I don't know what bad experience you had with them but I really don't hate them. They help me. Sure it's motivated by the law and the employer paying them but they give me information and they allow me to stay focused on my work. Also they do filtering of candidates. It just helps, I don't think my job would be comfortable without them
HR has two core functions. The first is to make sure the company can recruit and retain the best talent for the absolute lowest possible cost and effort, and the second is to make sure the company's reputation and legal standing are protected from blowouts by current and former employees.
Everything they do falls under that lens. To HR, a harassment case isn't an ethical issue, it's an optics issue they need to quiet down so a scandal doesn't happen, to protect the brand. They don't care about the people involved as long as the brand is safe.
This is why companies that are actually good places to work either don't have HR at all or, if they're really big, have the bare minimum for stuff like legal tax filings and PR. Costco (a good example of a place known for ethical bosses and happy workers) literally doesn't have an HR team in any of its warehouse/stores. They have a few HR people in the corporate office to do like tax filings and shit but the actual people management - the hiring, the disputes - are handled by the GMs themselves, not some slimy HR rep who's actively incentivized to act without integrity.
I couldn't care less what their purpose is if it makes my life better.
I really don't know how bad your hrs were but mine are really human and do genuinely try to make my life easier. Sad to hear most people"'s experiences don't match mine tho
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u/StormySeas414 1d ago
Nobody likes HR. We just pretend we do when observed, the same way they pretend to care about us