Being told you're "doing fine" at work

Just saw this Reddit post, by a software engineer laid off for underperformance after being put on a PIP. https://www.reddit.com/r/Career_Advice/comments/1sbi3dq/fired_after_3_years_for_underperformance_how/ The intriguing part was that his boss had been telling him that he's doing fine. I'm not sure of the exact words his boss used but in this day and age, "doing fine" is not enough. I often think it would behoove a lot of employed people to think more about their boss's situation and perspective. Rather than reflexively seeing him/her as the "bad guy", put yourself in his/her shoes. Like anyone else they want to make their job as easy and friction-free as possible, while demonstrating the best results possible. It's as simple as that. Giving helpful and appropriate feedback is hard work. It's not that bosses are lazy, they're just usually overwhelmed. Unless a subordinate's performance is truly problematic, they often just won't have the bandwidth to put together constructive accurate feedback, based on examples. Some employees are very argumentative, and potentially even litigous, so a supervisor has to be careful. A company can contains all kinds of shitbirds, who may seem to you and I like they're from a different planet. So if the boss thinks you're doing acceptably OK, he/she might not rock the boat. Until one day the screws get put onto his/her department and and there are tough questions about output in relation to headcount. When that happens, obviously he will try to retain his high performers who are adding a lot of value, and sacrifice those who are just getting the basic tasks done. Of course, depending on the company's problems, being a high or even top performer might not save you, but in the majority of cases it absolutely improves your odds.