You want to talk to HR? Do you think what you’re about to tell them is safe? Will they help you? This article will cover the points you need to understand about the benefits and possible problems, and what you should know before talking to HR about a problem at work.
To be honest, HR or the Human Resources Department is similar to the school administration department that we used to run away from when we were wearing short socks or hiding our school skirts. The teachers in the administration department seem hard to approach and can be very fierce. Because they are the ones who take the rules the most seriously in the school. So how can we dare to talk to them if we can’t say that we follow the rules 100%?
It may be because of their personality, role or image that we give them, making us feel that just stepping into the disciplinary room, we feel an atmosphere of anxiety. HR or Human Resources is the same. Most people often say that we should not trust Human Resources, for example, if we accidentally gossip about our boss in front of them, or if we sneakily take a lunch break for more than half an hour today and they hear, Human Resources may take action against us.
“HR is the judge between employees and management.”
It may sound ridiculous, but it’s true that many employees have this perception. But let me put this in perspective. HR is not a court or judge of your wrongdoings or anything else. And if you’re having an argument with the employee at the next table, HR is not the one to decide who’s at fault. And until you’re not sure what HR is doing, when are you going to ask for real help or talk to HR?
What exactly do HR do?
Human Resources has a wide range of responsibilities covering a wide range of areas including benefits, compensation, personnel policies, compliance, investigations, employment assistance, employee relations, and more.
“Employees often don’t see much of what HR does.”
These functions are typically separated within the HR department. You will find that one group of people devotes time and energy to recruiting new employees or hiring existing employees, while another group analyzes employee compensation, whether it is comparing salary to performance or behavior, or even making sure that salaries are fair and in line with the market. There is also another group that is responsible for training and developing employees to improve their performance.
“It is true that you and many employees often do not trust HR.”
Their job is usually related to hiring, onboarding, and compensation, so you often have a wall against fellow employees in this department. Many people think that even though HR works for the company, they are not employees. If you think this way, you will never dare to trust anyone from this department again. In fact, the job of HR is to meet the needs of the company in many cases, which means meeting the needs of the employees. For example, reassuring employees that the company is offering a salary that is appropriate and competitive with other companies that might take you away, handling unfairness in the company, and working to increase morale, etc.
“Unfortunately, sometimes what’s best for the boss isn’t always what’s best for the employee.”
If this is the case, it can be frustrating for you because the employer’s interests dictate the work of HR. A good HR person will care about what is fair and right for the employee, but remember that their job is to assess issues through the lens of corporate fairness. So if you expect fairness, be sure to balance your fairness with what is fair and right for the company.
“Shouldn’t HR know how to keep information confidential?”
HR is not a priest or a psychiatrist who will tell you to zip your mouth when you hear your story. If there is something you want to keep private, you should not share it with HR. If they hear something they decide they need to share, they have a professional duty to do so. And in fact, when it comes to information about harassment or discrimination, they have a legal duty to take action. If you suspect or are experiencing sexual harassment or discrimination, HR is the best place to speak up. That is their job.
“If that’s the case, when we have a problem, should we still talk to HR?”
HR will decide what should and shouldn’t be disclosed. There may be certain information that no one else needs to hear, or if you tell them you don’t want them to know, they will keep it with you. For example, you’ve recently gotten divorced, you have debts, or you have health issues. It’s best to seek out confidentiality terms before you say anything you’d rather keep private.
“What if the person you have a problem with is your boss?”
If the issue you have is not legal, health, or a private family matter that you want to keep private, this can be awkward to talk about. This is because the issue is simply some behavior from someone that is very upsetting, but not against any laws. For example, your boss may be failing at management and is no longer a good leader for you or your team. Whether or not to talk to HR depends on the severity of the situation. If it is not serious, HR will usually not intervene and will instead teach you strategies that you can try to handle on your own.
“You have to understand that HR doesn’t have the same authority to solve problems as you.”
If the problem you are having is too serious for you to handle, for example, your boss is being overtly violent, forcing you to do things that are illegal or unsafe for your life, in this situation HR may talk to your boss and try to intervene to mitigate or delay the issue, but they generally do not have the authority to resolve the issue. All they can do is refer the issue to your boss or manager, or suggest appropriate training. If you need more help with the problem, you can also contact the police or file a complaint with the Department of Labor.
“Sometimes asking for help can make things worse.”
If the issue you’re facing is a boss issue, you may want to take a moment to think before you walk into HR to talk. Sometimes, going to HR about a bad boss can be risky and have repercussions in many ways. Your boss may already know that you need to tell HR, and HR’s intervention could make the situation worse. Of course, a good HR representative will work to protect you and be fair, but not everyone has the skills to do so.
“What happens if a company doesn’t have an HR department?”
Some small to medium-sized companies do not have a human resources department. In this case, you are often tied to your boss. Things can get even more complicated when the problem you have is your bad boss. It can make you feel helpless. But that is not to say that there is no way out. You can go to your boss’s boss. It may seem like a difficult and difficult task, but it is in the hope that they will help you. If they do not have the skills to manage, it will only make things worse. So before you talk to your boss’s boss, make sure that the person you are talking to has good judgment and a history of handling employee complaints.
Conclusion
If you are just a student in school who is afraid of the administration to the point of not wanting to get close to them, it is not strange and does not reduce the benefits you receive much. But if you are an employee who does not dare to even talk to the HR department because of fear, distrust or suspicion because you think that they are not fellow employees but people of the company, this thought will definitely affect the benefits of your company.
HR is just another employee working in a department, and their work is all geared towards the same goal as everyone else in the company, which is to achieve the company’s goals. Importantly, they are also the ones who look after your interests and are fair to you, not just the company. You should feel comfortable talking to them and understanding their work as you would any other employee.
“HR is an employee who works to achieve the company’s goals in exchange for a salary like any other department.”
Reference:
Everything You Should Know Before Talking to HR About a Problem at Work
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