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In hot water at work? Ask for a Mutual Separation Agreement

You should know that if you are starting to get written up, if your boss is trying to fire you and puts you on a PIP, you can ask for a mutual separation agreement (MSA). It’s like a formal declaration that you won’t be able to meet the terms of the PIP in the 1 or 2 months you’d be on it (because let’s be honest, your boss isn’t trying to coach you so you can improve; they are trying to make you miserable to get you to leave, and the PIP is written so there’s no way you can objectively improve). Instead of working diligently trying to meet the terms of the PIP, the MSA is basically severance. You get paid the salary you would have earned if you’d stuck around trying your best, but instead of toiling fruitlessly, you get to stay home or look for another job,…


You should know that if you are starting to get written up, if your boss is trying to fire you and puts you on a PIP, you can ask for a mutual separation agreement (MSA). It’s like a formal declaration that you won’t be able to meet the terms of the PIP in the 1 or 2 months you’d be on it (because let’s be honest, your boss isn’t trying to coach you so you can improve; they are trying to make you miserable to get you to leave, and the PIP is written so there’s no way you can objectively improve). Instead of working diligently trying to meet the terms of the PIP, the MSA is basically severance. You get paid the salary you would have earned if you’d stuck around trying your best, but instead of toiling fruitlessly, you get to stay home or look for another job, or do basically anything else — and still get paid the same amount of money! Plus this way you can’t say you were fired or terminated for poor performance. In many cases you have to sign an NDA, which means you get to avoid disclosing those details with your next prospective employer. Since you’re not being fired, I believe you do give up your chance to claim unemployment so if that’s important to you, then don’t ask for an MSA.

I don’t know if every company has this but it will work at most big corporations with an HR department. If you don’t care about working at that company in the future, this is a great way to get out of a shitty situation.

Source: I did this in 2015 when my asshole manager decided she didn’t like me and started disciplining me for BS. I tried to transfer out to another department but she put me on a PIP so I became ineligible to apply to other positions internally. The “behaviors” documented on the PIP were vague, subjective, and unsupported by any specifics and I had been trying my best up until that point so I knew there would be no way for me to “finish” the PIP and end up on her good side.

Adjacent advice: if your manager hates you, leave as soon as you can. Doesn’t matter if you like your other coworkers or the perks are good, etc. That shit is maddening. Jobs where you get along with your boss are at least tolerable.

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