Being subject to a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) is difficult for many employees. But in a recent Reddit post, an Amazon employee queries how he can join it. “Was on focus for 30 days, left for FMLA for nearly 14.5 months, and now back,” the post states. “It appears that my new manager won’t PIP me. How can I make them PIP me?.”
Even more intriguing is his motivation for wanting to get PIPed: “I want to leave with severance.” I may give up since I can’t stand it any longer. However, I would rather receive unemployment benefits or severance pay.”
“This is absolutely wild”
The Internet quickly reacted to the post. A user noted, “As wild as it sounds, this is pretty much where folks are at psychologically now. These companies have become impossibly exhausting.” “Not wild at all – so many people at Amazon are in this position at the moment. Tenured Amazonians not wanting to leave for free, especially when it feels like this is what the business now wants,” wrote another user.
“You got out of focus by fmla for 14,5 months?? That’s honestly impressive. There is a slight chance they are expecting you to leave tbh, that’s why they don’t want to pip you because they know that’s what you want. Just do the absolute bare minimum but make them feel like you want to stay and you’ll be out soon,” explained a user. “HR guy told me if I want to get fired don’t show up to work for 6 months and Amazon will fire you. It takes them long to prove you’re not performing. That’s your severance package,” said a former Amazon employee in the comments. “Is this real? I would have to slack so much to get PIPed then,” noted a user.