One of the most frequent things I hear from folks who believe they were treated unfairly or even abusively at work is that “HR was useless.” In other words, they brought their concerns to the attention of the human resources office, and the response was less than helpful, and perhaps even made the situation worse.
Of course, not all HR offices operate in such a manner. It’s easy to bash HR, but to put down HR in general is like saying all politicians are corrupt, all corporations are greedy, all liberals are this, and all lawyers are that — OK, you get the idea.
That said, there are certain rules of thumb to remember concerning the role of HR in today’s workplace:
1. In good and bad workplaces alike, HR answers to top management, not to individual employees. Too many well-meaning team players have learned that lesson painfully, thinking that a seemingly empathetic HR manager is a sort of confidante or counselor. There are plenty of good, supportive HR people out there, but ultimately their job is to support the employer’s hiring and personnel practices and interests.
2. When HR says “bring your problems to us,” it does so in part to keep a lid on anything that might boil over into a big problem, especially a matter that could lead to a lawsuit or bad publicity. (Important note: In fact, in-house company rules may require you to bring your concerns to HR first in order to preserve your legal rights. That’s why getting legal advice early in a brewing employment dispute can be essential.)
3. In workplaces where the leadership is fair-minded, inclusive, secure, and transparent, it is more likely that the HR office will work with employees in the same way. After all, when good leaders hire the HR directors, their positive values can radiate through the organization.
4. In workplaces where the leadership is insular, insecure, exclusionary, and secretive, it is more likely that the HR office is there to cover for and protect the top leaders from hassles, scrutiny, and accountability.
In other words, HR tends to be a reflection and extension of the management philosophy and practices of the top organizational leaders. Depending on where you work, that can be a good or bad thing.
August 14, 2009 at 9:24 pm |
All right, the major roles of HR were originally recruiting, payroll, and benefits. For the most part, recruiting is either done by hiring managers or headhunters and along with that element of outsourcing, payroll and benefits are also administered by third parties. Likewise, not knowing the intricacies of the actual jobs, HR is also a poor *screener* for resumes also.
This makes HR a redundant dept in the company. Next, if HR’s ‘real job’ is to cover up for poor morale and negligent behavior of executives then HR should be an extension of the general counsel office and be staffed with attorneys to document everything, in preparation for either individual or class action suits. For the most part, HR does none of the above and is one of those depts which exists for its own continuity with a facade of being a human services and resource management division.
August 14, 2009 at 9:49 pm |
Jamison, I’ll agree and disagree, perhaps in a way that echoes my original post. Good employers can use HR to carry out good employee relations policies, including training and education programs that are part of a socially intelligent “learning organization.” As for the bad employers, well, I’m pretty much in agreement with you! HR is just another layer of bad stuff that workers have to deal with in the midst of a dysfunctional organization. Thanks, David
August 15, 2009 at 5:07 pm |
:Good employers can use HR to carry out good employee relations policies, including training and education programs that are part of a socially intelligent “learning organization.”
David, in good companies and perhaps the best way to articulate that is companies, which really want to grow for the long term, typically have well establishment educational a/o training depts, with inputs from all other depts within the organization. Human resources may or may not play an active role besides making sure that employees get their allocated time off, for those activities, which are not strictly billable to either a client or an operating cost center. All and all, it once again splits HR, into a shell organization which outsources itself onto educational, recruiting, payroll, and health admin types of internal depts or external partners. I understand the tone of my response has been a bit cynical but after a decade and a half of dealing with HR reps and leads, both for myself and others, I see the entity/org as at best, a redundant dept, or at worst, an impasse to productivity and success. And this was for five companies, not just one.
August 26, 2009 at 9:42 am |
Jamison, you articulate precisely what my experiences have been with private sector, the third sector, and governmental organizations. HR should be re-named INhumane resources because it is anything but HUMAN in practice. The name human resources is totally deceptive. This is why I claim in my book, How Organizations Empower the bully boss: a criminal in the workplace, that employees MUST understand there is no one in the organization willing to assist in any fight or survival of a hostile workplace with a bully boss. Workers are like a commodity treated no better than cattle in some workplaces where there is a bully boss waiting to devour them. I have witnessed the beaten up demoralized workers who were once exceptional, reduced to a far less productive individual, thanks to bully bosses. Frankly, the only message I am sending to folks is protect yourself anyway you can because there is no one out there coming to rescue you from the bully boss or those who protect the bully. http://bit.ly/8RUTJ. @ http://bit.ly/C2kmX
August 26, 2009 at 5:57 pm |
I’m not as ready to engage in a wholesale condemnation of HR as Jamison and Dr. Vee. However, I certainly will chime in to say that of the hundreds of severe bullying situations I’ve become aware of over the past 10 years, I have never had a target tell me that “HR was there for me.” More often than not, HR was been complicit in some way, either covering up for the bullying, engaging in some of the bullying, or playing an “objective” role that had the effect of protecting the aggressors. At times, HR played the role of “willing executioner” on behalf of the bully.
I have no idea what it does to the consciences of HR folks who join in or condone such abuse, or even if they have a conscience about their role in supporting it. Of course, they are not alone. Oftentimes the employer’s lawyers join in on the fun and defend the abuse.
October 14, 2009 at 8:34 pm |
Your article is spot on. The bullied employee cannot afford to be naive. If HR comes through with help that’s wonderful, but in a toxic organization the HR branch and its officers, along with written policies, company statements about respect and safety in the workplace, and other feelgood measures are deceptive.
The bullied employee must record EVERYTHING, complete with dates and witnesses, supporting docments, and any other pieces of evidence that examples of documents, etc. Be willing to jump through all the hoops (and document that too) to demonstrate you’ve exhausted the so-called options your employer advertises as available to you, but ultimately you have to be prepared to use the courts to obtain redress. So save some of your energy and resilience for that process.
I’m going through this hell now… have nightmares about facing firing squads, many other medical problems, depression and PTSD.
I wish all those who have suffered the abuse of a bully boss both good health and strength. We stand together in spirit.
October 15, 2009 at 5:59 pm |
Sue, I’m sorry that you’re enduring this (sadly not untypical) nightmare. Good luck with your situation, and take good care. David
October 17, 2009 at 6:05 pm |
Sue, one of the most important points I stress in “How Organizations Empower the Bully Boss”, is telling everyone about the abuse by the bully. The purpose in doing this is to constantly remind yourself and others that YOU are NOT the problem; the BULLY IS the problem. Sometimes when we are constantly and persistently being harassed by the bully we tend to start doubting ourselves and that is exactly what HR and the bully want to happen. If someone is being targeted by a bully boss and starts to feel their health is negatively impacted due to the harassment, you should see your primary care doctor and also report it if you feel it is due to your job. So many targets who have been injured by the bully boss at work, fail to file worker’s compensation claims which the worker has every legal right to do. At the point where you feel your health is being impacted one should seek legal consultation with an appropriate attorney. It really is a “cold war” of sorts and no one in the organization is going to be honest for fear of stomping their own toe legally in case of a lawsuit. Employees need to understand learning your rights in the workplace is no longer an option, it is now an imperative for surviving the bully boss.
I encourage you, Sue,and other injured workers to continue to speak up and out about abusive bully bosses and the leadership which empowers their criminal behavior. Leadership has the power to control or turn their head on the management style and culture in their organization; failure to do so makes them complicit in the bully’s criminal activities.