I was put on a PIP in my director-level job and fantasized about quitting. So I quiet quit for 3 months before actually walking out.

Mon, 08/14/2023 - 05:04

"Michael Phelps is a really good swimmer, yet he'll still drown if you chain him to the Titanic. That was the situation I was in — it felt like no matter how hard I swam, I was going to drown," John Garvens said.

Courtesy of John Garvens

John Garvens started a new role at an agency in February 2022 that was immediately stressful.
After being placed on a PIP, he 'quiet quit' for 3 months before leaving in January.
He pushed back on unrealistic deliverables and put his wellbeing first, but no one noticed.

This is an as-told-to essay based on a conversation with John Garvens, a 38-year-old expert in Salesforce Revenue Cloud based in Freeport, Illinois. It has been edited for length and clarity.