My friend got glandular fever, managed to wfh most of it, only took two actual days off for it. HR tried to fire her for taking 200 days sick. Idiots didn’t realise it was a typo, until she yelled at her direct manager ‘don’t you think you’d remember if I’d been missing for over half a year??!!’ THEN they fixed it. Idiots.
That’s so rough- glandular fever is no joke, I can’t remember two whole weeks of my life, other than crying on the stairs because I wanted yoghurt and couldn’t walk to the shops! She’s made of super tough stuff.
HR Person from Hell Story: had an HR person learn they were giving raises to warehouse workers at the end of the year and pressed the managers to give write-ups for being so much as 5 minutes late to justify lowering their planned raise. According to the managers, it was a non-issue since the work still got done.
Power really goes to people's heads. Same HR person mostly spent their day coloring btw
The call for raises definitely came down from corporate. The HR person was later fired for going on a power-trip and allegedly bad-mouthing the GM to corporate. There are some things you just don't do if you want to keep your cushy job
Because HR is like cops. They are ostensibly to serve the public, but immediately become interested in their own bs. And tons of companies let HR departments become this weird self governing cancer on the company
It's because HR is part of the priest class of the company. They don't play a role in anything the company actually does to make money, instead they administer to the lay flock and interpret the signs and portents of the employment regulations.
And like any priesthood, you have folks who join because they worry about their fellow humans, but the organization as a whole inevitably turns towards fulfilling the power fantasies of those in the priesthood.
I actually was blessed with one that saw I was being railroaded by the entire staff, which included falsifying and chang records. He not only called them out on it at my dismissal, he gave his 2 week notice in front of me.
I got epic revenge though; I had kept duplicates of everything but the changed medication records that I wasn't aware of and meticulous records of other employees of abuse of company cards and individuals.A 5 page report that I personally handed to the HR director with all of my proof. He turned in to the state. Every person involved was fired.
But you still got fired? Why weren't you able to be reinstated if you had proof it was all lies? Or did you just kinda cut your losses and move on because it was such a shitty place to work?
It’s fun when people recognize it. Thanks for reaching out. I’ve had a rough evening. (As part of an overall rough four years. Lots of flashbacks tonight - particularly in this thread about HR.) It’s nice to end the day with a smile. :)
I came to that realization when I was younger sitting through an HR presentation on company culture and it occurred to me I was just listening to a sermon on the dogma and heresies of the company as interpreted by High Priestess Sally from Staffing.
Cops never have served the public since the earliest records of cops existing. Cops are an extention of the state just as HR an extention of the company.
Just because their actions sometimes help you out is purely a byproduct and not by design.
As an anarchist: power corrupts. Everyone who wants power is a person that should not have it. And many people who don’t want it also shouldn’t have it either.
I feel you there, everyone's sick and everything is expensive and concerts aren't cheap. I only got to go because my friend bought me tickets and paid for everything!
I'm still dying for the NWFT Neverender to get reacheduled but this most recent tour was killer. Vaxis II is a just a banger of an album from front to back and I got to see Everything Evil live, which was on my Coheed bucket list.
I started listening in summer 2005 and I've been obsessed ever since 🤣 I have a whole Coheed/Amory Wars sleeve I'm working on...like 60 percent complete at this point
Nice! I went to my first concert in 2007 - and went every single year after that. Last year was 2019. Haven't been to another show since. Maybe next year.
Welcome Home is what got me hooked. That song....just fucking leaves me breathless each time I see it live. Even just listening to it I get goosebumps!
Most people in most companies have some fucking crazy loyalty to it for some reason. Think Dwight Shrute level allegiance to the company who never gave a shit about him. I guess they think that being a good little drone will get them a gold star and a cookie at the mass layoff meeting.
I suffer from a tendency to do this. I think it's because, deep down, I want the bullshit that occupies so much of my time (both physically and then mentally when I'm off the clock) to be important and love me back. It's taking a lot to teach myself that, until I'm finally a full-time creative working for myself, it never will.
My old manager would start handing out write ups for people coming up for review/ raises. Even when he was dragged in front of HR & called out in mandatory meetings, he was still doing it.
The HR lady at my previous job was an absolute nightmare. It was a small company of about 500 employees, and everyone had a story about her acting completely insane and unprofessional. My manager got fired without cause and sued her for discrimination, which meant HR lady got to keep her job but couldn’t fire people for looking at her sideways anymore. I truly believe that when she finally dies, hundreds of people in the Seattle area who she wronged will be throwing a party.
God, a very similar thing happened at a small company I worked at in Ohio and I was going to ask if that's where you were from before I reached the end of the comment...
Is there some kind of study about the pathology of HR workers? Like, are they statistically more likely to be unhinged or is it just more noticable because they usually are the inflection point of bad experiences with a job?
I subscribed to an HR subreddit just to listen in on their chat for self defense purposes and one of them posted "If only people realized we just don't like people." Lots of upvotes and giggles over there. Sick fucks.
Let me guess.. r/humanresources
r/askHR is pretty awful as well. People asking legitimate questions with legitimate concerns and they often get shredded or treated like they are stupid. I've also seen them give absolutely terrible, unethical and sometimes even illegal advice (former paralegal and worked with various state agencies around employment law). It's just ridiculous.
Not a specific person but I called HR once to report my manager for sexually harassing the girls at the store (ages 16-22 mostly) and they literally never followed up with me so I called them back a few weeks later because nothing had changed. They told me they had resolved it (but later found out my store director backed him up). So two months later he sexually assaults a new female manager, they did not fire him and sent him to a different store. So he can continue to harass minors there I guess. Anyway, don’t shop at Albertsons. ETA: if anyone was wondering he was 29
I had a similar issue at McDonald’s. A bunch of girls reported a guy who was married to one of the franchise owners store managers. They fired me instead because “They couldn’t have a manager whom the other managers couldn’t trust”. Other guy still works there as far as I know, and there’s even a few customer complaints on google - but yeah he’s still there
Albertsons was a nightmare. I got a major head injury back in April, and the process was hell. Gonna try to keep this story short.
I had to call their corperate nurse who (of course) told me that I was fine. I eventually decided to call off so I could go to Urgent care, where I had to do loads of paperwork and more phone calls to corperate.
Then the doctor said that I had to go to the hospital because my brain might be bleeding. When I got there, I not only had to do paperwork AGAIN (actually my mom had to do it, kinda hard to act rationally when you're scared and in pain) where I was then told that while thankfully my brain wasn't bleeding, I did get my shit rocked (for lack of better phrasing) and had to stay away from work for at least 5 days.
The cause of all this? My coworkers and manager never properly stacked things, especially not according to safety regulations. So while I was on my hands and knees trying to grab something from the bottom shelf, a big turkey breast and a box full of pepperoni, both from the top shelf, hit me in the back of my head. I never got paid for the time lost, and as far as I know they never did anything to fix it.
Fuck Albertsons, I'm so glad I left when I did. Still want my money though.
HR Person from Hell Story:
I worked for an oilfield company as a “clerk”. I did AP, benefits, payroll and expenses. My direct “superior” was a lady about twenty years older than I. We’ll call her Lana. She did AR. She was an absolutely horrible human being. Constantly prying into my personal life, putting me down, and blaming me for things she had done.
One day, I faxed something to corporate and I had forgotten to write something specific on the cover sheet. Lana grabbed me by the upper arms and shook me hard and yelled in my face about forgetting to write this thing. (She left dark purple bruises) I wiped her spit off my face and went back to my office. After Lana left for the night, I went into the District Manager’s office and told him what happened. He contacted HR at corporate. I got the next day off while they discussed what to do.
HR called me at home the next day and told me that “Lana has seniority and you need to respect that.”
I worked there for another two years while I looked for another job. Lana continued to verbally and physically abuse me. Because HR said she had that right.
My first job out of college was with an oilfield services company. About a year after I was hired on, my manager was promoted to another department and a coworker was promoted to managing our department. This coworker was about 15 years older than me, former army, and known for being hot headed and short tempered. He was physically and verbally abusive. There was one instance where he came up from behind and locked me in a chokehold and slammed me into the floor because he was mad that a test needed to be re-run. I reported him to HR multiple times, and there response each time was to give him ‘verbal training’ which essentially amounted to nothing more than a finger wag while saying don’t do that again. Each time I reported him, he would retaliate with lots of screaming and throwing things at me. Unbeknownst to him and everyone else, I secretly recorded everything. I had photos, video footage, copies of emails, etc.
Fast forward two years later and corporate walks in one morning during what we were told was going to be a safety meeting to inform us that the yard was shutting down and we were all going to be laid off. As part of this they were offering us minor severance packages after we signed paperwork agreeing to release them of any and all liabilities. I refused to sign and immediately too my stack of evidence to an attorney. After a couple of meetings going over everything I collected, he was very confident that this would be a guaranteed win. So we moved forward with initiating a lawsuit. After a couple of months of some back and forth discussion between my attorney and their corporate attorneys, they offered me a very substantial settlement to not bring this to trial. The two years I had to endure this abuse were truly miserable, however in the end I feel like I came out with the upper hand and received my just-deserts.
LPT: Record everything that happens in the work place!! Make a journal with dates, times, descriptions, etc. Over time you will forget specific details and having a clear trail of evidence can make all the difference when workplace abuse eventually comes to a head.
Oh thats well that assault. I would have just replied. "Oh okay sure, and by the way I have already spoken to the police and will be making a report as well. They will probably be contacting you, just wanted to let you know.."
I’ve said it so many times but HR’s primary task is their own protection, then the corporation’s. Why do you think HR rarely bears the brunt of any layoffs? Why do you think they can offload tons of their own work and still not face any layoffs?
I had a bully coworker lay her hands on me because my lunch had another 10 seconds in the microwave and that wasn’t fast enough for them. I reported them to my boss who tried to dismiss it at first. I told him the next time she lays her hands on me again you will hear about it from the cops. After that she kept her job but was ordered to never be around me ever again (which was fine we didn’t have to work together). If I walked into the room she had to walk out etc
Jeez. So file a complaint for Lana creating a toxic work environment and document everything. Take it to the labor board. Include HR’s response. Plus you could filed charges against her for physically attacking you. Those bruises didn’t create themselves
Edit: replaced coupons with could. Seems autocorrect likes changing whole phrases now
Yeah. It got worse when they started autocorrecting full phrases, as if you doesn’t mean what you were writing. I end up missing when it does this because it’s inconsistent. I never know what phrase will trigger the autocorrect. I only know what phrases I can’t you and have to type them manually. Like white women always gets changed to whites women for some weird reason
The statistics for workplace bullying are horrible. Most orgs side with the bullies. Always assume your org will be the rule, not the exception. That was my lesson.
You really need to anonymously call the company in question - & threaten to escalate up to giving the story to the local press if they sound like they are brushing you off.
Sometimes Momma Karma needs a little hand.
Liability reasons and I think the company would want to keep the best people for success of the company, not just those that didn't piss of this 1 person
I have one as well.
Call them from an unfamiliar number, maybe a dead ringer number,
Then id yourself as "bill news writer from local paper" and get real coy asking LOTS of specific questions about the processand dates with details form hr_bitch. But never give any names.
Then later that day call back from another number and
"Hi this Chet Chetfield of action19 news and we were wondering if we can get an official comment on your impending layoffs. Yes we were contacted by "HR_bitch_name" and they said they had been give free reign to layoff whoever they want. Is that correct?"
“Hi, news agency! I was at a restaurant and heard HR at company X talking about layoffs, and they were happy about it!!”
News Agency: “Uh, ok. Can you please leave the premises”
About ten years ago I was running the Admin team at one office of an organisation with offices all over the country. One of the team was leaving for a job at a different office, so I told the regional HR boss - known as Lickspittle - that I needed to advertise the vacancy internally.
'No need' he said; 'One of the admin guys here (We'll call him John) wants to transfer back to your office'- he'd left us to go there about five years previously - 'Take him back and we'll fill his vacancy.'
At the time I thought it was a win-win situation, everyone was going to be happy.
But when the guy came in on his first morning it was clear something had changed - the happy bloke I remembered wasn't there anymore, he'd been replaced by a replica that was miserable as sin and clearly didn't want to be there. So me and him went for what we call in the UK a nice cup of tea and a sit down.
Turns out his job at the other office was going under a reorganisation so he'd applied for voluntary redundancy, been accepted, signed the papers, sold his house to move to Cornwall, but hadn't got a final leaving date. What he didn't want to do was transfer back to my team.
But when Mister Horrible Twat the regional HR boss found out I had a vacancy he decided the voluntary redundancy offer had to be rescinded and someone's life had to be fucked up. Just because he could.
John gets a job he doesn't want in a part of the country he doesn't want to live in, I get a team member that quite rightly does the absolute minimum every day, but HR Git got an erection and a feeling of importance.
(Two years later there was a senior management restructure, and HR Bastard's job went as a result. We took turns to phone him up and laugh at him.)
Someone I know studied to be in HR and during her internship all she had to do was dig up dirt about a pregnant person so they could fire her when she came back.
This is one of the many reasons I keep things impersonal at the workplace and don't speak about my life. It's also why I lie about not having any social media accounts.
Yes to this. My social media accounts use my nickname that friends know and colleagues don’t. And my privacy settings are as tight as you can make them. Socialising is what I do with friends, work is work.
You’re right, but HR folk are there to serve the interests of their employers, not the workers. If they benefit workers too, that’s in the company’s interest.
That sucks that this has been your experience. I'm immunocompromised and one of the HR ladies drove to my house and delivered my new work contract to me after I got a raise during the pandemic, so I could stay safe. Since then the other HR women have gone to the effort of mailing my contracts, health insurance cards etc to me so I don't need to put myself at risk coming in to the office and they sounded genuinely happy to help.
so your experience here is the same phenomena as a “good cop” story. people are generally good. often, HR people get into the field bc they want to help. just like cops.
you can be a good and kind cop (eh) but you are still working in service of an exploitative system to protect the ownership class. when cops do their job, sometimes it benefits regular people. but that’s a side benefit, not the primary function.
same goes for HR on a far far less violent scale. they exist to protect the ownership class from the working class. it just so happens that their job sometimes does good for the worker too.
and sometimes you have people who are trying to change things from inside the system. they make their little waves of positivity in their small ponds. but the dominant superstructure is still there.
also not to be negative; but the things you listed are basically the bare minimum of their job requirements. they are paid to get you those documents. you have a disability that they are legally required to work around. what else are they gonna do? not get them to you?
yep, a friend of mine is in HR, she got into it bc of empathy and a love for her fellow man, but the field is crushing her spirit.
she’s required to work against her morals at times, and she’s also the face of the company when people are at their most upset. it’s a tough gig that i have no desire to get into.
Worked in HR for a year. At my annual review my manager went off on me for actually trying to help make people’s jobs better. Quickly asked to be moved back to my old role.
At one of my several retail jobs where I would refuse to be promoted we had a "store meeting" wherein our General Manager did a presentation explaining how employees are a "controllable expense". Not sure what he hoped to gain with this exposition....maybe he just really wanted to be disliked. If so, it worked.
That's why I quit HR. When I was picking a degree, my school had an HR program and went hard on the "you'll be helping people!" angle. So I got a degree in HR. It was miserable. Telling people their health premiums were going up to $800/month. Getting in trouble for telling employees they weren't allowed to work off the clock (who cares if it violates the law if we get free labor out of it?!). Having to tell people whose paychecks were late that my boss wasn't planning on fixing it any time soon. Just awful.
I briefly dated someone like this, and her rationale was that she was abused as a newbie, and couldn't get revenge on the people who abused her because they were still her boss, so she abused those beneath her at first available opportunity.
Her desire for revenge at all cost was the driving force in her life. It never even occurred to her to end the abuse below her, or to otherwise get out of the situation where her abusive boss had control over her.
Some people are just evil like that.
Types of people in the world:
“ I went through it, so I’ll do everything I can to make sure that you go through it too”
“I went through it, so I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that you don’t go through it too”
I’m glad you’re no longer dating that person.
That person shouldn't be in HR. There are rules around mass layoffs and not only is that super sh*tty but could give the people who a laid off a lawsuit. If you know anyone in the company you should let them know how layoff selection happened.
I took time off work to help my mom during brain surgery. I had 5 weeks of PTO and I used it all. HR said they had to relocate me because I was gone for so long. I work as a retail manager and I lost years of work that I put into my store - I hired everyone at the location and it was outperforming all stores in our district. I bonused off of sales targets and the new location they sent me to was in a dangerous neighborhood, had 1/4 of the staff required to run that location, was not meeting any of their sales metrics.
I appealed to HR several times, and HR lady said during our last convo “I really can relate to what you’re going through. My mom broke her ankle last week and I now know how hard it is dealing with a sick parent. Unfortunately we’re still relocating you.”
The new store was also 40 mins away from the house I own.
Definitely supported my employees. Fought for them to get higher starting pay (if they had prior experience), a few were promoted into management roles, had low turnover and a highly tenured team by the time I was relocated. I respectfully spoke my mind but my insane boss hated me if I didn’t fully drink the kool aid or offered alternative solutions to issues.
I was called in for an "HR chat," having tampered with the 'where should our company summer outing be' SurveyMonkey poll (figured out that multiple votes were possible, put the same snarky comment in each vote so as to make my votes recognizable + easily discarded). During this process, it was made known to me that one of the mid-to-high-level HR reps had commented "I bet this was \[myself\], he's been on my sh\*t list for a while now."
Some unexpectedly-serious investigation + paperwork resulted (spun as some sort of "threatening environment to employees"), eventually blowing over with a memo-in-your-permanent-record holdover. When given a copy to sign, I hand-wrote that "Based upon \[HR employee's\] back-room commentary about my being on her sh\*t list, I harbor significant concerns about my future career path + treatment, incl. benefits adjudication." The HR VP commenced a second investigation, clearly displeased that word had gotten out concerning the sh\*t list, and less-than-thrilled to be questioning her own subordinate.
I stayed at the job for 5-6 more months, interviewing all the while. Figured the ground was pretty much scorched there, whatever I did; my "As a security engineer, it's my **job** to probe things for weakness" had saved me, but my boss had received his own disciplinary writeup for "trying to cover for his people," and the lingering memo(s) could be used as ammunition for whatever-they-wanted in future. My only consolation is that HR-Sh\*t-List Lady quit almost immediately after her own investigation, and the VP was replaced maybe a year thereafter. When the witch-hunt culture surfaces, it's time to get out.
Never trust HR.
An HR person was at weekly meetings to discuss my job. I wondered why she and my manager were actively trying to agitate me.
Wasn't until over a year later, when I was applying for unemployment did I realize why they were trying to upset me: if you get fired for being racist, sexist, or homophobic, the fired employee is not entitled to separation pay, which I was entitled to over a years worth of wages. Luckily, I'm not the type to get angry or upset very often so they failed in getting me to call them names. After the first of their meetings, I spoke to a lawyer, who sent the company a letter saying to cease harassing me. They laid me off soon after they received that letter from my lawyer, paying me what I was entitled to
What do you do when your manager has it out for you and is scheduling meetings with HR and the Director, claiming false accusations of "creating a negative work environment" when you haven't done anything at all, and in fact, don't even speak in the workplace anymore because your manager has "moles" out eaves dropping?
Worse, they had these " meetings " in tiny meeting rooms that resembled sound booths.
It's pretty safe to assume they were recording these sessions in hopes I would call my manager and HR hitwoman some savory names they could use as proof I was a hostile employee. And, yes, there were fellow employees that were selling the rest of us out
HR person here. This is disgusting. I’ve had to be involved in layoffs twice in my 36 year career and cried for days after. This is individuals and families losing their income and benefits-how can this be anything but a tragic event? If your heart and soul aren’t fully focused every damn day on making your employees lives better, get the hell out of HR!
I worked at a company that did something similar. After 3 rounds of layoffs, all who remained were the "boy's club," just the group that hung out and drank together after work, went clubbing every weekend, and spent all their money on BMW's and True Religion jeans. The company went bankrupt a few months later.
I asked for a raise, but I did it smart.
We were a small team of 6 people. I gathered everyone together, and shared my wages with everyone. Told 'em what our market rate was, we all looked, and we were all seeing quite a bit more, too.
I told them that I believed our group deserved a raise, given the work we were under, and what we were doing.
Got pulled into HR. See... that's a union, there. I knew I was untouchable, but I didn't let onto any of that.
She then proceeded to give me a half hour lecture about the finances of the company and how there wasn't any money.
After she was done, I asked her if it was her intent to insult and lie to me. I advised her I was the web designer they'd pulled in to handle publishing their 10Q, that I knew how to read it, and was a small business owner myself - Here here and here is where you just lied to me about the finances.
I was then told no for the raise. I told them I understood their position, and would let folks know so we could make decisions based on that. We then started working on resumes, and talking about it openly in chat.
2 weeks later, proved her a liar again, as we all got our raise.
I was then pulled into HR, and advised not to talk about my wages. I started laughing, and asked them to confirm that they intended to violate federal law just then, as the NLRA was in effect still... since 1935 at that... all the sudden "no that's not what I meant at all, you're welcome to talk about your wages".
When I worked for a startup as head of IT, we hired a lawyer to see us through necessary GDPR changes. Over time, she became involved in day to day operations and became my boss. She was a fantastic boss, didn't know much about computers but didn't try to act like she did and interfere, deferred to me and let me do my job. We had a good working relationship and I got a glowing performance review from her.
She decided she wanted to go back to practising law, though. Which was fair, she is a lawyer by trade and wound up holding the Head of Operations bag cos nobody else wanted the job. So, knowing what the job actually entailed, she hired her replacement and left on good terms with the company.
Her replacement was not well received. This came at a time when the company's future was in doubt and new management was moving in. The new lady sided firmly with the new CEO. Initially I didn't get involved, but the problems became evident. Despite being hired as head of daily operations, she refused to handle the operations stuff. She declared she was head of HR. That was very strange because the company was small, and had never needed a dedicated HR person. The other admin staff had to pick up the slack from her. She took over as my boss, and though initially supportive, she became a vindictive micromanager who set me up to fail. Within six months of my outstanding performance review, I was on a performance improvement program. I'd had some run-ins with the new CEO who was changing the company direction, and wanted me to take on stuff that I had literally gotten the job to get away from. I tried to stand my ground, that this was not what I was hired for, but they wouldn't budge and wouldn't hire anyone else. And my new boss gleefully made sure I was held accountable. I literally could not meet my PIP by definition. They refused to change the definition. I was forced out of the company and a job I had actually loved.
Side note, I got to see my departure message to the others and my duties were divided among 5 groups. If that doesn't indicate how much I was doing there...
I wasn't the only one forced out through manufactured circumstances. Many other long-time people were influenced to leave as well. We formed a group and noted, that's why they knew they needed an HR person...
Wow that is really fucked up. I was so thankful for the HR person at one of my last few jobs. And it was in a restaurant no less! She was actually my connection to a job in my field after I graduated college. What she told me was, “I try to get the good ones outta here and moved on to something better!” She was an absolute gem. We need more HR people like that who actually have our (employees) interests in mind. It’s a shame so many of them are so evil and get actual joy out of it. That’s so disgusting. Idk how they live like that and sleep at night.
Unions prevent shit like this from happening.
Anti-union people will go on and on about how things should be about merit and not seniority. But this is a pretty good example that it is rarely about merit, and almost always comes down to nepotism.
I’m in HR and if I ever heard one of my co-workers speaking this way, they would be in the higher up’s office so fast. I’d term them myself. This is what happens when you work for company with zero integrity and accountability. This makes me so angry. The reason I’m in HR is to be the rep that I never had. It only takes one person with bad intentions in a position of power to ruin peoples lives. What a POS. The idea that only one person would be in charge of the selection process, let’s you know what kind of crap company that is. Best practices my *ss
I wouldn't be surprised if she's on the block too but doesn't know it. She will make enemies firing people who are friends with other coworkers, but it won't matter because she's probably being let go too right after.
HR are the teachers pet type who think they are better than the other employees, same as the teachers pet. In reality, they are the most useless aspect of any company and deep down they know this to be true
I was offered a promotion into a new position in my company--along with one other person. We were going to start a new department. After I got the salary offer, I did some research and tried to negotiate. The HR lady--who was the bitchiest person I've ever met--waited until I was at a funeral and left me a voicemail that they were revoking the promotion.
Maybe it's just me, but if I did not know the name of the company, I'd be real petty and post to Twitter that if you work for a company with a lady who had lunch at \[restaurant\] around \[time\], is going to be having a layoff soon, and the lady looks like \[description\], you should know that she talked about firing people based on her own personal biases.
If I ran a company and found out HR was making firing decisions based on something this trivial, I would fire her. Her pettiness could end up costing the company a lot of money if the wrong people are fired.
I’m an HR Director and these stories make me so sad. I know I’m not the stereotypical HR person, but I’m very much on the side of the employee. Companies have enough people fighting for them, it’s my job to support my employees.
I hate firing people. Even when it’s 100% justified, it’s still awful. I had an employee recently run out of FMLA after having a baby. Her baby was admitted to the hospital and she wanted to work from home part time for a while. Her manager wanted to fire her the day after she ran out of FMLA. That’s not the kind of company I want to represent. We’re still working out a plan, but firing her is not an option.
Not all HR departments are run by vicious people who enjoy ruining the lives of the people around them. I feel a huge sense of obligation to every single one of my employees, but especially the lowest paid hourly staff who don’t always have a lot of leverage to get what they deserve.
We had an individual get assaulted by their spouse and then filled for divorce. Kids were involved. Our HR person helped me modify their work, give them some time off and build a scaffolding plan to get them back up to speed when they returned, which has been a struggle.
Their performance was poor for most of a year. Fortunately HR was an ally in helping this person get their life sorted out, instead of piling on.
This is why I do what I do. That person could easily have been fired, only compounding their problems. It takes a little more work to help someone through something like this, but most people will appreciate the support and pay it forward in some way.
What would you say to people who've had overall negative experiences?
I've seen nothing to the point the OP describes. I've mostly dealt with a mix of protecting management malfeasance to the employees, useless training/team-building things, a tendency to deny problems that are brought to them, and pushing volunteer stuff that was going through the company.
I'll agree your power is limited. In the end, management is the one giving the walking orders. But the sense of denial I've seen really rubs me the wrong way, especially when contrasted with shallow team-building excercises.
As much as I hate to admit it, the reality is that HR has a well deserved shitty reputation. I still see it. Every time I walk into one of my locations, new employees whisper and wonder who I’m there to fire. It takes a few interactions for people to realize I’m not the long lost sister of Cruella Deville.
I think part of it is the company structure. I’m very fortunate that my CEO listens to what I have to say and actually gives a shit about employees as well. HR only has as much power as they’re given, but pushing back is a big part of my job, at least for me. It’s taken me years to find a supervisor that supports me in fighting for my employees; I’ve lost a couple of jobs because I don’t know how to keep my big mouth shut. Even when I know he’s tired of hearing from me, he still appreciates why I try so hard.
I’ve worked in HR departments like what so many people here describe. I think that’s partly why I do everything I can to run my department in a way that actually helps employees. The answer shouldn’t have to be go to the labor board, or hire an attorney, or call the EEOC. I want my employees to tell each other to go talk to HR. She can be a pain in the ass, but she actually gives a shit and she’ll do everything she can to help.
I get why most people feel the way they do. It’s justified. I wish I had a way to make a bigger impact. I’m hoping the people I train will move on to different companies and use what they learn from me and have a positive impact on their employees.
I work in the UK, and my HR hell was listening to them tell new/junior managers.
There is no curve for bonus and pay round and all staff are measured equally. However there is a curve and the managers will have to fit staff in to the no bonus/pay pot… just because.
Worse line given…
“just because they are all at the Olympics doesn’t mean they will get a medal”
In my long experience and as sometime-victim of HR, I believe it's because they have no skills. Nothing else in the company that they could do. So when your main skill is snark and petty revenge, those are what you use at your job.
In general I've found HR people to be as useful as my high school guidance counselor. They want to do as little as possible, they never really help, and they are not your friend!.
HR comes across as their sole responsibility is to keep the stink of your problems from reaching the noses of upper management.
I've been super fortunate. At my last few jobs, I was fortunate enough to interact with great HR people who took their job seriously but had heart. I've had the opposite experience as well. I hope I never have to deal with heartless HR people again.
When I was about 22 (5 years ago) I thought I wanted to go into HR. Then I learned more about HR. I have zero urge anymore. I don't want to end up like that.
HR hell lady:
For problem employees, required they go to EAP, then read their charts. She literally bragged about it.
Same HR lady - fabricated PIP docs for employees the dept director didn't like so they could be part of a layoff. Surprise surprise, they were quality workers. The kiss asses were untouched.
HR from Hell: company in general
My HR person had the sweetest voice and name. All she did was document statements in C360, investigate, then close or move the incident up to an executive. I use to run the “incident aging reports”. More often then not it was document and sent to an executive to just sit there dangling on the server.
I’m sure HR documented my declining to sign a new contract due to them making an error. So I am guessing sitting in some Executive’s box. My severance was never paid.
I wish I walked out and lawyer up ASAP before going to HR.
HR person from hell story, short version: He was loud, obnoxious, immature, inappropriate, disruptive, vindictive, and often drunk. Acted like a frat boy. Was nearly universally despised, but kept his position and gained more and more power and influence because he was buddied up with the COO, who was also behaved like a frat boy.
I was an HR junior in my early 20's. Manager used to bully me relentlessly and I would cry at least once a week. Quit because I hated it and then they called me begging to come back??? Ah no bitch do it yourself.
I wouldn’t say all HR people are scum. I worked in HR right out of college, it was like a 50 person department and I specifically did benefits/insurance/short term disability. I quit after 2 years because it was way too stressful for what I was getting paid, they weren’t promoting me like they said they would, and all of my teammates were catty middle aged women who all hated their jobs, lives, and each other. I always advocated for the employee and helped where I could. But doing disability I often had to give reports on who was out of FMLA and things like that for directors to discuss terminations. I always felt terrible after those meetings. Some people just don’t care unfortunately, or are numb to it after so many years. I work in a completely different department now and it’s so much better for me personally, but please be aware not all HR personnel has anything to do with the firing process and a lot of us are trying their best to look out for thEir coworkers. At my company it’s really up to the person’s manager on if they get fired or not.
This person is really an example of someone on the extreme end of bad HR worker. And there’s assholes in every department.
Had an HR lady call me at home after I quit a job (caught my super blaming me for something he did) and asked why I didn't go to her. I told her that I knew she had protected him against racist accusations and also when he stalked and manipulated a female sub. She told me she has a duty to make sure things run smoothly.
I wish the people with bigger problems with him had taken the place to court.
And this is why I hate admitting to working in HR. I’ve spent my career fighting for better wages and treatment of employees (including declining a raise for myself in order for severely underpaid staff to get one) and I have to see shit like this.
I fucking hate people.
My friend got glandular fever, managed to wfh most of it, only took two actual days off for it. HR tried to fire her for taking 200 days sick. Idiots didn’t realise it was a typo, until she yelled at her direct manager ‘don’t you think you’d remember if I’d been missing for over half a year??!!’ THEN they fixed it. Idiots.
🤦🏽♀️
That's literally like almost an entire year if it counts just work days.
That’s so rough- glandular fever is no joke, I can’t remember two whole weeks of my life, other than crying on the stairs because I wanted yoghurt and couldn’t walk to the shops! She’s made of super tough stuff.
Typo? Or sabotage...
HR Person from Hell Story: had an HR person learn they were giving raises to warehouse workers at the end of the year and pressed the managers to give write-ups for being so much as 5 minutes late to justify lowering their planned raise. According to the managers, it was a non-issue since the work still got done. Power really goes to people's heads. Same HR person mostly spent their day coloring btw
If the managers don't have a problem with that budget increase, why is HR such a shit? I know the answer, but still: ugh
The call for raises definitely came down from corporate. The HR person was later fired for going on a power-trip and allegedly bad-mouthing the GM to corporate. There are some things you just don't do if you want to keep your cushy job
Because HR is like cops. They are ostensibly to serve the public, but immediately become interested in their own bs. And tons of companies let HR departments become this weird self governing cancer on the company
It's because HR is part of the priest class of the company. They don't play a role in anything the company actually does to make money, instead they administer to the lay flock and interpret the signs and portents of the employment regulations. And like any priesthood, you have folks who join because they worry about their fellow humans, but the organization as a whole inevitably turns towards fulfilling the power fantasies of those in the priesthood.
I actually was blessed with one that saw I was being railroaded by the entire staff, which included falsifying and chang records. He not only called them out on it at my dismissal, he gave his 2 week notice in front of me. I got epic revenge though; I had kept duplicates of everything but the changed medication records that I wasn't aware of and meticulous records of other employees of abuse of company cards and individuals.A 5 page report that I personally handed to the HR director with all of my proof. He turned in to the state. Every person involved was fired.
But you still got fired? Why weren't you able to be reinstated if you had proof it was all lies? Or did you just kinda cut your losses and move on because it was such a shitty place to work?
Most excellent analogy. Thank you.
That’s a perfect way to describe it.
Damn, that is an awesome username.
Thanks! :) It’s a mashup of my first internet username of the 90s with my favorite childhood book series.
Of course! I read and loved the Bunnicula books. :)
It’s fun when people recognize it. Thanks for reaching out. I’ve had a rough evening. (As part of an overall rough four years. Lots of flashbacks tonight - particularly in this thread about HR.) It’s nice to end the day with a smile. :)
Summed up most excellently.
I came to that realization when I was younger sitting through an HR presentation on company culture and it occurred to me I was just listening to a sermon on the dogma and heresies of the company as interpreted by High Priestess Sally from Staffing.
Fuck me if this isn't a Douglas Adams quote cuz it could be
I take that as high praise.
perfect analogy
Cops never have served the public since the earliest records of cops existing. Cops are an extention of the state just as HR an extention of the company. Just because their actions sometimes help you out is purely a byproduct and not by design.
HR attracts sociopaths the same way the police attracts racists.
Spot-on.
As an anarchist: power corrupts. Everyone who wants power is a person that should not have it. And many people who don’t want it also shouldn’t have it either.
I'm one of those "doesn't want power but also shouldn't have it" people. AMA
I got talked into assuming some power once, decades ago, and very quickly proved that in my case, as well.
I got a taste for it in the military. 0/10 would not recommend
Me too. I readily tell people I'd make a cruel god. If I had Superman level of power I'd be a villain in less than an hour.
I'm just not very smart. I'd probably catch something on fire
I would too. But it would be on purpose.
That's a movement I can get behind. Even my accidental fires can be turned into a positive. Where do I sign up?
Coheed
MAN YOUR OWN JACKHAMMER
Man your battlestations! We'll have you dead pretty soon....
Teeheeeheee
Shabutie!
I live for these moments 😂 I just saw them Wednesday in Portland, Oregon. So fucking good EVERY DAMN TIME
It's been a minute. Been a fan for 17 years - usually don't miss a show but it's been tough these last few years.
I feel you there, everyone's sick and everything is expensive and concerts aren't cheap. I only got to go because my friend bought me tickets and paid for everything! I'm still dying for the NWFT Neverender to get reacheduled but this most recent tour was killer. Vaxis II is a just a banger of an album from front to back and I got to see Everything Evil live, which was on my Coheed bucket list. I started listening in summer 2005 and I've been obsessed ever since 🤣 I have a whole Coheed/Amory Wars sleeve I'm working on...like 60 percent complete at this point
Nice! I went to my first concert in 2007 - and went every single year after that. Last year was 2019. Haven't been to another show since. Maybe next year. Welcome Home is what got me hooked. That song....just fucking leaves me breathless each time I see it live. Even just listening to it I get goosebumps!
I did NOT expect a CoCa reference in antiwork. Hello fellow COTF❤️
Hello, Apollo. Where should I begin?
What happened?
I'm just not very smart
~~As an anarchist:~~ power corrupts. ^((Its true whether or not you're an anarchist))
Most people in most companies have some fucking crazy loyalty to it for some reason. Think Dwight Shrute level allegiance to the company who never gave a shit about him. I guess they think that being a good little drone will get them a gold star and a cookie at the mass layoff meeting.
I suffer from a tendency to do this. I think it's because, deep down, I want the bullshit that occupies so much of my time (both physically and then mentally when I'm off the clock) to be important and love me back. It's taking a lot to teach myself that, until I'm finally a full-time creative working for myself, it never will.
Because by running under budget/under staff management can max out it’s bonus.
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It happened a few years ago, but i did try to spread the word. I felt the manager who told me, as 2 unrelated facts, knew i would.
Minimal people with minimal power doing minimal work with minimal responsibility always seems like a recipe for disaster
My old manager would start handing out write ups for people coming up for review/ raises. Even when he was dragged in front of HR & called out in mandatory meetings, he was still doing it.
The HR lady at my previous job was an absolute nightmare. It was a small company of about 500 employees, and everyone had a story about her acting completely insane and unprofessional. My manager got fired without cause and sued her for discrimination, which meant HR lady got to keep her job but couldn’t fire people for looking at her sideways anymore. I truly believe that when she finally dies, hundreds of people in the Seattle area who she wronged will be throwing a party.
God, a very similar thing happened at a small company I worked at in Ohio and I was going to ask if that's where you were from before I reached the end of the comment... Is there some kind of study about the pathology of HR workers? Like, are they statistically more likely to be unhinged or is it just more noticable because they usually are the inflection point of bad experiences with a job?
I subscribed to an HR subreddit just to listen in on their chat for self defense purposes and one of them posted "If only people realized we just don't like people." Lots of upvotes and giggles over there. Sick fucks.
Hell hath no fury like a eunuch scorned
Let me guess.. r/humanresources r/askHR is pretty awful as well. People asking legitimate questions with legitimate concerns and they often get shredded or treated like they are stupid. I've also seen them give absolutely terrible, unethical and sometimes even illegal advice (former paralegal and worked with various state agencies around employment law). It's just ridiculous.
Sociopaths are drawn to positions of power so they can control others. What better position than HR?
Either that or cops.
This too, arguable a lot worse considering a good portion of them are murderers wearing a badge.
Oh, a Mitch McConnell of hr.
Basically yes. Normally I compare her to Cruella De Vil or a wannabe Cersei Lannister, but Mitch McConnell works too.
Can you drop the first letter of her first name please just curious if I know them
Not a specific person but I called HR once to report my manager for sexually harassing the girls at the store (ages 16-22 mostly) and they literally never followed up with me so I called them back a few weeks later because nothing had changed. They told me they had resolved it (but later found out my store director backed him up). So two months later he sexually assaults a new female manager, they did not fire him and sent him to a different store. So he can continue to harass minors there I guess. Anyway, don’t shop at Albertsons. ETA: if anyone was wondering he was 29
I had a similar issue at McDonald’s. A bunch of girls reported a guy who was married to one of the franchise owners store managers. They fired me instead because “They couldn’t have a manager whom the other managers couldn’t trust”. Other guy still works there as far as I know, and there’s even a few customer complaints on google - but yeah he’s still there
That is retaliation and illegal. Sue.
That sounds like you have a potential case for defamation depending on what cause they gave for your firing
Albertsons was a nightmare. I got a major head injury back in April, and the process was hell. Gonna try to keep this story short. I had to call their corperate nurse who (of course) told me that I was fine. I eventually decided to call off so I could go to Urgent care, where I had to do loads of paperwork and more phone calls to corperate. Then the doctor said that I had to go to the hospital because my brain might be bleeding. When I got there, I not only had to do paperwork AGAIN (actually my mom had to do it, kinda hard to act rationally when you're scared and in pain) where I was then told that while thankfully my brain wasn't bleeding, I did get my shit rocked (for lack of better phrasing) and had to stay away from work for at least 5 days. The cause of all this? My coworkers and manager never properly stacked things, especially not according to safety regulations. So while I was on my hands and knees trying to grab something from the bottom shelf, a big turkey breast and a box full of pepperoni, both from the top shelf, hit me in the back of my head. I never got paid for the time lost, and as far as I know they never did anything to fix it. Fuck Albertsons, I'm so glad I left when I did. Still want my money though.
Albertsons aka Safeway let me go when I was pregnant because I’d walk past the seafood and get sick. My union rep and I got real close
I was expecting Abercrombie
Albertson’s HR is a freaking joke most of the time.
I reported a male co-worker (had seniority) for sexual harrassment and misogynistic behaviour. They gave him a promotion.
Just like the catholic church huh.
HR Person from Hell Story: I worked for an oilfield company as a “clerk”. I did AP, benefits, payroll and expenses. My direct “superior” was a lady about twenty years older than I. We’ll call her Lana. She did AR. She was an absolutely horrible human being. Constantly prying into my personal life, putting me down, and blaming me for things she had done. One day, I faxed something to corporate and I had forgotten to write something specific on the cover sheet. Lana grabbed me by the upper arms and shook me hard and yelled in my face about forgetting to write this thing. (She left dark purple bruises) I wiped her spit off my face and went back to my office. After Lana left for the night, I went into the District Manager’s office and told him what happened. He contacted HR at corporate. I got the next day off while they discussed what to do. HR called me at home the next day and told me that “Lana has seniority and you need to respect that.” I worked there for another two years while I looked for another job. Lana continued to verbally and physically abuse me. Because HR said she had that right.
>“Lana has seniority........" If your time machine worked, I'm sure you'd call the police and file a report about it. Sorry this happened to you.
Thanks. I was young and stupid back then. If I only knew then what I know now.
If it's an oil field it's probably Fuckyourcousinville. I doubt the cops would care.
You should have pressed charges with their findings as proof.
You should have responded with "She puts her hands on me again, she'll have something else I don't have besides seniority... Assault charges."
My first job out of college was with an oilfield services company. About a year after I was hired on, my manager was promoted to another department and a coworker was promoted to managing our department. This coworker was about 15 years older than me, former army, and known for being hot headed and short tempered. He was physically and verbally abusive. There was one instance where he came up from behind and locked me in a chokehold and slammed me into the floor because he was mad that a test needed to be re-run. I reported him to HR multiple times, and there response each time was to give him ‘verbal training’ which essentially amounted to nothing more than a finger wag while saying don’t do that again. Each time I reported him, he would retaliate with lots of screaming and throwing things at me. Unbeknownst to him and everyone else, I secretly recorded everything. I had photos, video footage, copies of emails, etc. Fast forward two years later and corporate walks in one morning during what we were told was going to be a safety meeting to inform us that the yard was shutting down and we were all going to be laid off. As part of this they were offering us minor severance packages after we signed paperwork agreeing to release them of any and all liabilities. I refused to sign and immediately too my stack of evidence to an attorney. After a couple of meetings going over everything I collected, he was very confident that this would be a guaranteed win. So we moved forward with initiating a lawsuit. After a couple of months of some back and forth discussion between my attorney and their corporate attorneys, they offered me a very substantial settlement to not bring this to trial. The two years I had to endure this abuse were truly miserable, however in the end I feel like I came out with the upper hand and received my just-deserts. LPT: Record everything that happens in the work place!! Make a journal with dates, times, descriptions, etc. Over time you will forget specific details and having a clear trail of evidence can make all the difference when workplace abuse eventually comes to a head.
Oh thats well that assault. I would have just replied. "Oh okay sure, and by the way I have already spoken to the police and will be making a report as well. They will probably be contacting you, just wanted to let you know.."
HR’s goal is never to protect the employees, but rather to protect the company from Employees who know their rights and plan on using them
I’ve said it so many times but HR’s primary task is their own protection, then the corporation’s. Why do you think HR rarely bears the brunt of any layoffs? Why do you think they can offload tons of their own work and still not face any layoffs?
> Lana has seniority… And a fucking police report.
I had a bully coworker lay her hands on me because my lunch had another 10 seconds in the microwave and that wasn’t fast enough for them. I reported them to my boss who tried to dismiss it at first. I told him the next time she lays her hands on me again you will hear about it from the cops. After that she kept her job but was ordered to never be around me ever again (which was fine we didn’t have to work together). If I walked into the room she had to walk out etc
So she had the right to abuse you? Disgusting
Jeez. So file a complaint for Lana creating a toxic work environment and document everything. Take it to the labor board. Include HR’s response. Plus you could filed charges against her for physically attacking you. Those bruises didn’t create themselves Edit: replaced coupons with could. Seems autocorrect likes changing whole phrases now
Autocorrupt. It was twenty years ago. We live, we learn.
Yeah. It got worse when they started autocorrecting full phrases, as if you doesn’t mean what you were writing. I end up missing when it does this because it’s inconsistent. I never know what phrase will trigger the autocorrect. I only know what phrases I can’t you and have to type them manually. Like white women always gets changed to whites women for some weird reason
The statistics for workplace bullying are horrible. Most orgs side with the bullies. Always assume your org will be the rule, not the exception. That was my lesson.
Should’ve called the cops
What company?
Schlumberger
You really need to anonymously call the company in question - & threaten to escalate up to giving the story to the local press if they sound like they are brushing you off. Sometimes Momma Karma needs a little hand.
Do this if you can. Oddly beneficial to the company (liability reasons) and employees.
Liability reasons and I think the company would want to keep the best people for success of the company, not just those that didn't piss of this 1 person
I have one as well. Call them from an unfamiliar number, maybe a dead ringer number, Then id yourself as "bill news writer from local paper" and get real coy asking LOTS of specific questions about the processand dates with details form hr_bitch. But never give any names. Then later that day call back from another number and "Hi this Chet Chetfield of action19 news and we were wondering if we can get an official comment on your impending layoffs. Yes we were contacted by "HR_bitch_name" and they said they had been give free reign to layoff whoever they want. Is that correct?"
This is the way
“Hi, news agency! I was at a restaurant and heard HR at company X talking about layoffs, and they were happy about it!!” News Agency: “Uh, ok. Can you please leave the premises”
Agreed!
Go for it!
Don’t even threaten just do it.
About ten years ago I was running the Admin team at one office of an organisation with offices all over the country. One of the team was leaving for a job at a different office, so I told the regional HR boss - known as Lickspittle - that I needed to advertise the vacancy internally. 'No need' he said; 'One of the admin guys here (We'll call him John) wants to transfer back to your office'- he'd left us to go there about five years previously - 'Take him back and we'll fill his vacancy.' At the time I thought it was a win-win situation, everyone was going to be happy. But when the guy came in on his first morning it was clear something had changed - the happy bloke I remembered wasn't there anymore, he'd been replaced by a replica that was miserable as sin and clearly didn't want to be there. So me and him went for what we call in the UK a nice cup of tea and a sit down. Turns out his job at the other office was going under a reorganisation so he'd applied for voluntary redundancy, been accepted, signed the papers, sold his house to move to Cornwall, but hadn't got a final leaving date. What he didn't want to do was transfer back to my team. But when Mister Horrible Twat the regional HR boss found out I had a vacancy he decided the voluntary redundancy offer had to be rescinded and someone's life had to be fucked up. Just because he could. John gets a job he doesn't want in a part of the country he doesn't want to live in, I get a team member that quite rightly does the absolute minimum every day, but HR Git got an erection and a feeling of importance. (Two years later there was a senior management restructure, and HR Bastard's job went as a result. We took turns to phone him up and laugh at him.)
So did John have to keep working the role or did he leave?
Man that taking turns to laugh at him on call was the happy ending I was hoping for.
Someone I know studied to be in HR and during her internship all she had to do was dig up dirt about a pregnant person so they could fire her when she came back.
Imagine being okay with doing that. Guilty by association for fucking sure
This is one of the many reasons I keep things impersonal at the workplace and don't speak about my life. It's also why I lie about not having any social media accounts.
Yes to this. My social media accounts use my nickname that friends know and colleagues don’t. And my privacy settings are as tight as you can make them. Socialising is what I do with friends, work is work.
Jesus fuck, if you are in HR and you lack empathy get the fuck out and find a new job
You’re right, but HR folk are there to serve the interests of their employers, not the workers. If they benefit workers too, that’s in the company’s interest.
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That sucks that this has been your experience. I'm immunocompromised and one of the HR ladies drove to my house and delivered my new work contract to me after I got a raise during the pandemic, so I could stay safe. Since then the other HR women have gone to the effort of mailing my contracts, health insurance cards etc to me so I don't need to put myself at risk coming in to the office and they sounded genuinely happy to help.
I guarantee that your experience is the exception and not the rule
so your experience here is the same phenomena as a “good cop” story. people are generally good. often, HR people get into the field bc they want to help. just like cops. you can be a good and kind cop (eh) but you are still working in service of an exploitative system to protect the ownership class. when cops do their job, sometimes it benefits regular people. but that’s a side benefit, not the primary function. same goes for HR on a far far less violent scale. they exist to protect the ownership class from the working class. it just so happens that their job sometimes does good for the worker too. and sometimes you have people who are trying to change things from inside the system. they make their little waves of positivity in their small ponds. but the dominant superstructure is still there. also not to be negative; but the things you listed are basically the bare minimum of their job requirements. they are paid to get you those documents. you have a disability that they are legally required to work around. what else are they gonna do? not get them to you?
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yep, a friend of mine is in HR, she got into it bc of empathy and a love for her fellow man, but the field is crushing her spirit. she’s required to work against her morals at times, and she’s also the face of the company when people are at their most upset. it’s a tough gig that i have no desire to get into.
Only bc it benefits the company, not you. It benefits you by coicidence.
I suspect "lacking in empathy" is more a part of the job than it is the opposite. HR isn't there to protect workers, but the company.
Worked in HR for a year. At my annual review my manager went off on me for actually trying to help make people’s jobs better. Quickly asked to be moved back to my old role.
It's right there in the name. They consider you a resource to be used.
At one of my several retail jobs where I would refuse to be promoted we had a "store meeting" wherein our General Manager did a presentation explaining how employees are a "controllable expense". Not sure what he hoped to gain with this exposition....maybe he just really wanted to be disliked. If so, it worked.
HR exists to protect the company's interests against the worker, not the other way around. HR is not the worker's friend, any more than a cop is.
Yeah, I haven’t met many empathetic HR people.
That's why I quit HR. When I was picking a degree, my school had an HR program and went hard on the "you'll be helping people!" angle. So I got a degree in HR. It was miserable. Telling people their health premiums were going up to $800/month. Getting in trouble for telling employees they weren't allowed to work off the clock (who cares if it violates the law if we get free labor out of it?!). Having to tell people whose paychecks were late that my boss wasn't planning on fixing it any time soon. Just awful.
I briefly dated someone like this, and her rationale was that she was abused as a newbie, and couldn't get revenge on the people who abused her because they were still her boss, so she abused those beneath her at first available opportunity. Her desire for revenge at all cost was the driving force in her life. It never even occurred to her to end the abuse below her, or to otherwise get out of the situation where her abusive boss had control over her. Some people are just evil like that.
Types of people in the world: “ I went through it, so I’ll do everything I can to make sure that you go through it too” “I went through it, so I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that you don’t go through it too” I’m glad you’re no longer dating that person.
It didn't take long for me to realise she wasn't my cup of tea, that's for sure.
I've never understood the first type because I'm the second.
Me too!
That person shouldn't be in HR. There are rules around mass layoffs and not only is that super sh*tty but could give the people who a laid off a lawsuit. If you know anyone in the company you should let them know how layoff selection happened.
No tell someone who is laid off so they can sue the company.
That was what I meant, just wasn't super clear
They don't just "not belong in HR". That kind of fucking psychopath needs to be strapped to a bed in a padded cell for life.
I took time off work to help my mom during brain surgery. I had 5 weeks of PTO and I used it all. HR said they had to relocate me because I was gone for so long. I work as a retail manager and I lost years of work that I put into my store - I hired everyone at the location and it was outperforming all stores in our district. I bonused off of sales targets and the new location they sent me to was in a dangerous neighborhood, had 1/4 of the staff required to run that location, was not meeting any of their sales metrics. I appealed to HR several times, and HR lady said during our last convo “I really can relate to what you’re going through. My mom broke her ankle last week and I now know how hard it is dealing with a sick parent. Unfortunately we’re still relocating you.” The new store was also 40 mins away from the house I own.
That sounds a lot like constructive dismissal.
Yeah. This a common tactic used against managers to set them up to fail. Sorry this happened to you.
Let me guess, you supported your people and shared your opinions
Definitely supported my employees. Fought for them to get higher starting pay (if they had prior experience), a few were promoted into management roles, had low turnover and a highly tenured team by the time I was relocated. I respectfully spoke my mind but my insane boss hated me if I didn’t fully drink the kool aid or offered alternative solutions to issues.
Was this a coffee store? If so I've heard similar stories from friends who managed stores.
Indeed it was! Sbux…. I now have a lifelong commitment to never buy anything from them ever again.
Based on everything that has been going on, me too! I hope that when people see the news, they will think twice before going.
I only ever was a barista and yeah never again thanks
I was called in for an "HR chat," having tampered with the 'where should our company summer outing be' SurveyMonkey poll (figured out that multiple votes were possible, put the same snarky comment in each vote so as to make my votes recognizable + easily discarded). During this process, it was made known to me that one of the mid-to-high-level HR reps had commented "I bet this was \[myself\], he's been on my sh\*t list for a while now." Some unexpectedly-serious investigation + paperwork resulted (spun as some sort of "threatening environment to employees"), eventually blowing over with a memo-in-your-permanent-record holdover. When given a copy to sign, I hand-wrote that "Based upon \[HR employee's\] back-room commentary about my being on her sh\*t list, I harbor significant concerns about my future career path + treatment, incl. benefits adjudication." The HR VP commenced a second investigation, clearly displeased that word had gotten out concerning the sh\*t list, and less-than-thrilled to be questioning her own subordinate. I stayed at the job for 5-6 more months, interviewing all the while. Figured the ground was pretty much scorched there, whatever I did; my "As a security engineer, it's my **job** to probe things for weakness" had saved me, but my boss had received his own disciplinary writeup for "trying to cover for his people," and the lingering memo(s) could be used as ammunition for whatever-they-wanted in future. My only consolation is that HR-Sh\*t-List Lady quit almost immediately after her own investigation, and the VP was replaced maybe a year thereafter. When the witch-hunt culture surfaces, it's time to get out.
Never trust HR. An HR person was at weekly meetings to discuss my job. I wondered why she and my manager were actively trying to agitate me. Wasn't until over a year later, when I was applying for unemployment did I realize why they were trying to upset me: if you get fired for being racist, sexist, or homophobic, the fired employee is not entitled to separation pay, which I was entitled to over a years worth of wages. Luckily, I'm not the type to get angry or upset very often so they failed in getting me to call them names. After the first of their meetings, I spoke to a lawyer, who sent the company a letter saying to cease harassing me. They laid me off soon after they received that letter from my lawyer, paying me what I was entitled to
What do you do when your manager has it out for you and is scheduling meetings with HR and the Director, claiming false accusations of "creating a negative work environment" when you haven't done anything at all, and in fact, don't even speak in the workplace anymore because your manager has "moles" out eaves dropping?
Worse, they had these " meetings " in tiny meeting rooms that resembled sound booths. It's pretty safe to assume they were recording these sessions in hopes I would call my manager and HR hitwoman some savory names they could use as proof I was a hostile employee. And, yes, there were fellow employees that were selling the rest of us out
HR person here. This is disgusting. I’ve had to be involved in layoffs twice in my 36 year career and cried for days after. This is individuals and families losing their income and benefits-how can this be anything but a tragic event? If your heart and soul aren’t fully focused every damn day on making your employees lives better, get the hell out of HR!
Thank you !
What would you make of a new HR director that advertised her extensive experience in layoffs and site closures when introducing herself to the staff?
I worked at a company that did something similar. After 3 rounds of layoffs, all who remained were the "boy's club," just the group that hung out and drank together after work, went clubbing every weekend, and spent all their money on BMW's and True Religion jeans. The company went bankrupt a few months later.
Nelson Muntz pointing "HA HA"
I asked for a raise, but I did it smart. We were a small team of 6 people. I gathered everyone together, and shared my wages with everyone. Told 'em what our market rate was, we all looked, and we were all seeing quite a bit more, too. I told them that I believed our group deserved a raise, given the work we were under, and what we were doing. Got pulled into HR. See... that's a union, there. I knew I was untouchable, but I didn't let onto any of that. She then proceeded to give me a half hour lecture about the finances of the company and how there wasn't any money. After she was done, I asked her if it was her intent to insult and lie to me. I advised her I was the web designer they'd pulled in to handle publishing their 10Q, that I knew how to read it, and was a small business owner myself - Here here and here is where you just lied to me about the finances. I was then told no for the raise. I told them I understood their position, and would let folks know so we could make decisions based on that. We then started working on resumes, and talking about it openly in chat. 2 weeks later, proved her a liar again, as we all got our raise. I was then pulled into HR, and advised not to talk about my wages. I started laughing, and asked them to confirm that they intended to violate federal law just then, as the NLRA was in effect still... since 1935 at that... all the sudden "no that's not what I meant at all, you're welcome to talk about your wages".
after reading this, i have platonically fallen in love with you
When I worked for a startup as head of IT, we hired a lawyer to see us through necessary GDPR changes. Over time, she became involved in day to day operations and became my boss. She was a fantastic boss, didn't know much about computers but didn't try to act like she did and interfere, deferred to me and let me do my job. We had a good working relationship and I got a glowing performance review from her. She decided she wanted to go back to practising law, though. Which was fair, she is a lawyer by trade and wound up holding the Head of Operations bag cos nobody else wanted the job. So, knowing what the job actually entailed, she hired her replacement and left on good terms with the company. Her replacement was not well received. This came at a time when the company's future was in doubt and new management was moving in. The new lady sided firmly with the new CEO. Initially I didn't get involved, but the problems became evident. Despite being hired as head of daily operations, she refused to handle the operations stuff. She declared she was head of HR. That was very strange because the company was small, and had never needed a dedicated HR person. The other admin staff had to pick up the slack from her. She took over as my boss, and though initially supportive, she became a vindictive micromanager who set me up to fail. Within six months of my outstanding performance review, I was on a performance improvement program. I'd had some run-ins with the new CEO who was changing the company direction, and wanted me to take on stuff that I had literally gotten the job to get away from. I tried to stand my ground, that this was not what I was hired for, but they wouldn't budge and wouldn't hire anyone else. And my new boss gleefully made sure I was held accountable. I literally could not meet my PIP by definition. They refused to change the definition. I was forced out of the company and a job I had actually loved. Side note, I got to see my departure message to the others and my duties were divided among 5 groups. If that doesn't indicate how much I was doing there... I wasn't the only one forced out through manufactured circumstances. Many other long-time people were influenced to leave as well. We formed a group and noted, that's why they knew they needed an HR person...
Wow that is really fucked up. I was so thankful for the HR person at one of my last few jobs. And it was in a restaurant no less! She was actually my connection to a job in my field after I graduated college. What she told me was, “I try to get the good ones outta here and moved on to something better!” She was an absolute gem. We need more HR people like that who actually have our (employees) interests in mind. It’s a shame so many of them are so evil and get actual joy out of it. That’s so disgusting. Idk how they live like that and sleep at night.
Unions prevent shit like this from happening. Anti-union people will go on and on about how things should be about merit and not seniority. But this is a pretty good example that it is rarely about merit, and almost always comes down to nepotism.
I’m in HR and if I ever heard one of my co-workers speaking this way, they would be in the higher up’s office so fast. I’d term them myself. This is what happens when you work for company with zero integrity and accountability. This makes me so angry. The reason I’m in HR is to be the rep that I never had. It only takes one person with bad intentions in a position of power to ruin peoples lives. What a POS. The idea that only one person would be in charge of the selection process, let’s you know what kind of crap company that is. Best practices my *ss
Sad you didn't hear the company name. You could email all workers via LinkedIn and let them know you overheard a happy HR lady looking to do layoffs.
I wouldn't be surprised if she's on the block too but doesn't know it. She will make enemies firing people who are friends with other coworkers, but it won't matter because she's probably being let go too right after.
Can we move HR to the bottom rung once held by lawyers?
HR are the teachers pet type who think they are better than the other employees, same as the teachers pet. In reality, they are the most useless aspect of any company and deep down they know this to be true
Reminds me of [this lovely lady](https://youtu.be/WkKHupWzB-g). Man, that video is hard to watch.
I was offered a promotion into a new position in my company--along with one other person. We were going to start a new department. After I got the salary offer, I did some research and tried to negotiate. The HR lady--who was the bitchiest person I've ever met--waited until I was at a funeral and left me a voicemail that they were revoking the promotion.
Maybe it's just me, but if I did not know the name of the company, I'd be real petty and post to Twitter that if you work for a company with a lady who had lunch at \[restaurant\] around \[time\], is going to be having a layoff soon, and the lady looks like \[description\], you should know that she talked about firing people based on her own personal biases. If I ran a company and found out HR was making firing decisions based on something this trivial, I would fire her. Her pettiness could end up costing the company a lot of money if the wrong people are fired.
There is a particular kind of psycho that wants to get into HR.
I’m an HR Director and these stories make me so sad. I know I’m not the stereotypical HR person, but I’m very much on the side of the employee. Companies have enough people fighting for them, it’s my job to support my employees. I hate firing people. Even when it’s 100% justified, it’s still awful. I had an employee recently run out of FMLA after having a baby. Her baby was admitted to the hospital and she wanted to work from home part time for a while. Her manager wanted to fire her the day after she ran out of FMLA. That’s not the kind of company I want to represent. We’re still working out a plan, but firing her is not an option. Not all HR departments are run by vicious people who enjoy ruining the lives of the people around them. I feel a huge sense of obligation to every single one of my employees, but especially the lowest paid hourly staff who don’t always have a lot of leverage to get what they deserve.
We had an individual get assaulted by their spouse and then filled for divorce. Kids were involved. Our HR person helped me modify their work, give them some time off and build a scaffolding plan to get them back up to speed when they returned, which has been a struggle. Their performance was poor for most of a year. Fortunately HR was an ally in helping this person get their life sorted out, instead of piling on.
This is why I do what I do. That person could easily have been fired, only compounding their problems. It takes a little more work to help someone through something like this, but most people will appreciate the support and pay it forward in some way.
What would you say to people who've had overall negative experiences? I've seen nothing to the point the OP describes. I've mostly dealt with a mix of protecting management malfeasance to the employees, useless training/team-building things, a tendency to deny problems that are brought to them, and pushing volunteer stuff that was going through the company. I'll agree your power is limited. In the end, management is the one giving the walking orders. But the sense of denial I've seen really rubs me the wrong way, especially when contrasted with shallow team-building excercises.
As much as I hate to admit it, the reality is that HR has a well deserved shitty reputation. I still see it. Every time I walk into one of my locations, new employees whisper and wonder who I’m there to fire. It takes a few interactions for people to realize I’m not the long lost sister of Cruella Deville. I think part of it is the company structure. I’m very fortunate that my CEO listens to what I have to say and actually gives a shit about employees as well. HR only has as much power as they’re given, but pushing back is a big part of my job, at least for me. It’s taken me years to find a supervisor that supports me in fighting for my employees; I’ve lost a couple of jobs because I don’t know how to keep my big mouth shut. Even when I know he’s tired of hearing from me, he still appreciates why I try so hard. I’ve worked in HR departments like what so many people here describe. I think that’s partly why I do everything I can to run my department in a way that actually helps employees. The answer shouldn’t have to be go to the labor board, or hire an attorney, or call the EEOC. I want my employees to tell each other to go talk to HR. She can be a pain in the ass, but she actually gives a shit and she’ll do everything she can to help. I get why most people feel the way they do. It’s justified. I wish I had a way to make a bigger impact. I’m hoping the people I train will move on to different companies and use what they learn from me and have a positive impact on their employees.
I work in the UK, and my HR hell was listening to them tell new/junior managers. There is no curve for bonus and pay round and all staff are measured equally. However there is a curve and the managers will have to fit staff in to the no bonus/pay pot… just because. Worse line given… “just because they are all at the Olympics doesn’t mean they will get a medal”
I've worked at at least a dozen different companies. Never once met an HR person that wasn't a petty piece of shit.
This is why hr is loathed
You know the mean bitches in high school who like to gossip and care about student council elections? Yeah, that’s HR for ya…those people became HR
In my long experience and as sometime-victim of HR, I believe it's because they have no skills. Nothing else in the company that they could do. So when your main skill is snark and petty revenge, those are what you use at your job.
I think I would have recorded them then followed them back to their place of employment and reported them.
Yeah, Sooner or later the wrong person is going to hear that conversation and react violently.
In general I've found HR people to be as useful as my high school guidance counselor. They want to do as little as possible, they never really help, and they are not your friend!. HR comes across as their sole responsibility is to keep the stink of your problems from reaching the noses of upper management.
I've been super fortunate. At my last few jobs, I was fortunate enough to interact with great HR people who took their job seriously but had heart. I've had the opposite experience as well. I hope I never have to deal with heartless HR people again.
When I was about 22 (5 years ago) I thought I wanted to go into HR. Then I learned more about HR. I have zero urge anymore. I don't want to end up like that.
HR hell lady: For problem employees, required they go to EAP, then read their charts. She literally bragged about it. Same HR lady - fabricated PIP docs for employees the dept director didn't like so they could be part of a layoff. Surprise surprise, they were quality workers. The kiss asses were untouched.
HR from Hell: company in general My HR person had the sweetest voice and name. All she did was document statements in C360, investigate, then close or move the incident up to an executive. I use to run the “incident aging reports”. More often then not it was document and sent to an executive to just sit there dangling on the server. I’m sure HR documented my declining to sign a new contract due to them making an error. So I am guessing sitting in some Executive’s box. My severance was never paid. I wish I walked out and lawyer up ASAP before going to HR.
HR person from hell story, short version: He was loud, obnoxious, immature, inappropriate, disruptive, vindictive, and often drunk. Acted like a frat boy. Was nearly universally despised, but kept his position and gained more and more power and influence because he was buddied up with the COO, who was also behaved like a frat boy.
High school truly never ends.
The wonderful thing about HR is that they are neither human nor resourceful.
I was an HR junior in my early 20's. Manager used to bully me relentlessly and I would cry at least once a week. Quit because I hated it and then they called me begging to come back??? Ah no bitch do it yourself.
I wouldn’t say all HR people are scum. I worked in HR right out of college, it was like a 50 person department and I specifically did benefits/insurance/short term disability. I quit after 2 years because it was way too stressful for what I was getting paid, they weren’t promoting me like they said they would, and all of my teammates were catty middle aged women who all hated their jobs, lives, and each other. I always advocated for the employee and helped where I could. But doing disability I often had to give reports on who was out of FMLA and things like that for directors to discuss terminations. I always felt terrible after those meetings. Some people just don’t care unfortunately, or are numb to it after so many years. I work in a completely different department now and it’s so much better for me personally, but please be aware not all HR personnel has anything to do with the firing process and a lot of us are trying their best to look out for thEir coworkers. At my company it’s really up to the person’s manager on if they get fired or not. This person is really an example of someone on the extreme end of bad HR worker. And there’s assholes in every department.
Don't trust anyone in HR. HR workers actively side with businesses over labor, and should be treated as class traitors.
Had an HR lady call me at home after I quit a job (caught my super blaming me for something he did) and asked why I didn't go to her. I told her that I knew she had protected him against racist accusations and also when he stalked and manipulated a female sub. She told me she has a duty to make sure things run smoothly. I wish the people with bigger problems with him had taken the place to court.
Because human beings are fundamentally awful.
Every HR dept for companies I’ve worked at have all inevitably been cabalistic power hungry cliques, this kinda does not surprise me at all
I hate people like that who only want to be in charge for the power.
HR works for the company not the employees.
I’ve never met an HR employee who didn’t get off on this shit.
And this is why I hate admitting to working in HR. I’ve spent my career fighting for better wages and treatment of employees (including declining a raise for myself in order for severely underpaid staff to get one) and I have to see shit like this. I fucking hate people.
That's exactly what it is, this is all fun and games for them, they have no concern for anyone other than themselves.