Beware: 3 Sneaky Ways Employers Misuse Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs)

Anne Marie the AntiHR Lady
Mar 4, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Aug 3

Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is important to consult with legal professionals for guidance on specific legal matters.

Results on engagements and online courses may vary, successful outcome is not guaranteed.

Let’s be honest: if you’ve been placed on a performance improvement plan (PIP), you probably already know something is off.And you’re probably right to feel that way.

Despite what your manager or HR says, PIPs aren’t always about helping you improve. More often than not—especially if you are Black, Brown, or otherwise marginalized—PIPs are weaponized as tools to set you up for termination, force you to quit, or protect the employer from legal liability.

In my over 30 years of HR and legal experience, I’ve seen PIPs used and abused in countless harmful ways. Here are three of the sneakiest ways employers misuse performance improvement plans—and what you can do to protect yourself.

1. Using a PIP as a Paper Trail for Termination

This is the most common misuse of a performance improvement plan. Instead of genuinely trying to help you grow, employers use the PIP as a documentation tool to justify firing you.

Here’s how it works:

Your manager or HR quietly decides they want you gone.
They put you on a PIP to start the “documentation trail.”
No matter what you do, it’s never enough.
At the end of the plan, they say you “didn’t meet expectations” and terminate you.

This kind of weaponized PIP is rarely about performance. It’s about building a file against you. And it disproportionately affects Black professionals—especially Black women—who speak up, succeed visibly, or “don’t know their place.”

PRO TIP: Start documenting immediately. Keep a personal log of everything: dates, conversations, shifting expectations, and contradictions.

Grab Access to my Anti HR Documentation Journal and carefully document your workplace and work environment so that you protect yourself from wrongful and unfounded. performance related feedback.

2. Setting Unrealistic or Arbitrary Goals

Another sneaky tactic is setting you up to fail by assigning you impossible tasks, vague metrics, or goals outside your control.

For example:

You're told to “improve communication” without specific feedback or examples.
You’re given a short deadline for a project that usually takes months.
You’re expected to deliver results that rely on other departments' cooperation—but you have no authority to compel them.

These vague or impossible goals are designed to make your “failure” look objective. It’s a manipulation tactic to legitimize their next steps and deny wrongdoing.

PRO TIP: Ask for all performance expectations in writing. Don’t be afraid to follow up by email with: “To confirm our discussion…” That paper trail is your protection.

3. Creating a Toxic, Isolating Work Environment

Sometimes, the PIP is just the start. The moment you're on it, everything changes:

Coworkers stop talking to you.
You’re excluded from meetings you used to attend.
You’re micromanaged or ignored.
Your manager begins documenting every move you make.

This isolation isn't accidental. It's designed to push you out—quietly and without legal risk. The goal is often to make you so uncomfortable that you resign before the PIP ends. This is what I call constructive discharge—when an employer creates conditions so intolerable that any reasonable person would quit.

PRO TIP: Don’t quit without a plan. Quitting can harm your legal and financial position. Learn how to document and negotiate your exit strategically.

What You Can Do to Protect Yourself

Here’s what I recommend if you’re placed on a PIP:

✅ Document everything. Keep your own records, emails, and notes.

✅ Don’t sign anything under pressure. Ask for time to review.

✅ Start exploring your options. That includes internal transfers and exit strategies.

✅ Invest in support. If you suspect retaliation, discrimination, or a setup, don’t go it alone.

📘 Tools That Can Help You Right Now:

AntiHR Documentation Journal
Roadmap to Understanding Your Workplace Rights
How to ask for an exit from a discriminatory hostile workplace with 💰 and actually get it
Mastering Separation Agreements

And if you’re serious about creating a strategy to protect yourself, join my AntiHR Membership Community