Is HR the Enemy?

The purpose of every HR department is to practice the HR policies set by the company. HR reps aren't there to represent the employee - unless, of course, the company policies and the needs of an employee happen to coincide (sexual harassment issues, for example). This may seem to be a sweepingly broad statement, but it is the reality of corporate life.

If you haven't already experienced HR's two-sidedness then you probably haven't been paying attention. The benefits, fun and good feelings that the HR department is responsible for are merely part of a wider aim to smokescreen employees from the true company goals. For instance, the purpose of company fun days, parties, food and birthday gifts is to lull you into a sense of loyalty, community and belonging so you won't leave.

Call me a cynic, if you like. I prefer the word "realist". And, yes, I have been burned by HR before, but that was back in the day when I naively thought that HR's job is to help the employee as much as it is to implement company policy. They might be lovely people but, like the rest of us, HR representatives are paid to work in the interests of the company. They are not evil, they're just doing their jobs. To paraphrase my friend, you can't blame a lion for killing it's prey and you can't blame the prey for being eaten - it is merely the way of the wild.

This friend (let's call him Jim) told me an interesting story about a job interview he once had. I assume it was a small and HR-less company because the owner (let's call him Mr. Prince) conducted the interview. Mr. Prince looked Jim dead in the eye and said,

"Let's get one thing straight. I am here to try to negotiate the lowest salary in return for the highest number of working hours, whereas you are here to extract the highest salary from me for the lowest number of working hours. Don't be afraid to start high because we'll find a reasonable compromise somewhere in the middle.

Furthermore, I expect that in three to six months you will be knocking on my office door, asking for more money. I will be disappointed if you don't. You may succeed, but only if you can convince me that you have added to your skill-set, which I can then on-sell as consulting services to clients."

That's called candour, something you'll never get from an HR representative. Mr. Prince laid the cards on the table and said it as it is. No hidden agendas or secret motives. And that was smart because when the negotiation was done, he always got complete buy-in from the new employee. In contrast, HR's modus operandi is to make you feel warm and fuzzy before chaining you to your desk for as many hours a day as they can get away with, for as low a salary as possible, preferably without you noticing. HR has their way of making you feel that you have some control, but no matter if you are a top manager or a bottom-rung worker, it's an illusion. All equipment needs maintenance to keep functioning at peak performance and happy workers are productive workers. Get my drift?

But when all seems bleak, you can rely on my friend Jim to pour a bit of sunshine on the gloom. Jim says that every employee needs to give himself permission to look after his own interests. That's no small thing because first we have to understand and come to terms with the reality in which we live.

There are those, says Jim, who are super-qualified, experienced and brilliant at their jobs, but they remain in lower-paid positions because they haven't given themselves permission to look outside their companies for a job with better conditions. The reasons for this vary, but certainly among them are that these people feel comfortable in their current job and the side benefits (like meals and company outings) seem too good to give up. Perhaps they are simply unaware that their false sense of comfort is a result of years of manipulation by HR. But these people need to wake up. There is no such thing as loyalty when it comes to the employer/employee relationship, even if HR tries to make you believe there is.

I'm not advocating corporate insurgency or burning HR reps at the stake. In fact, like HR reps themselves, your contractual obligation to the company means that you have to do good work. After all, you are being paid to do a job and you are morally and legally bound to uphold your end of the deal. Also, if you want a decent reference for your next job application, you will want to work responsibly and to the best of your abilities.

When you push all the fluff and nonsense aside, HR is but one of the company's many tools that helps them with the only thing they care about - their bottom line. You, as an employee, should give yourself permission to care about yours, too.