this post was submitted on 13 Jan 2024
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I can’t give more approval for this woman, she handled everything so well.

The backstory is that Cloudflare overhired and wanted to reduce headcount, rightsize, whatever terrible HR wording you choose. Instead of admitting that this was a layoff, which would grant her things like severance and unemployment - they tried to tell her that her performance was lacking.

And for most of us (myself included) we would angrily accept it and trash the company online. Not her, she goes directly against them. It of course doesn’t go anywhere because HR is a bunch of robots with no emotions that just parrot what papa company tells them to, but she still says what all of us wish we did.

(Warning, if you've ever been laid off this is a bit enraging and can bring up some feelings)

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[–] pearsaltchocolatebar@discuss.online 50 points 10 months ago (7 children)

That really isn't true, and you would know that if you were actually familiar with HR.

HR, for stuff like this, is just the messenger. Some exec told them to fire people, and gave them a directive on who to fire. The HR reps couldn't answer her questions because they likely don't know the answer.

Yes, the job of HR is to protect the company, but mostly that's protecting the company from the company breaking labor laws.

But, I'm sure I'll get downvoted to hell because the hive mind loves to shit on HR, which is exactly what the execs are wanting. They're scapegoats.

[–] alienanimals@lemmy.world 68 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (6 children)

I am very familiar with HR at multiple fortune 500 corporations.

You're so close to getting the point. You realize HR are the executives' scapegoats. HR's purpose is to serve the rich assholes fucking everyone else over. Anyone working HR is complicit whether they're intelligent enough to realize it, or just a useful idiot. Execs want and need their scapegoats. People should realize this and avoid HR (class traitor) jobs.

[–] rwhitisissle@lemmy.world 20 points 10 months ago (1 children)

HR exists to insulate people with real authority in a business from those who suffer from their whims. In a lot of companies, your job is to get yelled at so some ghoulish C level executive isn't forced to strain their neurons processing the emotional reality of the fact that their decisions impact real people in negative ways. It might disrupt their "objectivity" and make it harder to issue layoffs next time.

[–] son_named_bort@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

It's basically customer service for employees.

[–] dabu@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago

Well, if you're working for that company in any other role your purpose is to serve the rich assholes anyway.

[–] fushuan@lemm.ee 0 points 10 months ago

Anyone in the company is serving the rich assholes fucking everyone else over. All the money they are producing goes to the rich assholes.

[–] WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Better yet, get a job in HR and sabotage the company from the inside!

Though, the reality is that most menial HR jobs are like any other menial non-decision maker jobs, in any other area of the business, so your argument is just as applicable to, and just as disingenuous, for most roles in any business — e.g. like arguing janitor's at EvilCorp are complicit class traitors because they enrich EvilCorp and facilitate it's success.

[–] MotoAsh@lemmy.world 0 points 10 months ago

No. Most jobs do not directly involve enacting bad worker related decisions.

An engineer will never, ever come in and fire you for some made up reason. HR will.

You are conflating the fact that HR does not need to exist like the jobs that do the actual work need to exist. They are not the same. Ever.

[–] oce@jlai.lu -1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Wouldn't that also apply to engineers working for those rich assholes? Because there are a lot of engineers working for rich assholes here who like to trash HR, starting with me.

[–] MotoAsh@lemmy.world -1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

No. What? HR does company dirty work. Engineers do actual work. What the fuck is the relation there??

[–] oce@jlai.lu -1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

They both prostitute themselves to serve the rich to get more money even though they are educated enough to have the freedom to choose whom to work for.

[–] MotoAsh@lemmy.world -1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Ahh yes, and Marx wasn't a real socialist because he sold books for money... You are choosing to miss the very obvious nuance and that is incredibly stupid to choose to do.

[–] oce@jlai.lu -1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

You're talking about nuance after the vast generalization you wrote about HR? May beyou could self reflect on that nuance notion.

[–] MotoAsh@lemmy.world 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

I'm not the one failing to understand the difference between HR work and engineering work.

"nuance" was said in jest, because that diffrence goes FAR beyond nuance, yet you still don't see it. Pathetic.

[–] BottleOfAlkahest@lemmy.world 29 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I worked in HR for a while and 80% of the job was telling managers/execs "you can't do that to an employee". It was defending the employee, arguing for better programs, planning events for employees/associates/team members. I paid for a Christmas event out of my own pocket one year because I was told there was no funding. I never got badmouthed or trashed by a manager. But after fighting everyday for associates it was really disheartening to see them say stuff like the person youre replying too. It's one reason people who aren't corporate shills get out of HR. You spend your day advocating for people and they turn around and spit in your face. After awhile you just ask yourself why am I turning myself inside out for these people who hate me?

[–] TheLowestStone@lemmy.world 17 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I've literally never worked at a company where HR advocates for the workers. In 20 years, I haven't seen it happen a single time.

[–] asqapro@lemmy.ml 4 points 10 months ago (2 children)

The HR team at the company I work for absolutely advocates for me and my coworkers. Their job is to protect the company’s interests and the workers being empowered is in line with the company’s interests. A close friend and coworker had a PM try to deny her benefits (both PTO and insurance) and HR stepped in on her behalf and forced the company to give her what she was owed. The HR team is always available to answer questions about how insurance works and how to plan for retirement, plus they go out of their way to host a yearly Christmas party and other major events. The companies you worked at might have had bad HR teams, but that doesn’t mean every HR team is bad.

[–] spacecowboy@sh.itjust.works 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

HR is to prevent liability, not to protect or advocate for workers. Sometimes those lines end up crossing, but it’s not the job of HR.

[–] GilgameshCatBeard@lemmy.ca -5 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

How about you let them tel you how HR is at the the place they work for since you have no idea who they are or where they work.

[–] spacecowboy@sh.itjust.works 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Nah I don’t need to. I work with HR all the time. I know what they’re about.

[–] GilgameshCatBeard@lemmy.ca 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

So tell me how the HR where they work at actually handled things since you’ve worked with them. Actually, first: state the name of the company they work at so I can check your work.

[–] spacecowboy@sh.itjust.works -4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

You’re not my boss, you can’t tell me what to do. I need my union rep present for this if you want to continue this discussion further.

[–] GilgameshCatBeard@lemmy.ca -1 points 10 months ago

Exactly what I thought. Go sit down.

[–] GilgameshCatBeard@lemmy.ca -5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

This totally goes against what people want to believe. It’s not being downvoted because it’s untrue, it’s being downvoted because the kids don’t like it.

[–] spacecowboy@sh.itjust.works 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

You can paint a pig and call it your lover if you want but I know a pig when I see one.

[–] GilgameshCatBeard@lemmy.ca -1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

And you can use anecdotal references to paint the real world however you want it you look, but I know reality when I see it.

[–] spacecowboy@sh.itjust.works -4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

What the fuck are you even talking about? Go away dude.

[–] GilgameshCatBeard@lemmy.ca -1 points 10 months ago

Your use of anecdotal evidence.

[–] spacecowboy@sh.itjust.works 7 points 10 months ago

Oh come off of it. Your job is to tell those managers and executives “you can’t do that”. You are there to prevent liability. I’m not calling you a bad person or class trader like above, but that’s what your job is.

[–] jimbo@lemmy.world 28 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Nothing you said contradicts the claim that HR people are class traitors. HR only cares about labor law so far as they can achieve management's goals without landing the company in legal hot water. It's absolutely not about any concern for the people themselves.

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 7 points 10 months ago

No one in any business cares about their customers or coworkers any more than they have to. Why would you think that the person at the supermarket cares about the weird story you have to tell them?

HR doesn't care about you because they don't know you. Your coworkers barely care about you. Do not think people you work with are your friends. HR has no moral reason to do anything other than their jobs. Don't rely on them for legal advice. They are just a mouthpiece for what has already been decided.

[–] ThePowerOfGeek@lemmy.world 14 points 10 months ago

I've interacted with lots of HR employees over the years. And for quite a while my wife worked in that field, so I've had some 'inside' insight into the field. And I largely agree with you.

Like with any field, there are good people and bad people in there. My wife (and most of her colleagues) was one of the good ones. She intervened many times at her old job to stop out of control managers from firing store employees for bullshit reasons. Yes, part of that was to avoid the company getting into legal trouble for it. But an equal part was because she wanted to help these employees, because they were clearly being mistreated by their managers. And while not to that level, I've been helped by other decent HR people who went above and beyond company policies to help me during things like bereavement and healthcare needs.

I've also dealt with some absolute shit-heel HR people. People who would spend almost all day spying on employees using CCTV to try to catch them doing something - anything - that they could write them up for. People who would go out of their way to hide and ignore evidence of managers vindictively punishing employees who they (the managers) didn't like. People would use their power as HR professionals to exploit vulnerable employees for sexual motives.

It's a mixed bag. To say all HR people are good is facile (side note: I know you weren't doing that). And equally, to slate all HR employees is also wrong.

[–] ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world 11 points 10 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

deleted by creator

[–] winterayars@sh.itjust.works 3 points 10 months ago

Being a shield against the decisions of upper management is the kind of class traitor work the person above is talking about. HR's job is taking that kind of decision and turning it into something that can be executed with the least likelihood of an office shooting or lawsuit. Whether either of those things are warranted or not.

[–] MotoAsh@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

"Don't hate HR! We're not the master, just his trained attack dogs!"