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Fellow HR folk – are you happy?

Maria

I’ve made some bleak observations recently with certain key trends coming through:

  • HR professionals (especially at mid and senior levels) are “open for new opportunities” on LinkedIn although more often than not they have only started their recent role in 2018 or 2017 (I saw this via recruiter licence)
  • A phrase I keep hearing from my more experienced peers and leaders is “Well it’s always the same in HR” or “That’s HR for you” on things like always being managed by Finance for some reason (i.e. Finance knows nothing about HR but always has the final say, and everyone in Finance is paid higher than HR), having to go with bad management decisions, being actively disliked by all employees for bizarre reasons, getting silly comments like “Oh HR is here I better shut up” when you’re trying to have lunch
  • Managers not owning up to any unpopular decision making and blaming everything on HR “HR said you couldn’t get more money”, “I gave person X more money 2 years ago and now person Y is peed off, but HR didn’t make the right decision then” etc
  • HR always being bottom of the pile for any budget decisions or pay rises, always the scapegoats, last in line, first in, last out “because that’s HR for you”

These are depressing. They happen over and over. You change a workplace and history repeats itself. My HR friends are not happy, my HR colleagues always muddle through, every week is a power struggle, politics everywhere, everyone is complaining all the time (staff, that is). We take crap from anyone and everyone every day. You never win or get any credit. Is it just me?

I am aware of the need to build up resilience, I am aware that I am not here to make friends, rather my mission is to make the organisation a better place to work and support our leaders with their decision making. Yes. The work is never easy, especially the higher you move in HR and I have felt it for a while. But do you ever get to enjoy it? What is rewarding about it to you? The rewards seem so scarce and precious sometimes, that it’s easy to lose sight of them in the daily struggle.

My questions are…

Does anyone feel the same?

Does it get better? If it doesn’t what do you do?

Is it the same in any other profession (in terms of degree of difficulty and emotional impact) and I am just blindsided by HR?

Have you worked in an environment where you truly were prepared to stay for years and enjoyed the role and the organisation (in HR)? Or is this unrealistic? (reference to all HR people already looking for a new job even though they started this year)

Any tips on raising own morale?

Is it worth challenging the phrases around “I know it’s not fair but it’s always the same in HR” if they are said to me in 3 different workplaces in a row?

  • I love my job that's why I do it.

    My career in HR has given me more opportunities sand more great experiences than any other career I could think of.

    HR (like any other job) is what you make of it. We have a personal responsibility to strive for high personal engagement - if you (generally not personally) aren't enjoying your job or don't like your career path then do something about it!
  • Hi Maria,

    I am sure that I have felt exactly the same at times but I also know that I have felt the exact opposite at times as well. I have bad days where all I hear from staff is negativity and moans and that gets me down and I feel like why do I bother. However, other days I see the positive, it might be making the phone call to offer someone their dream job or even ensuring that a disciplinary procedure is conducted professionally so that the employee understands the problem but doesnt feel humiliated or "told off".

    I think it is easy to say that HR gets the rough end of the stick - being at the bottom of the pile for pay awards, being paid less than Finance etc. However, I think some of that is because we see all the pay of everyone else. I remember when I first started out in my HR career that this was something that took me some time to get used to - seeing what other people earnt you cant help but compare yourself to the. Over time I have learnt not to make the comparisons and only focus on whether I feel I am being paid a fair salary for my role. HR generally is a lower paid profession than Finance - thats just the way it is!

    In regard to the linked in thing, I think that a lot of people put open for new opportunities regardless - you never know when you might get that call about the absolute dream job. It doesnt necessarily mean that you are unhappy where you are but its always nice to see what else is out there!

    The power struggles and politics happen in every department. People complain about all the other departments - there are stereotypes for them too.

    I think it is always a good idea to examine if you really enjoy your job and whether it is the right career etc but dont make the mistake of assuming that all the problems would disappear in a different career - you may lose some, will probably gain a few others and many will be exactly the same.
  • I would say it depends on the organisation you work for, e.g. structure, size, management support, company ethics, where the headquarter is based etc. If you are unhappy in one company, keep on looking for one which matches your values and ideas & you have the support from your management.

    I think it's worth challenging that phrase as it really isn't always the same in HR (in my experience).
  • I too am in the fortunate position of being able to say that I love my job. I have had a couple of chances to move into other fields. I did a few years in sales during which I reached a management position, but I moved back to HR (with a degree of difficulty, having been out of the field for a few years) because I get much more satisfaction out of it than I did from sales. Some years after that I did an MBA. Many people use an MBA to bridge into other functions but once again I chose to stick with HR.

    My LinkedIn profile says I am open to opportunities. That doesn't mean I have the slightest intention of moving, just that I want to know what's out there.

    I get so much more satisfaction out of HR than any other function (and I've also had IT, Facilities and Finance report to me) because my work and the work of my team makes a real, tangible difference to the working lives of our staff. HR gives you a vantage point to survey the whole of the organisation and a reason to get to know and understand the whole organisation. Although I don't want to fire-fight all the time, I have to admit that I sometimes enjoy that feeling of jumping in when a crisis bubbles up - I enjoy it when a manager gets into a real muddle and can't see the way out, and I can come in like the cavalry to save the day. I like being part of the planning process. I like problem-solving. I enjoy keeping up with academic research and translating it into practical action that helps the organisation to run more efficiently.

    There are all sorts of stereotypes about HR (Human Remains) but there are about Finance (bean counters) and most other functions. It does irk me to see HR misrepresented on TV:

    "Celia Imrie as Philippa Moorcroft
    The scatty and disorganised manager of the Human Resources department, having apparently landed the job because she was having an affair with the factory manager, Mr Michael, who she refers to as Mikey. Her well-meaning attempts to relieve the dinnerladies' stress or help them in their personal lives generally have the opposite effect: in the first episode, she tries to organise Scottish country dancing sessions." en.wikipedia.org/.../Dinnerladies_(TV_series)

    We have to keep on upholding our own standards, behaving like professional business people so that our colleagues think that their HR person is different, their HR person is an ally and a support that helps them get the job done.
  • in reply to Debora
    Hi Maria

    I have to echo Jeny's comments - frustrating and harrowing on some occasions but enormously satisfying and uplifting on others. Supposed I've been very fortunate to be able to work with (with some notable exceptions!) thoroughly decent colleagues. The financial rewards have been adequate rather than good but non-financial ones such as still being extended friendship and respect from colleagues I wouldn't have blamed for seeking to lynch me from the nearest suitable noose location have more than compensated.

    It's trite but I'm very sure it's true - it's what you make it..........if you find yourself amongst nasty people, then do something about it and if needs be walk away: there is no need to get bitter and twisted or miserable and ill.
  • in reply to Elizabeth Divver
    Hi Elizabeth,

    I agree with you about the HR stereotypes in TV programmes, but Celia Imrie in Dinnerladies still makes me laugh!
  • I enjoy my job - I have always wanted to work in HR so feel very lucky that I have managed to get a good role when so many others struggle.

    I admit that sometimes i do get upset or frustrated by things that happen or things that people say but I suspect that would be the same in any role and the positives far outweigh any negatives, for me anyway.
  • in reply to David
    - crossed with Elizabeth's comments (although have to say that a few HR folk have IMHO only themselves to blame for some of the stereotypes - for example one I once had to endure seemed to spend most of her working day trying to organise group hugs (I kid not at all))
  • I love working in HR (or People and Culture over here in New Zealand) but I’m leaving my current job tomorrow – not because I hate it (I don’t) but because I fancy another challenge and in HR there is always another job out there.

    I don’t think it get easier or harder as you move through jobs, it's just different – and in my experience it is never the same. Only once have I felt down about a job – and that’s just because I stayed just a little too long

    As a leaving gift from this job I got to wash an elephant. One of my team is leaving to go work with rockets in the New Year. Clearly these are perks of the job and these things make us happy. [Yes, a real elephant, and yes, real rockets]

    But consider this, another one of my close friends has moved into an extremely challenging and unglamorous environment but she’s doing amazing things around supporting victims of domestic violence. She has found the good in a tough situation, and that is seeing her through. It may be a cliche, but you have to find the positive

  • I guess your evidence is probably anecdotal ??

    Certainly not my experience of HR, although mine is probably less than some.

    My 1st job in HR, the CEO , asked me how much we would need to run and develop our own in house training. I can't remember how I worked it out - probably a combination of guesstimates & wishful thinking, got me a training budget of £100,000 which was a little more than the figure I'd estimated without a further comment, and that was 25 years ago - the cost of a nice house then!!  I always felt I had as much influence whilst in  HR as anyone else - and some times a lot, lot more.  Not once since did I ever think I was second best or down the pecking order when it came to working in HR.

    Any job is what you make it. I've learned that by making lots of mistakes - and taking risks too, and  learning that its what YOU do that makes a job better - or worse.

    Pessimists moan. Optimists don't -= Perhaps you're listening to the wrong folk.?

    You can't change others - but you can change your own behaviour & attitude to get the outcomes you want!.

    Its only worth challenging others if you can convince the person you are challenging that their view is incorrect. If you challenge someone whose view, based on experience, is that "Its always the same in HR"; then you are wasting your time.

    One more thought.  You'll never ever get anywhere in a company if you keep your head in your own office.  Get out, find out what the company makes or does and learn how it does it until you know enough about it to start using your own skills and knowledge to influence things for the better.  HR, shouldn't be done from a bubble.

    Good luck!