There are no circumstances in which it will turn around
Note that you used the passive voice, as though the circumstances are completely out of the employee's control.
Note that you used the passive voice, as though the circumstances are completely out of the employee's control.
If you've been put on a PIP, it means your employer has decided if your work doesn't get better, they're going to fire you.
Provided you haven't been phoning it in, this means you have to give an unsustainable amount in order to reach what they want from you. Seeing as how that's unsustainable, you're going to fail eventually.
These processes aren't really designed to help rectify the issue, they're designed to cover the companies arse against union action.
How is that completely out of the employee's control?
Provided you haven't been phoning it in
And maybe they have, which means they can do something about it.
Employers often ask too much of their employees. It's why unions exist.
You shouldn't take it as a personal insult or grievance against you, but the "personal improvement plan" is what HR came up with when your boss requested that you be let go. If you've committed a crime or violated some policy (no matter how trivial) you can be let go immediately. But in most of the United States, it is simply a bad decision (financially) to just let someone go. It is much better to have some documentation of their inadequacy. Hence the weekly meetings.
The person conducting these reviews (be it your boss, or someone else) is probably bored out of their mind that they must participate in these meetings. The phrase "what did I do to deserve this?" probably goes through their head each time they complete one. They don't care about your performance at all at this point. They may provide an objective review, or they may just copy in some boilerplate. Something that sounds great like "fails to meet established goals". It doesn't really matter.
Again, it is completely pointless to take any of this process as any sort of rational feedback. At this point, the decision was already made that you need to go. They just need some documentation before you are let go. I would take the fact that you are being let go as feedback, but stop there. The "personal improvement plan" isn't about you. It never has been.
If you're in a financial situation where you can, just resign. If you can't, that is understandable. But no one involved is going to be upset if you just resign. I'd offer 2 weeks, but they'll likely just counter with an immediate resignation. If anything, everyone will be at ease.
I've been a manager with HR in these kinds of conversations. At the point that we decide to put an employee on a PIP, it's because continuation of the current performance is unacceptable - not that the particular employe "must go", just the current behavior. We typically have lots of other employees performing at a higher level or with better attitudes, so it isn't just some random whim where we have it in for someone and are unwilling to allow for them to rectify the problem.
If the employee were to improve his or her performance (typically improve his or her attitude), as an employer we would be more than happy to continue that person's employment.
It's a defeatist attitude that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Typically, employers would be much happier to see marked improvement in the employee's performance rather than to have to follow through on letting that employee go.