I Should Never Have Trusted HR to Keep My Secret

forbes.com

4 points·ohjeez··6 comments

HR is the department of the company tasked by management to minimize the cost associated with the acquisition, retention, and eventual disposal of the firms “human resources” (in more normal language, employees), hence the name.

It is not an internal ombudsman representing the interest of individual employees against other parties (especially management) within the firm.

Every interaction with HR should involve this understanding being front and center.

Agreed, but why aren't HR departments required to stress that to employees when hired? It's absolutely not OK to let people think they can raise an issue in confidence if that's really only a bullshit promise (to use Harry Frankfurter's term).

> Agreed, but why aren't HR departments required to stress that to employees when hired?

You mean required by government? Because it's pretty obvious why management doesn't require HR to highlight their adversarial relation to employees—it benefits management for the human resources to see the HR department and their friend and ally.

Yes, by law.

In my dealings with HR, I have always come back to a quote from Avatar: The Last Airbender: "Azula always lies."

HR is not on your side; they're present to protect the interests of the company, however ineffectively.

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