Wednesday, February 27, 2008

I've Lost that Loving Feeling

I am at a low point in my career. Morale tends to have peaks and valleys but this is different. This valley is full of quicksand and I am getting tired of trying to claw my way out.

Sadly, this has very little to do with my job duties.

This all stems from management or the lack of. The new HR Manager we have is literally running the place into the ground. While it may seem to the casual observer that the result will be his exit but I don't think so.

As I mentioned before, he is a tool for upper management. That being said, I don't think upper management cares that he is incompetent as long as he plays his role as their mole.

Does this shock me? Frankly no but it is demoralizing. It's very difficult to be in the trenches, trying to make HR seem valuable, with this kind of behavior going on. Of course, like sheep, everyone down the chain has jumped on this train to hell.

My boss has shown that her ethics are for sale to the highest bidder. Afterall, isn't career growth measured by new title and a higher salary? If only it were that simple.

I work in HR because I can be the middleman between employees and management. Those who don't work in HR probably don't realize how much we can do for you but it takes a lot of support from upper management to let us do that.

It would not be possible for me to work in an environment where HR was solely an advocate for management. This transformation has happened to my department. I want to believe this can't last and keep going along, fighting the good fight but how long can I last?

Forget advocacy. This has become HR playing the role of the hit man for management. It's so far beyond dirty and downright unethical that making it through the day is a struggle.

So far I have managed to stay out of the filth but it doesn't leave me many options for the things I want to do. Real things that can make a difference in the employee relations realm are not priorities for HR's management or upper management.

This brings me to my career growth. Previously, my satisfaction with my job relied heavily on the autonomy I was given.

Now, what appears to be autonomy is really misapplied accountability. Translation? "Let me treat you like a toddler on a leash yet hold you responsible for mistakes HR's management team makes in their vain attempts to tread water."

It will take a couple of suicides or workplace violence episodes to wake anyone up. Even if those things did happen, they wouldn't care. More lip service would ensue. If someone does decide to bring a gun to work, I wouldn't be surprised if they headed straight to HR. .

Thankfully most work shooters have targets. I don't think I am at the top of a hit list. Sad when that is the bright side of things, huh?.

2 comments:

Dan McCarthy said...

MsPinkslip -

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Hang in there. I'm sure your new boss from hell will implode soon. They always do.

Dan

Anonymous said...

My employer had a few suicides a few years back and it was big news for a time and they even tried to show they cared, for a couple of days. I think the reality is that the suicides will cause fewer layoffs.