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Is your HR job making you miserable?

Steve Bridger

Last month we were discussing What key challenges are you currently facing in your role? 

One of you mentioned "the impossibility of balancing different priorities, when you have a genuine desire to do the right thing by the people you work with. I've always chosen to work in a relatively small organisation, so I'm close to the people whose jobs I support. For the first time, I'm thinking that I'd like a bit of distance!" (Which, incidentally, reminds me of this thread from the archive...)
Should HR have employees as Facebook 'Friends'?

Another community member said, "...with so much change in the business, it's so difficult to keep everyone feeling safe and secure, informed to the right level."

I know that so many of you find this Community a comfortable space to share your highs and lows with your peers, but it's almost two years to the day that I asked How are you all doing? after the worst of the pandemic.

We have been talking about this NYT article at CIPD this week... which has prompted me to ask that question again: how are you all doing?

So, Human Resources Is Making You Miserable?

HR managers... say that since the pandemic, the job has become an exasperating ordeal. “People hate us,” one said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/03/business/human-resources-professionals-workplace.html

  • First, I don't think it's necessarily constructive to compare our experiences at work with those of our US colleagues. Although, we should also acknowledge that being HR, even in the UK, in a business that actively despises its employees and goes out of its way to deprive them even of their legal minimum rights is soul-crushing (but, generally, doesn't attract people affiliated with the CIPD).

    But fundamentally, the things that make it miserable to work in HR are exactly the same things that make it miserable to work in *any* department. Under-resourced, under-appreciated, poorly managed, untrained staff that are placed under excessive pressure to meet unreasonable objectives are going to be miserable *everywhere*. I haven't read the NYT article because I avoid giving anyone my data that doesn't actively need it, but I probably have a good idea of what it says from US-based friends.

    Ineffective or inexpert managers use HR as a scapegoat for their own crappy decisions so people hate HR. See my (many) previous posts about how the failure to invest in effective management training and development in favour of a nebulous fetish for "leadership" has led us to a situation in which managers lack confidence in their decision-making ability and therefore blame someone else whenever they have to do something unpopular.

  • I put the question "why are HR people unhappy into Co-Pilot (other Ai programs are available :-) and got the following which as a starter for ten is pretty interesting (and quite close to the mark I would say

    ____________________________________________________________

    1) High Expectations and Limited Resources: HR departments are expected to handle a wide range of responsibilities, from recruitment and employee relations to compliance and strategic planning. Often, they have limited resources and support to meet these demands

    2) Conflict of Interest: HR is tasked with balancing the needs of employees with the interests of the company. This dual role can create tension and dissatisfaction, as HR professionals may feel they are unable to fully support employees while also protecting the company

    3) Unresponsive Management: When HR raises concerns or suggests improvements, they may encounter resistance or indifference from upper management. This lack of responsiveness can be frustrating and demotivating

    4)Employee Distrust: Many employees view HR with suspicion, believing that HR is more aligned with company interests than employee welfare. This distrust can make it difficult for HR to build effective relationships and foster a positive work environment

    5)Emotional Toll: Dealing with employee grievances, conflicts, and terminations can be emotionally draining. HR professionals often have to manage their own stress while supporting others, which can lead to burnout

    ____________________________________________________________

    For me I think it's because there is often a mismatch about what we want our jobs to be about and what they are actually about. So its 2, a bit of 3 (although goes down the higher up the greasy pole you are) and 5. 4 comes into play when we try to be all things to all people.

    But for me I am pretty good thanks - I enjoy my job - thats partly because at my level I have large amounts of autonomy but I think its mainly because I have always tried to be a people architect rather than a surrogate manager or everytoes friend. That way was my route to professional happiness. O and a lot of running in my spare time :-)

  • I'm feeling a little apprehensive about the forthcoming employment law changes. I think some of the proposed measures are idealistic, and I've been worrying about the actual application of these measures and unintended negative consequences. Having said that, I do think it's an exciting time to be in HR, I'm particularly enjoying the new technologies we can utilise.
  • in reply to Rosie

     One of the advantages of a longish career in HR Management is that to a certain extent you have seen it all before. Nothing we are seeing is really that new (with exception of "banning" zero hours contracts and that is being tonned down) and most other things have been tried in one form or another in the past. Some HR people will have to learn some new skills I am sure, but (and I don't mean this in a political sense) the pendulum has probably swung too far one way and is due a correction for a while

  • Robey, Keith and Holly. I hear you.

    I think HR has always been a hard gig, is it harder than other functions, I don't know. Is it harder now than when I first joined the function from being in the business, I don't know. Does it make me miserable? No.

    Other things in life, the UK and the world that are bigger and more worrisome make me feel sad and dent my trust, faith and hope that things are truly progressing for more people. That might be too deep for a Wednesday morning however it gives me and my work and my life a sense of perspective.

    To get through the ups and downs natural in any career, I believe it's important to:
    *keep learning, being curious and listening.
    *get personal support and have a strong network we can lean on when we feel down.
    *realise we can weather any ups and downs as things aren't often brand new, they are builds on what's gone on before and we can work through them.
  • in reply to Sharon
    sharon said:
    To get through the ups and downs natural in any career, I believe it's important to:
    *keep learning, being curious and listening.
    *get personal support and have a strong network we can lean on when we feel down.
    *realise we can weather any ups and downs as things aren't often brand new, they are builds on what's gone on before and we can work through them.


    Double 'Like' ThumbsupPoint up 2

  • Is my job at times super frustrating? Yes, absolutely. Whether that is strained budgets, unrealistic expectations, CEOs dismissing advice in favour of bonkers decisions (to you at least!) - all of these make life harder. It's also kind of par for the course; it forces you to be creative with budgets, or to think of better comms to manage expectations or to be more pragmatic. Things are rarely ideal but that's part of the challenge which I personally find really interesting: what can you do with what you've got?

    Where HR is associated with the negative (redundancies, pay freezes) - yes, sometimes you will be. But you can also do what's in your control to make sure those delivering those messages are doing so transparently and in a human way. And you have to be ok with the fact that you'll have to say no to people and that you can't please everyone.

    If your job constantly makes you miserable, then you have the same option as all the other employees and can make a change! For me, it's definitely challenging, but it can also be immensely satisfying and rewarding.
  • It's not the job itself that's causing my frustration, it's the sector I work in. Within the charity sector there is continuous pressure to do more with less as budgets are tight and funding flows are unpredictable. The financial pressure brings challenges around talent attraction and retention and offering adequate professional development. Add to the mix the reliance of the sector on volunteers and how best to integrate them with paid staff.I do enjoy a challenge, but the constant need to apply for funding for every small project can be soul-crushing. The relentless pressure to secure resources, coupled with the high stakes of each application, often overshadows the rewarding aspects of the work.I have just started refreshing my CV.Wish me luck!
  • Ooof, so much to unpack here.

    I know everyone's perspective will vary, but I personally don't correlate "challenges" with being unhappy at work. Sure, some aspects are challenging because I really don't want to do them, but for the most part I think creativity, ingenuity etc. are forged in challenging situations, and I generally love a good challenge for that.

    If the core elements of your job role - i.e. HR - are making you unhappy, then leave. It's clearly not for you. I think it's more likely, however, that it's the business or industry that is making people unhappy.

    The quote from the NYT article, "People hate us", really needs to be viewed in a bigger context. Over the last 10 years, in various businesses, I have had to dismiss people, terminate contractors agreements, run large scale redundancies, discipline etc. etc. as most of us have had to do. I can count on one hand the number of people I feel genuinely disliked ME. The vast, vast majority of people understand you are there to perform a role, and if you are respectful and empathetic, people understand. They might not like the business for it, they might not like the situation, but they don't really hate you.

    A business that treats employees poorly, has a toxic culture and so on, will not exclude HR from the poor treatment.

  • I wouldn't say HR is making me miserable because, as Alys says, we all have the option to leave if that is the case.

    There are, however, a couple of common denominators to my most miserable points that I would love to see change:

    - mismatch between the intention of leadership and the actions of leadership. I started a post a little while ago about how there are so many good intentions out there at the moment, for me I particularly see this around EDI, but the actions just don't back it up. I tend to try and "pick my battles" to ensure my influence remains impactful and I don't sound like a stuck record when raising something. That can result in tiny incremental gains, which is the way much sustainable cultural change happens - it just feels too slow and requires a lot of energy and introspection to manage. I find myself frequently reflecting on whether I used my voice effectively in situations, while simultaneously feeling that others never question themselves on this!

    - secondly I feel that the CIPD need to decide who they are here for. Or perhaps I just need to reconcile myself with the CIPD not being what I thought they were. I thought the CIPD were a body for HR professionals - a body to advocate for us and raise our voices on a higher level. Looking out for the best interests of HR professionals, trying to influence change to make the HR job more straightforward.

    But instead I feel that the CIPD straddle too many interests (appealing more to employees and workers) and sometimes even edge towards bashing us, rather than being for us. I see many articles come out from People Management that start "what should HR do about..." and the CIPD guidance is often heavily weighted towards bending over backwards for employees. Even the guidance is often geared towards line managers rather than HR professionals - great if we want to signpost line managers to it...but what's the guidance for us? This is where I find ACAS guidance far more useful.

    Of course giving guidance on best practice above the legal minimum is important, but everything seems to be something that HR should be doing more on and very little about how the CIPD are using their voice to advocate for improved legislation or guidance, improved investment in management training, improved awareness of how you can be damned if you do and damned if you don't.

    For me, the push to be seen as strategic partners, while also modelling excellent line management for line managers to copy (but make sure you don't actually do the do-ing, just show how it's done), and improve engagement and wellbeing initiatives, and keep companies safe working within changing and grey guidance, and have you thought about supporting employees through the cost of living? and don't forget working parents, and what did you do about menopause this month? and did you know engagement is an all-time low, don't forget about quiet quitting and quiet hiring, do you have a seat in the Boardroom yet? That makes me feel alone at times, especially when it comes from a body I thought was there to support me.