TikTok Creator Says PIPs Are Designed to Document Your Failure, and an HR Worker Agreed

A TikTok creator is going viral for saying what a lot of workers have suspected for years: performance improvement plans might not be about improvement at all. @aaron_knightley argued in a July 31 video that PIPs exist so companies can build a documented timeline of an employee’s failure.“It is not there to improve you,”he said.“It’s a way that they can document your failure.”The video had 137,700 views at the time of publication.

The comments got even more eye-opening. One commenter identifying as an HR professional replied,“As someone in HR, you are unfortunately correct.”Knightley, who says he was placed on a PIP by a previous employer, advised anyone in that situation to quietly start job hunting and to request written expectations, deadlines, and a copy of the plan. Another commenter shared that they were put on a PIP and later let go.

The Daily Dot could not independently verify the events described in the video, so the specifics are unconfirmed. Still, the conversation is resonating with anyone who has faced a PIP or worries about one. Have you ever been put on a performance improvement plan? Tell us how it played out in the comments.