Background: I work in U.S. corporate IT organization that has been undergoing downsizing since 2009 and multiple reorgs since then.
For the past year I've been working in a group under the same manager and I got off on a bad foot with her in the beginning by making negative comments about MBAs causing all the recent crashes and lacking essential technical skills before I found out she is actually both a business major and MBA (non-tech manager type).
She has given me multiple PIPs while at the same time adding more responsibilities to my plate every time someone leaves. Each PIP lasts about two month and she will put specific goals on my PIP of some project from her plate or a layoff victim's plate that I need to accomplish before the end of the PIP.
I technically meet the goals outlined in these PIPs but each time there is some room for improvement that makes her put me on another one. The complaints seem stupid and vague to me like not communicating well, not being independent enough or dont get the big picture and that I need to do more and faster, but I already am doing tasks beyond my level (I'm a entry level doing tasks of former senior technical leads and my manager) and I take the PIPs literally doing each and every task in them.
When I talk to individual coworkers in person they keep tell me I'm doing great so I am starting to get confused why I am still on Pips after so long and whether they are constantly complaining about me but I am afraid to ask because am embarrassed I'm on a constant PIP. I thought that you were supposed to do one PIP, pass it and then move on.
Is there any legitimacy to giving someone multiple back to back PIPs as opposed to just firing them? Should I follow my gut and just quit this job and this manager?