsourcing the temp agencies and consultants. You can cut the contract with almost no notice, there's no severance, no pension - nothing. I never thought I would have been an advocate of going this route, but when you are in management long enough you see some truly F-d up things a number of employees do (or don't do).

It depends on the boss. I work on a military base, so my supervisors are changing up every three years. Most of them are low maintenance and I am pretty consistent in the quality of my work. Others are the opposite-demanding and bullying. One of them put me on a PIP because she wasn’t happy with the way I maintained her Outlook calendar. She was obsessed with it - spending weekends and evenings going over it before I could get in to review and update it. She had the second in command put me on a PIP. As a disabled veteran with PTSD, it upset me badly. And the assistant department head didn’t want to do it but had no choice in the matter. Fast forward a year later, this heifer was investigated by headquarters for fostering bad morale in our command and tenant units as well; I was interviewed by headquarters and told them how difficult she made things. The end result? She was put on a PIP! 😆 she was also subject to a relief for cause, which resulted in her not being selected for promotion and she was forced into retirement. I’m somewhat more vigilant about the calendars, but I can’t say that my work output has changed much. It all depends, like I said.

R18, I wouldn't talk about 'fault', but in a properly run organization the PIP should not come as a surprise to OP. Some prior talks should have taken place.

OP, the best advice I can give you: Show a genuine interest that you want to improve. And mean it, even if you feel wronged. Always ask for expectations when they are not clear. Often enough I've seen employees improving and the PIP process ended successfully simply because the employee was genuinely trying. Just for the change in behavior you might be rewarded.

The company you work for sounds horrible, OP. We are all going through a pandemic and suffering mentally as well as emotionally because of it. That any company expects 100% right now is ridiculous. Anyone giving 70% is doing well but 100% is not possible right now with the state of things. I love that companies want to just carry on, pretending like we're all not in crisis. Fuck them. No job is worth risking your health or the added stress that this bullshit just caused.

I was put on a PIP and actually managed to pass it and keep my job. However, I was relieved to quit a few months later to go back to school. The job wasn't a good fit for me, and my manager disliekd me and wrote me up for minor errors.

Bye girl, you gone.