4 ms·

I get what you’re saying but don’t think the Catbert analogy is apropos here. What I have seen as a senior tech executive and old person is that young people e

by crmd 4y ago

I get what you’re saying but don’t think the Catbert analogy is apropos here. What I have seen as a senior tech executive and old person is that young people entering the workforce after around 2015-6 often rely on HR to be a neutral arbiter in workplace conflicts, analogous to parental chaperones or university administrators. What I believe the author is trying to convey is that this misunderstanding can have disastrous consequences on a young person’s career. HR is not a neutral arbiter between you and the business. They are the business.

sumtechguy 4y ago
I think every gen gets to learn this lesson. Not just 2015-16. I have seen it many times in my 30yrs. Newbie gets in a twist over something (usually very justified). HR is then a role of the dice if they will help or just come down on everyone or just the two involved, etc... They usually are the arbiters of policy, that they made, rightly or wrongly.
ejb999 4y ago
>>What I have seen as a senior tech executive and old person is that young people entering the workforce after around 2015-6 often rely on HR to be a neutral arbiter in workplace conflicts, analogous to parental chaperones or university administrators. Yep - seen it many times when employees (usually younger) say things like "I'm telling HR" or "I'm reporting you to HR", as if it's the same as "I'm telling Mom", and expecting HR to swoop in and rule in their favor on some workplace dispute - thats not there job, never was, never will be. While you (the complaining employee) are doing that, the back-channel communication to the manager is telling them how they should probably document 'whatever' in writing so that when you eventually get terminated they have a contemporaneous record of all your bad behavior to use against you. HR is not your friend, they are not supposed to be.
dotgov 4y ago
This hit the nail on the head for me. I entered the workforce a bit earlier than 2015 and I would have expected HR to be a neutral arbiter as well. My experience at different employers has proven my expectations to be wrong or at least naive. On every occasion I needed to interact with HR, information (eg. applicable laws) was selectively filtered to make it look like my only option was the one that was beneficial to the business. YMMV, but for me this is good advice and a welcome reminder.

by crmd 4y ago

sumtechguy 4y ago

I think every gen gets to learn this lesson. Not just 2015-16. I have seen it many times in my 30yrs. Newbie gets in a twist over something (usually very justified). HR is then a role of the dice if they will help or just come down on everyone or just the two involved, etc... They usually are the arbiters of policy, that they made, rightly or wrongly.

ejb999 4y ago

>>What I have seen as a senior tech executive and old person is that young people entering the workforce after around 2015-6 often rely on HR to be a neutral arbiter in workplace conflicts, analogous to parental chaperones or university administrators. Yep - seen it many times when employees (usually younger) say things like "I'm telling HR" or "I'm reporting you to HR", as if it's the same as "I'm telling Mom", and expecting HR to swoop in and rule in their favor on some workplace dispute - thats not there job, never was, never will be. While you (the complaining employee) are doing that, the back-channel communication to the manager is telling them how they should probably document 'whatever' in writing so that when you eventually get terminated they have a contemporaneous record of all your bad behavior to use against you. HR is not your friend, they are not supposed to be.

dotgov 4y ago

This hit the nail on the head for me. I entered the workforce a bit earlier than 2015 and I would have expected HR to be a neutral arbiter as well. My experience at different employers has proven my expectations to be wrong or at least naive. On every occasion I needed to interact with HR, information (eg. applicable laws) was selectively filtered to make it look like my only option was the one that was beneficial to the business. YMMV, but for me this is good advice and a welcome reminder.