I have a mentor at work to help me with personal development.
There’s some terrible politics at work at the higher levels and it’s impacting on the day to day, and I’m getting personal ‘your performance isn’t good enough’ flak because of it.

Now my mentor has told me all conversations are confidential but some of what I want to tell him is effectively that my boss is failing to give me the direction and support he should do (not getting it himself as it happens…) and in all honesty I’d rather have a different job… in fact, given the impact on my health, I’m going to need a different job to retain my sanity soon…
But what’s the risk of this getting back to other people? – I don’t think they’d be too happy with a lot of what I have to say about the situation…

Personally I wouldn’t trust HR departments at all. They are there to make sure the company isn’t sued for anything and keep the wage bill down as far as possible, IME. If you do have meetings with them take a witness when possible.

HR are there to serve the companies interests not the employees. Trust them as far as you can throw them.

HR bods don’t have a Hypocratic Oath like doctors or anything.

But if somebody tells you that what you are saying is confidential, then you have the right to expect that. Sounds like you don’t trust them tho, which kind of answers your question…

(also Confidential can mean different things in law)

If my experience is anything to go by HR are not to be trusted.
They’ll say one thing then do another.

Our HR at work are also good mates with the boss, so as others have said, don’t tell em anything!

The HR department work for your company not for you.
To protect your self take notes of any meetings formal or “informal”.
Do not dish the dirt on your boss, it will come back to you.
And join a union, atleast then somebody will be on your side. (Some unions are better than others)

HR is the companies HR not yours treat everything as if you are doing a power point on it tot he whole company.
After th emeeting send an e-mail – from home /non work sever giving your version of what was discussed at the meeting do just wait for theirs.
Medical or genuinely personal info may be covered by Data protection if you make them record it etc.

As a HR Manager for a blue chip company this is rather insightful 🙂

feel free to add your pov spaghetti89

From my experience of having worked for a big blue chip company… not to be trusted.

Yep, whatever you say goes straight back to the MD in one form or another.

At my place we’ve tested that theory by planting duff information.

*Sighs*

If only TJ was here….

Not looking very good is it… All I can add is have a think about the individual your working with. If you can or do trust them, then not a problem. At the end of the day keep your BS detector on stun… and your in control of what and how much you actually disclose.

This is a pretty damning insight into the HR functions cred in some companies….

Any thoughts Spag89 ? You can tell us in confidence of course…….

Often a subject can be expressed in a negative way or a positive way. You have got some issues that you are seeing as negative. Do a bit of lateral thinking and see if you can fins a positive way of bringing up the same points.

There’s a trick that you can use to make yourself sound a positive person. You start off by saying “What I like about it is….” Make a couple of positive noises and then come out with the thing you don’t like. You sound reasonable and balanced then.

I know of one multinational with a training/ conference centre which has accommodation on site.

Every bedroom is bugged with mics and cameras.

I know this because I know the engineer who made a small fortune installing the kit.

(no, I’m not revealing clues – lives could be lost)

In my line of work I’ve met some really sincere HR Managers and assistants etc however the vast majority have a power-trip ego, a high staff turnover within the HOUR dept and some are even more political than everyone put together.

Don’t forget the company owner/Directors pay their wages so they want to know (or have hilighted anything that goes on below).

They have to cover their own asses if you subsequently go on to a tribunal for instance.

HR dept? Dont have one of them…

Wouldn’t trust them as far as I can spit a cast iron donkey.

Ours appear to be there for the company and not the employees.

luckily we have a ‘strongish’ union representation at our place.

CaptainFlashheart – Member

*Sighs*

If only TJ was here….

Are you in love with him?

union?

[/quote]brooess – Member
I have a mentor at work to help me with personal development.
There’s some terrible politics at work at the higher levels and it’s impacting on the day to day, and I’m getting personal ‘your performance isn’t good enough’ flak because of it.

Posted 5 hours ago # Report-Post

Id only worry about the highlighted line if it was your partnner saying it, LOL.

HR Manager at work put me under huge pressure to fabricate stories about my old boss to make it easy to fire him – I refused even though I was threatened with loosing my own job over it.

Wouldn’t piss on HR if they were on fire….

Clue is in the title really. Human Resources. You are a resource to assist the company in achieving its aims.

I am pretty good friends with the HR Manager at my company. Whilst she will look after and assist the employees as much as she can, ultimately her top prioity is the company.

If you need to say something in confidence, you would be better taking a witness with you to make sure that all is logged correctly and the appropriate actions agreed by all.

HR 👿 ime scum of the earth.

HR –

Then: A vital conduit between management and workforce

Now: Internal affairs at best and virtual secret police at worst

I think your about right bravolhotel8er.

I hate to generalisr, but i’ve never met anyone who works in HR to be anything less than a wannabe nazi who cares about no-one bar themselves.

From personal experience, they work for the company and not the staff, they’re there to toe the company line and if anyone steps out they will be removed. Also almost every HR person i’ve ever had dealings with ( and this might just be me) have been biffing someone higher and usually a board member, in other words the company bike.

Agree with the concensus here, hr might as well be aliens from another planet – the have no concept of the real world.

If only TJ was here….

Tut tut Captain. Conditional. If only TJ were here.

I’d rather trust an estate agent…
Or a tabloid journalist… possibly even Nick Clegg…

I think you’ve gone a bit far suggest NC, Yeti.

As a HR Manager for a blue chip company this is rather insightful

What the lack of trust, or the behaviour of other HR types…?

Every bedroom is bugged with mics and cameras.

Is that even legal?

I’d advise extreme caution. If you do decide to speak to HR play it in as positive light as possible, not as a whinge / moan – perhaps pose as a question…

From personal experience (previous employer) I had a conversation with HR, and specifically requested that it be confidential prior to proceeding. My line managec asked me what it was all about the very next morning 🙁

Capt. The thing with NC is we now know he’ll shaft us, we can trust him to do this. HR on the other hand… smiling assasins…

HR –

Then: A vital conduit between management and workforce

Now: Internal affairs at best and virtual secret police at worst

Spot on – one upon a day the personnel department, often wives and families of the rest of the employees, then HR became a “career direction” and it all went down the toilet.

Spagetti89 – it’s a bit soul destroying really isn’t.

I do wonder why a lot of people on STW in general (it’s not the first or last thread that will castigate the HR profession) seem to think that HR are evil personified. I work closely with both HR and the line (at the moment those are sales directors) in Global Fortune 500 companies and my experience of the line’s view of HR is certainly not in line with the consensus expressed here. That might be because people here typically aren’t working in Global Fortune 500 companies, or it might be that the people making the comments are also on their own ego, Nazi power trip.

I would agree that a lot of HR departments could do a much better job and should do a much better job, but that is, and has been, changing for quite a while now.

Brooes – to your original point. It’s reasonable to expect a moderate amount of confidentiality and to a large degree you ought to be able to trust HR to respect that. But the points made about them working for the company are correct so their first objective is to make sure the company doesn’t get sued.

Bear in mind, that by breaking confidentiality, without very good reason, it’s highly likely that the company would get sued. Good reasons would be things like you’re confessing to an act of gross misconduct or your disclosing such an act committed by someone else.

If you’re thinking of leaving you should under no circumstances tell this to anyone at the company. This constitutes a break down in trust between you and your employer and could make things very tricky for you.

Brooes – to your original point. It’s reasonable to expect a moderate amount of confidentiality

If an employee is making serious allegations or looks like the situation could go to tribunal the management above HR will ask the question ‘what did you know about the developing situation and what steps did you take’?

HR bods in any company have to cover their asses.

I don’t know what capacity you work with “Global Fortune 500 companies” but next you will be saying there is little politics and a strong professional attitude in Corporate companies and obvious the OP works in a tin-pot company.

Who is naive here?

The only confidentiality you can expect from anybody in any company, HR included is this.

They will NOT TELL YOU that their intention is to go and report your conversation to your boss as soon as your meeting is finished.

geetee1972 – just a thought but maybe ‘the line’ regard you as HR?

Maybe I’m hopelessly naive, but I think if you have serious concerns about your boss/senior management then it’s reasonable to air them, and get them on record. Try and be very fair and measured though, and not to sound bitter!