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Are any other HR people feeling a bit lonely in all this :(

Samantha

Hi

Sorry its a self indulgent one.

Just wondering if anyone else is feeling a bit lonely?  I have streams of people coming in to my office concerned about it and asking what our plans are for WFH and sickness and about 101 other queries and being openly worried and I have to sit here and be the cabin crew and exude calmness.  Yet I am just as concerned as everyone else.

Managers and Directors etc look to us for calm, measured guidance and practical advice, and being so close to the 'inner circle' and hearing first hand the impact on the business etc.....very worrying, I'm feeling a bit forgotten about and just wondered if anyone else is feeling the same?  It just feels like sometimes people forget that we count as employees too?  

  • in reply to Peter
    Thank you Peter - I think they're genuinely trying to help me as I have a young child but my husband is also home so I have a lot of capacity to still be at work. Today is my last day, I've just finished sending all the Furlough letters and I'm feeling oddly emotional about it all!
  • in reply to Rosie
    I think we all are Rosie. I know I have been both moved and shaken by some of the issues raised both here on the "Community" site and by the colleagues I still mentor (in spite of being supposedly retired) :-)

    Some enlightened good practice by employers dealing with the almost unbelievable, but also maybe some b*tts to be kicked for short-sighted opportunism and thoughtlessness.

    Lot's of interesting lessons to be learned, hopefully to move us forward as both professionals and as a working Community (here and Nationally) when the dust settles.

    In the meantime you and your family (and anyone else reading this) stay safe.

    P

  • Suzan - Chartered Member

    It is a lonely time for many in this strange world we find ourselves in.  Some folk are struggling with being 24/7 with their partners and children, others are feeling neglected and extremely isolated on their own especially if they have been told to isolate for 12 weeks.  I am in the latter category which as a HR professional used to a revolving door where everyone has easy access to me, is not only challenging for me, is frustrating for the managers.

    Our company is essential as  food production and supplier which means demand is up and we are recruiting, good news for the local economy.

    Many issues will come out of this for us all, stay strong, safe and well, we are all in this together.

    Give yourself a hug 

  • I'm running a daily social online meeting to encourage social connection. Isolation is a leading factor in depression and stopping the spread of the virus is fine for now but we risk creating a long term mental health problem. Everyone is welcome to join.

    Join every week day, 13:00 UK time. Practice social distancing together. Just chat, hang out, eat your lunch, join the office gossip when there is no longer an office. Belong.

    Genius.li/btbs
  • in reply to Peter
    Hey sounds great how can we join? or can we join?
  • in reply to asha shah
    Everyone is very welcome. genius.li/btbs every week day at 13:00 UK time.
  • Hi,

    Try to connect with at least one person per day wether that’s just off loading work issues. Try also going for a walk as this does help with our wellbeing.
  • in reply to Gary Bavin
    It's so important to have social chatter to replace what you take for granted in the office. You're all free to join me every week day at 13:00 UK time to do just that... Genius.li/btbs

    Connecting with people to talk about work is transactional, not social, it does nothing to restore your sense of social connection.
  • in reply to Peter

    I really cannot agree with that final statement Peter. Very few (if any) conversations are purely one thing or the other, and within our profession almost all our meaningful discussions will contain aspects of both. A professional opinion or transactional discussion is fundamentally founded in the social and personal history and contexts of the person making it, unless they are quoting verbatim from a law book, policy, or technical manual; at which point (if so) they have also ceased making any individual contribution to the conversation/discussion and might as well have stayed at home (or off the line) that day.

  • Today most definitely feeling a bit alone. I live on my own (moved out last year) and am wfh most of the week. This morning I've spoken to my parents who are both clearly feeling low and the frustrating thing for me is that they are a 5 minute drive away and I cannot go and see them after work or spend the sunny weekend with them in their garden like I normally would. This morning I sat and had a good cry on my sofa because I'm just so fed up of it all. I spend my days trying to answer questions from Managers that they quite frankly should be able to answer themselves with a little bit of common sense and then this morning I have an email from a Director asking what is happening with a team leader who he is supposed to be managing and whether they can come back to work to complete their handover because they leave this week. On top of that I am in a stand alone role and have no one else in HR to share the load with. I am fed up with this whole situation and I miss my family which is the thing that's getting to me most. As HR we're expected to be able to answer all the questions, put the necessary things in place for potentially needing to furlough staff and at the same time look after their well-being, but yet not once has anyone thought about making sure HR is ok and how are we coping. HR feels like a very lonely world at the moment.