Many Say That HR Is Not Your Friend. Are They Right?
Ever have something bad happen to you at work and think you should immediately talk to HR? WRONG! HR is not your friend. HR exists only to protect the company from getting sued and despite whatever they tell you, think about who actually pays them… the company!
I’ve had some bad stuff happen to me over the years and I’m sharing with you what I’ve learned. Above all, being really diligent about this stuff can come to your benefit down the road if (but hopefully not) you find yourself needing an employment lawyer.
1. The “I Have Concerns” approach. Have a feeling something shady might be going on with your employment? A phrase I used when talking to HR to gather information was “I have concerns and just want to understand what is going on.” Or, “I have concerns about the impression this new title will send internally and externally”. For whatever reason, being “concerned” is considered to be less “emotional” of a word and more objective.
2. The “I’m Uncomfortable” approach. “I’m uncomfortable with the terms of this new employment agreement.” “I’m uncomfortable with the way you are speaking to me.” “I’m uncomfortable with the way Mr. Dude talks to the women in the office.” Uncomfortable is like a secret trigger word for HR (or at least it was in my experience).
3. Documentation is the answer.
Document the good stuff. Ever get a compliment in a meeting or one-on-one with your boss? Back that up with an email to whoever gave you the compliment and start to create a paper trail of compliments. Documenting times your colleagues gave you praise will absolutely come in handy when lobbying for a promotion, more money or in case things go sideways… Don’t forget to create an archived folder for all these emails you sent including any responses.
“Hi [Boss Person’s Name],
Thank you so much for the compliment earlier and appreciate you noticing my hard work and dedication to the project. Please let me know if there are any opportunities to take on more responsibility with this project or additional ways I can be helpful. I am committed to the success of this project and the team overall.”
Document the bad stuff. Lots of different ways to do this. You can keep your own private records but if you can send an email, even better. Remember, any email you send can and likely will get forwarded on to other people so be smart, be non-threatening, play it cool but keep a record. A good approach for especially sensitive items is to do an in-person meeting first and then follow up with an email. Keeping diligent and ongoing documentation like this will be your hero – trust me on this. Also, don’t send emails when you’re angry. Always a terrible idea.
“Hi [Boss Person’s Name],
Thank you for taking the time today to discuss my concerns regarding [other coworker’s] behavior. As we discussed, a safe and non-threatening work environment is important to my well-being and productivity at [Company] and I appreciate your support as well as being able to come to you with these types of concerns.”
~ Contributing WMN Member
Disclaimer: The above article was not written by a lawyer and not intended to be used as legal advice. Talk to a real lawyer! See how WMN Legal can help.
Posted In: Legal Tips