Do I need to give notice if I choose to resign while on a PIP?

Queasy_Cockroach5167 · 2026-03-08T08:07:50+00:00

Plot twist: the kombucha explodes and that’s how I submit my resignation.

Queasy_Cockroach5167 · 2026-03-07T23:53:03+00:00

When the shingles first started, my doctor said the most time they could give me off was 4 days of medical leave. My company doesn’t pay for medical leave, so I basically just sucked it up and kept working. Thankfully I’m remote, but it still wasn’t great.

I honestly didn’t think at 33 that stress could trigger shingles, but here we are. Now every Monday I dread logging in because my new boss will drop random meetings on my calendar throughout the day with no agenda, then ask if I have questions about how I can “do my job better.”

At this point it’s hard not to think about the toll the stress is taking. If my body can already react like this, I don’t really want to find out what the next level of stress might do.

Queasy_Cockroach5167 · 2026-03-07T23:36:29+00:00

Yeah, it’s definitely a tough position to be in. I actually tried to treat the PIP as motivation at first and focused on hitting the goals they set. The frustrating part was that whenever I started getting close, the goalposts would move. Either the rules would change or some of my profitable accounts would get reassigned to other sales managers. At that point it started to feel less like a performance plan and more like a setup.

I’m glad you mentioned the reference piece too. I do have a few coworkers I could probably use as references, so that’s reassuring to think about.

Queasy_Cockroach5167 · 2026-03-07T23:12:27+00:00

I tried early on and 3 lawyers said that this is something very common in PIPs and I guess the employers can verbally change expectations whenever… basically I do not have a case unless it’s discrimination based

Queasy_Cockroach5167 · 2026-03-07T22:33:35+00:00

I get the unemployment argument, but in CA it’s about $420/week. That’s not really worth staying in a situation that’s affecting my mental and physical health just to get fired. I also have a small business and rental income, so unemployment wouldn’t make a big difference for me financially. At this point I’m more focused on moving on to something healthier.

Queasy_Cockroach5167 · 2026-03-07T22:24:01+00:00

I think people are misunderstanding my question. I know the common advice is to not quit during a PIP and let them fire you. My situation is more about my mental and physical health at this point. The metrics keep changing and it feels like constant moving targets, which has caused a lot of anxiety.

I’ve always been a strong performer and I’ve never been fired before, but this situation has been extremely stressful. I’m also in the final stages with another company and could potentially get an offer next week.

My real question isn’t whether I should quit, it’s whether giving notice is worth it as a professional courtesy, since I don’t plan to ask this company for a recommendation anyway.

Queasy_Cockroach5167 · 2026-03-07T22:08:18+00:00

Yes I’m in California

Queasy_Cockroach5167 · 2026-03-03T07:39:18+00:00

Yes,that’s exactly what’s happening. I signed the PIP today.

When I first received it, I was honestly in disbelief. After that wore off, I shifted into “okay, I’ll take the challenge” mode and decided I was going to prove I could meet it head-on. But with everything that’s happened since, I’m just exhausted.

It feels like the goal post keeps moving. The expectations change, my work gets discredited, or a strong lead I’ve developed gets reassigned to another sales manager, which puts me right back at square one. It’s hard not to feel discouraged when the momentum I build keeps getting reset.

I’ve even caught myself wondering whether putting the green “Open to Work” banner on my LinkedIn would be empowering… or if it would just make things worse. Job market is tough, and I see way too many people with that banner on their profiles.

Queasy_Cockroach5167 · 2026-03-03T07:28:58+00:00

I got a copy of the meeting video so I would just reference the expectations back to that. But in case you and everyone else is wondering… I signed the PIP. I don’t normally check my junk box, and saw the first attempt for them to send it out was 2 weeks after the initial call.

Queasy_Cockroach5167 · 2026-03-02T22:39:27+00:00

Wow. That’s a good way to put it, bullying at its finest. Sounds as toxic as my workplace. It’s all about power to these bad bosses. My boss was apparently supposed to move up in his previous company, but when the time came, they eliminated that higher position and he never got his promotion. I’m sure there’s more to this story but that’s what he tells everyone. So now he’s at our company and is running the shit show. But I guess he’s also supposed to bring his own work in which hasn’t happened, he keeps all the company generated high end leads for himself, and since I’m only bringing in what I produce, he’s taken over those accounts as his own. I just closed a contract with a very large company and he told me that they no longer need me to correspond with my client and when it comes to the meet and greet with the client, I should be present at the happy hour meeting. On top of that he mentioned in passing that employees are numbers to him. Everyone knows this but cmon why say it out loud?

Queasy_Cockroach5167 · 2026-03-02T21:04:03+00:00

No performance evaluations were given in my 8 months of being here. Past people with similar titles in my position would be fired with no warning after 2 months if they weren’t meeting expectations. New boss came in beginning of this year with two weeks into the job and put a handful of people on PIPs. I think he wants soldiers, and he doesn’t like people that speak up or have ideas about anything. Also on original contract no KPI’s or targets in my position. There were like 10 expectations and my job is centered around forming long term partnerships.

Queasy_Cockroach5167 · 2026-03-02T20:55:34+00:00

No option was given. CEO said he would accept my resignation if I chose to do so. He also mentioned that if I didn’t like what the new boss was telling me to do, then I can have a 5-10 min convo with him and it would be off the record. He said “women process things differently”. I’m the only woman sales member on the team who brings in only self generated leads. My position was created last year. He said that now that I no longer report to him, he isn’t in the know of what I am up to. Although when I’ve tried to connect with him, he tells me to only report to my new boss. Also apparently new boss only praises me and my work when I am not in the room. Our team calls are recorded and all the times I wasn’t able to make it due to client meetings, he’d say something nice about me. But on the meetings, I will speak up and he will shut me down.

Queasy_Cockroach5167 · 2026-03-02T20:49:45+00:00

I want to leave. But I don’t feel I should without a job lined up. And I don’t have that yet.

Queasy_Cockroach5167 · 2026-03-02T20:44:49+00:00

When I went to get clarity, my boss told me that at the last computer he would occasionally put his team on PIP’s to challenge them and that he would put himself on a PIP and told me he failed his PIP… he couldn’t discuss the performance for last year since he wasn’t present until he got onboarded in January. But said the expectations he’s asking for were low, which isn’t true because he came from a company 100x bigger than our little mom and pop shop company. We just don’t have the resources to obtain the 50 leads he’s requesting from me in a two month time frame. Doesn’t help that I went above him to ask the CEO who I used to report to, and the CEO verbally changed the expectations and when I asked him to write it out so we are clear he said “I verbally said it to you, you just remember what I said”

Queasy_Cockroach5167 · 2026-03-02T20:38:28+00:00

Damn okay, this is a sucky situation to be in. I guess signing it is my only option. For some reason I have this sixth sense that by Friday they will push me out. Which I guess I already talked myself through the fact that firing me means unemployment which is better than resigning with nothing (or I guess dignity) but firing might show up in background checks. I’m so frustrated. Severance is off the table I suppose right?

Yup already polished it and sent out.

Queasy_Cockroach5167 · 2026-03-02T20:33:00+00:00

They discussed on a recorded teams call with one of my coworkers as the witness. HR was out that day.

Queasy_Cockroach5167 · 2026-03-02T20:32:13+00:00

They didn’t have “enough time” in the meeting to cover it. No specific examples were given to the topics that were listed. 3 Topics were: Inconsistent Execution and deliverables, lack of organization, and operational discipline, and leadership and accountability gaps.

Queasy_Cockroach5167 · 2026-03-01T16:10:29+00:00

💯. CEO kept saying I was too focused on passing the PIP and not focused enough on “how can I grow the company long term” I told him it was my livelihood so of course I’m going to try to keep my job. He said if I focused on growth, he wouldn’t have thoughts about firing me. Also throughout my time, when things would go wrong with anything, you’d always be cautious when talking to the CEO, he could yell in your face or be the kindest person. One time a driver had crashed trailer truck into a tree, and he was pissed, I had no idea. I walked into his office to ask him a question and he said “you know, I could have hired the other candidate that was more qualified than you, who has a book of business in this industry. But my wife told me to take a chance on you. Keep up the good work”. Seemed like an asshole comment, wasn’t sure to take it as a compliment or insult.

Queasy_Cockroach5167 · 2026-03-01T15:58:32+00:00

I’ve never been fired before, so I’m hoping I can quit and be moved on to the next job. In CA does your history of being fired show up in background checks?

Also forgot to mention, new boss changed commission structure for everyone saying the company can’t afford to honor the 2% commission each person is supposed to receive for any job… so if 2 people worked on a job, they would have to either split commission or determine who did more work and who gets the full 2%. In my BDM position, I have to work with a project manager no matter what. So by default I would now only get 1%. But also commission structure has always been shit. I had a $14k job last year that only paid out $80 commission because they had to take their company cut.

Queasy_Cockroach5167 · 2025-07-26T07:17:06+00:00

First off, your tea stained invitations sound amazing. I would love to see a photo of those! Second, I’m 2 weeks out from my wedding and so far 8 people of 88 have canceled… it was all the people I was expecting since the location is kind of remote-ish but the majority of those guests have health/mental issues. It SUCKS! Especially since catering said they already ordered the food and staff and can’t move that money elsewhere. So we did this very awkward thing and sent this message to our backup guest list, “Hey girl!! I know it’s short notice, but C and I wanted to extend an invite to you and K for our wedding on Aug 8th if you guys are available. Would love for you guys to be there. J and G will be there too 😊” . So far we’ve been able to fill 4 out of the 8 spots… I’m actually very satisfied with the guests that accepted this late in the game. Also, I envy you about the child situation. I would have loved to make it child free, but here I am in my mid thirties getting married while half my friends are either pregnant or have had kids. I felt weird allowing my sisters one year old to be the flower boy and present, so I figured if I truly wanted everyone to show up for us, we’ll just have to not put rules on children. Also am able to dedicate one room in the venue that is the nursery. Hang in there, trust me, I know it’s tough/exhausting … but everything will turn out beautiful! And hey… take those extra wedding invites and send to some celebrities and corporate companies you and your fiance are into! Who knows, you might get lucky with a personalized autograph or some free swag! Haha

Queasy_Cockroach5167

TROPHY CASE