Best and worst high level job

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hahaha. HR leader here. I don't think I've ever left at 5pm in my entire career.

People do stupid things (sexual harassment, hostile work environment) that create liability for the company and it's my job to resolve it.

I am expected to fix bad leaders, squeaky wheels, heard cats, put ducks in a row, etc., etc.

I am expected to figure out how to get 5000 people through COVID and be sensitive to their family needs, fears, and frustrations.

I'm expected to keep everyone happy so the good people don't quit.

I'm expected to fix the bad performers so we don't have any bad performers.

I hand out tissues to crying people in my office on the regular. Employees with a cancer diagnosis, death in the family, family back home in Ukraine, South Sudan, or Israel/Gaza.

I also hand out tissues to the whiney, entitled brats who think they should get promotions, pay raises, and accolades for being extremely mediocre at their jobs.

I take calls from stressed out leaders during evening and weekend hours because that's when they have time to talk about it.

I give pep talks to great employees who deserve one but their leaders aren't noticing or are to self-absorbed to pause and say thank you to someone working hard for them once in a while.

I tell the intern to stop watching Netflix at his desk and do some work.

And I do give financial presentations regularly because in a consulting firm all colleagues are knowledge workers so salaries are our biggest expense.

These examples only scratch the surface and none of them are hypothetical. Yes, some elements of my job involve being a cop (unfortunately), but by the time you get to VP level, you have to be a lot more strategic than that.

This is so interesting. I am a physician, and am a director of a division (10 doctors, 5 fellows, about 6 technical staff, and dozens of support staff - both union and non-union).

I do everything you do, minus the financial presentations. I also keep tissues on my desk - for employees, not patients.

You shouldn’t be doing those activities. That’s the job of management - the directors joke that we are basically adult babysitters who do medicine as a 40 hr/wk side gig.

We all avoid HR because they are a nightmare to deal with. And if someone went whining to HR about anything, then HR would get pissed off that they were bothered and probably try to fire me! Also how could HR possibly know who is a great employee? Let the manager figure that out! If a manager is going to be an idiot and lose good people that is their problem to deal with. Or maybe those people aren’t actually all that good and management is choosing to neglect them and hoping that they quit.

I agree that there’s paperwork and PIPs and challenges like millennials, sexual harassment and FMLA, but I worry that you are making your job harder than it needs to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hahaha. HR leader here. I don't think I've ever left at 5pm in my entire career.

People do stupid things (sexual harassment, hostile work environment) that create liability for the company and it's my job to resolve it.

I am expected to fix bad leaders, squeaky wheels, heard cats, put ducks in a row, etc., etc.

I am expected to figure out how to get 5000 people through COVID and be sensitive to their family needs, fears, and frustrations.

I'm expected to keep everyone happy so the good people don't quit.

I'm expected to fix the bad performers so we don't have any bad performers.

I hand out tissues to crying people in my office on the regular. Employees with a cancer diagnosis, death in the family, family back home in Ukraine, South Sudan, or Israel/Gaza.

I also hand out tissues to the whiney, entitled brats who think they should get promotions, pay raises, and accolades for being extremely mediocre at their jobs.

I take calls from stressed out leaders during evening and weekend hours because that's when they have time to talk about it.

I give pep talks to great employees who deserve one but their leaders aren't noticing or are to self-absorbed to pause and say thank you to someone working hard for them once in a while.

I tell the intern to stop watching Netflix at his desk and do some work.

And I do give financial presentations regularly because in a consulting firm all colleagues are knowledge workers so salaries are our biggest expense.

These examples only scratch the surface and none of them are hypothetical. Yes, some elements of my job involve being a cop (unfortunately), but by the time you get to VP level, you have to be a lot more strategic than that.

This is so interesting. I am a physician, and am a director of a division (10 doctors, 5 fellows, about 6 technical staff, and dozens of support staff - both union and non-union).

I do everything you do, minus the financial presentations. I also keep tissues on my desk - for employees, not patients.

You shouldn’t be doing those activities. That’s the job of management - the directors joke that we are basically adult babysitters who do medicine as a 40 hr/wk side gig.

We all avoid HR because they are a nightmare to deal with. And if someone went whining to HR about anything, then HR would get pissed off that they were bothered and probably try to fire me! Also how could HR possibly know who is a great employee? Let the manager figure that out! If a manager is going to be an idiot and lose good people that is their problem to deal with. Or maybe those people aren’t actually all that good and management is choosing to neglect them and hoping that they quit.

I agree that there’s paperwork and PIPs and challenges like millennials, sexual harassment and FMLA, but I worry that you are making your job harder than it needs to be.

Refreshing to see good managers and HR here.
Last job where I was victim of harassment and assault, the bully did it in public in front of the entire company. they swiftly fired me.