Following my HR Dharma

Following my HR Dharma

As HR person, I have always found myself in either of the two most confusing, emotionally taxing and intellectually challenging situations, which has often provoked me to reach out for thoughts and newer solutions but sometimes lot of turmoil. The acceptable unethical and guilt of doing right has always haunted me. I have been hated and not loved by many for doing the right or accepting the wrong- but I have managed to live with it.

One of the situation is accepting the unethical behaviour. In today’s world, where recruitment is competitive, business is aggressive and environment is dynamic, we all get into and accept some unethical practices, sometimes unknowingly but mostly, in our full senses and consciousness. Examples are numerous. Which recruiter has not seen a candidate not turning up on the day of joining or coming back after ten days from receiving the offer, bargaining for a new salary as he/she has a parallel offer now? As HR, we all know that it is unethical. The candidate may bargain again with us or someone else, yet most of the time we budge. Accepting the unwanted. If we do not accept the arm twisting and try to show that we have come out strong and victorious, we are fooling ourselves. Few months down the line if we cross paths with same candidate, we will still try our best to hire him and will not reject him based on his ethics, as demonstrated in the past.

E-commerce is a new world to Indian business environment and almost an alien word to our legal system which refused to go through metamorphosis from acts of 1950s and 60s, thus challenging Mr. Darwin. Hence, every company in this newly evolved space, follow some legal guidelines as per their understanding and often as per their convenience as the lazy legal system fails to combat the exploitation of the system. However, these companies have given new experience to consumers, values to shareholders and fat package to employees, thus increasing the overall social strata. Hence we agree to moulding of legal system as per our need and also include labour inspectors and similar people as our accomplice. And the best is, we have an alibi- “this is what we have understood as per below clause as this is the job we are in to”.

The second extreme is guilt of doing the right. Lot of times we hear, “HR has not given me good hike or promotion”, “HR has been downsizing like crazy”, “HR threw me out one fine day” and many more sweet allegations.

Yes, we do all. But do we do it willingly? Do we enjoy it? I am quite tempted to quote Shylock (Merchant of Venice) here,

“I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die?”

We also do not like to fire an individual or group. We also understand that they do have financial commitments and responsibilities to carry. However, when weighed against the greater good of the organization- either in terms of saving the expense or by disassociating from an employee who has done unethical acts or can be a potential threat to information and security, we are left with no choice. We manage the cost for overall organization, trying to be as fair as possible, treating everyone with same respect as per their output to the organization, only to hear the unpleasant. We execute the unwanted amputation with a fine precision as a surgeon, disconnecting one major nerve of the organization with minimal possible pain, yet we are HR- Hardly Recognized.

Sometimes, we even know who is right between two disputed parties. But like our judiciary, we also need to keep our friendship, judgement and knowing of truth aside, rely only on proofs and take decision which sometimes is fair and sometimes is anything but fair- and we know that.

HR needs to deal with lot of conflicting emotions in their daily work profile. They need to balance their head, keep it levelled.  The conflicts will always be there, but what makes one successful is one’s ability to detach from all feelings and just act. Something similar to what Arjun did at Mahabharata, pegged down Bhishma in not so ethical way and had to and killed his own family members for greater good of society and dharma.

As HR, let us remember our karma (KRA), work for greater good of society (organization), be emotionless to our family members (colleagues and employees) as they are here to come and go, be a medium for change like Arjun was and just follow our HR dharma.