This is embarrassing, but I didn’t have any job lined up, so I had to choose PIP while actively searching. I found this website and others experiences... they completed every PIP task and still got terminated. Is it really out of my control?
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Even if you pass you won’t be receiving a raise anytime soon and are likely to be piped again. Remember if you are piped twice in five years you are automatically fired. Do you really want that hanging over your gear for the next five years?
PIP is a pre-packaged firing squad. The misuse of PIPs is not “occasional.” It’s common, calculated, and deeply tied to risk mitigation, not performance growth.
ExxonMobil Management makes integrity look like insubordination.
Some workplaces say they want honesty. They don’t. They want compliance.
The moment you question dysfunction, challenge bad leadership, or point out what everyone else is quietly seeing, you become “difficult.”
That is how toxic cultures protect themselves.
They make integrity look like insubordination.
If you are trying to stay honest in that kind of environment, you need more than good intentions.
You need strategy.
A few things I’ve learned during my career:
1/ Document patterns, not feelings.
One bad meeting can be dismissed. A pattern is harder to ignore.
2/ Ask questions before making statements.
“What outcome are we solving for?” lands better than “This makes no sense.”
3/ Keep your tone boring.
If they can make the conversation about your reaction, they will avoid the issue.
4/ Talk about the work, not the person.
Focus on process, deadlines, expectations, and decisions. Keep ego out of it.
5/ Know who is safe.
Not everyone who agrees with you privately will stand with you publicly.
6/ Know when the culture is the answer.
Some places are not broken. They are operating exactly how leadership allows them to operate.
Integrity still matters. But in the wrong room, it needs strategy.
@OP Yes. As many people have said, the outcome is predetermined and out of your control. You can pick up on it from how your team interacts with you during the PIP. Even the fake nice ones start showing their real selves once they know you’ll be out soon. In rare cases, the manager keeps the mask on until the very end just to squeeze as much work out of you as possible before they push you out.
At least you know. Everyone else in my team knows. Also why would your 1st line hold onto work or hide work from you and others on the team??
Managers can invent ridiculous excuses like “he didn’t answer my email” or “he didn’t say hi to me,” and HR will treat it as misconduct. That alone can be enough for them to revoke your right to take the PIP. I’ve heard of two people who weren’t even given the PIP option because of this nonsense(also online you can see the law suits ). And since management and HR already know the outcome, the ones who don’t feel like keeping a poker face will try to push you into not choosing the PIP or dropping out halfway through. If the result is “pass,” they use it in their PDS as proof of their great mentoring and coaching. If they already know the result will be “fail,” then there’s nothing in it for them just more paperwork and documentation they don’t want to deal with.
If your Supervisor put you on PIP because he dislikes you, that means reduced chances of passing the PIP.
If your Supervisor gave you PIP to meet his layoff target and commits to helping you pass, then there is a chance.
I heard that this year the layoff target requires many not to pass the PIP, so that is outside the control of a supportive Supervisor.
Attack your PIP tasks enthusiastically as you search for another job. Keep a good attitude and do not give your Supervisor any ammo to fail you.
If you are out in PIP the. You should 100% be looking for a new job. Even if you pass you are likely to be put in PIP again within the next 5 years and then fired. Why have that hanging over you? Also your raises will stop.
look elsewhere, you are not wanted here. this could be a silver lining, especially if you also don’t want to be around those who you work with — think about it. you have to become one of them to be accepted, maybe you wern’t meant to be?
Best to focus on finding a new job. You might survive the PIP, but even if you do survive, you'll have a mark on your back and it's just a matter of time. Start looking actively now while you're still employed.
In most companies, a PIP is just documentation to justify kicking someone out for whatever reason. But at EM, the PIP program is tied to salary calibration, headcount targets, and promotions. So depending on those statistics they’re trying to hit, they decide the outcome of your PIP ( not your performance).