TikTok creator @aaron_knightley shared a video arguing that companies use performance improvement plans (PIPs) to document employees’ failures rather than give them a chance to improve. The video, posted July 31, had 137,700 views at the time of publication.
The creator began the video by describing PIPs as “the beginning of the end.” He advised employees placed on a PIP to start looking for another job discreetly. “It is not there to improve you, despite what some people might say, you know, corporate conforming wage slave sheep. It's a way that they can document your failure, a timeline, essentially, of you not being able to achieve their standards, which they'll just make up, by the way, in order to get you on that written warning, final warning,” he said.
He also said employees may be placed on PIPs despite doing nothing wrong. “You are really good at your job. You're confident. You're competent. And that's probably the reason why you've been put on one, because you can do your job, because you're an outside-the-box type thinker.”
The creator said a previous employer had placed him on a PIP and advised employees in similar situations to request documentation explaining why they had been placed on one. He suggested emailing their employers to request written expectations, deadlines and a copy of the improvement plan.
He said employees should ask for an email clearly outlining what they were expected to do and when the PIP would end. He predicted that some companies might struggle to provide those details. “It is simply to document your failure, and most people are too scared to go against the grain, go back against the system, and say, ‘No, I don't agree.’”
The man concluded by saying he believed that if an employee has been put on a PIP, it is the beginning of the end. The comments section was filled with several reactions. One commenter wrote, “I was on one. Then in the end they got rid of me anyway.”
Another commenter who was also in HR agreed with the creator and wrote, “As someone in HR, you are unfortunately correct. My boss and I try to make sure people are given reasonable standards but we often get ignored. ALSO, if you have been given unreasonable expectations, make sure in your email, add ‘it seems like I’m being set up for failure’ which will go down well in a potential tribunal.”
The Daily Dot could not independently verify the events described in the video. The details above reflect @aaron_knightley’s account as shared on TikTok. The identities of the commenters have not been confirmed.
