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Human Resources (HR) personnel can help employees in the right circumstances. The HR staff is often mistrusted by employees these days. This idea may be because they don’t stand up for employees or they don’t take action that employee’s feel they should take. For example, if you are a bullied employee and in the workplace, you may feel the need to involve HR. This action may because it’s the company’s policy to report it or a way to create a documentation trail. When you are getting nowhere with your HR department it can be because of the following three reasons:
First, when you address your HR department staff with an issue of bullying or discrimination, you have to be able to provide credible proof. You may also want to bring forth a witness that saw the behavior. After working in HR for 28 years, I know the role that HR provides and their limitations. To take any disciplinary action against a perpetrator, HR must have enough proof to take action against the employee who is creating a hostile work environment. In larger companies, HR may present evidence to their legal staff or an employment attorney for legal advice. If there is no evidence—it’s nearly impossible to proceed with disciplinary action because it can backfire and harm the company.
Two, if a supervisor witnesses someone discriminating or harassing an employee and fails to record the incident accurately, there is a lack of documentation. Supervisors can be very busy in their jobs and feel they can document the event when they have time to write up a report. However, time is of the essence. If the untimely documentation is very late, it may not be considered by HR or an attorney because of its untimeliness. Timely investigations and documentation are essential. It’s part of a supervisor’s role to ensure they are reporting disrupting or illegal behavior to either their management or their HR department. For HR personnel, it can be very frustrating when they want to resolve these kinds of matters in the workplace, and they are not getting cooperation from supervisors or managers.
Three, often, employees think that HR personnel has more authority than they really have in their role. If you are a government employee and are dealing with discrimination, HR Employee/Labor Relation personnel are considered HR technicians. They cannot make legal decisions or interpret legal matters. They must build up a package of documentation and then submit it to their legal counsel for their review. Once the legal staff has reviewed the documentation, they will provide their advice of the matter to the leadership of the agency.
Ultimately, the agency’s director can decide if the perpetrator should be disciplined or removed from their job. It’s unfortunate, but I have seen employees harass other employees and get away with it. Why? Even though HR or an attorney took all the proper actions, the director may let the matter slide because the perpetrator attends the same church as them or for some other reason. HR is required to discuss work matters with their management. If you are working in the private sector, HR may not be the one who makes the final decision on these matters—it may be the management.
However, employees and employers can reduce workplace bullying and discrimination by supporting each other and appropriately working with HR. For more information on workplace bullying and discrimination solutions, check out: https://goodmenproject.com/author/consultwithdawngmail-com
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