Shauna Moerke is…

Being in HR can be a little discombobulating. When employees and managers aren’t resenting us for some “stupid policy” we have to enforce, they are happy with us when we help them get something they need, like FMLA or a referral bonus. But most of the time we are just this strange entity they don’t know how to deal with. One that sits off by itself and hides within an HR Fortress of Solitude or whatever. That I can deal with and accept. HR is both the carrot and the stick and that can be intimidating.

But what I don’t understand is this reaction: Pity. Yes, I said pity. As in “How can you do this job?”, “Don’t all those stupid laws make you crazy?”, or even “I could never do your job, do you even like what you do?”. Ouch. I know there isn’t any maliciousness behind those words but still, that’s a little hard to hear. It’s like walking up to someone and telling them you think their dog/baby/face is ugly and asking how can they stand living with it.

Now, I complain about HR as much as the next self-hating HR person, but let me be perfectly clear: I love HR. Sure it can be hard, could be better, has an image problem, and (insert random HR complaint here). It doesn’t matter. I don’t regret my decision to get into HR and there is a reason I have hung around so long. And it’s not for the party planning either, that stuff got old after the first planning committee I was conscripted to be on. I certainly wouldn’t be blogging about it if it was just a “job”.

Look, I get that HR isn’t for everyone and there are PLENTY of jobs I would never want to do too. Anything involving reptiles comes to mind. Creepy. But I also know that no matter the job, there are people out there who truly enjoy what they do or at least know that what they do makes a difference, no matter how small that difference may be. And that is certainly not anything you should pity.

Instead of dismissing a job as horrid simply because it’s not something you want to do, why not try to understand why someone can be so dedicated to it? You may be surprised by what you find out.

Alternatively, I wanted to title this post, “Don’t cry for me Argentina”, cause I’m a dork like that. I’m also a dork because I am way too happy that I got to use the word “discombobulated” in a post.