My HR Purpose

I have to admit and some of you might agree, that when we get older we do want to take on a role that would have the least stress brought to our bodies and minds. But in my field of work, I don’t actually have that luxury or privilege. Imagine dealing with your own issues and problems, only it is multiplied by the number of employees in your site. I often surprise myself when I get to solve an employee’s issue but couldn’t figure out my own dilemmas.

I’m nearing my 5th month in my new job. And what seemed to be a less stressful environment is in fact one that pushes me to the limit.

I was once asked if I ever regretted leaving my old job. I answered that there are no regrets. I do miss the comfort level and the people, but there is more than just that. I have always believed in the leadership and vision of my current employer. That is what made me join them. This does not mean that my previous employer didn’t have that same leadership qualities and the mission to succeed. It was merely a personal choice on my end.

Being in Human Resources is not like a walk in the park as some might envision it. There is a lot of fire fighting, strategic planning and the daily grind of dealing with your internal customers. And there is a lot of follow through to this, it’s not merely solving the problem but sustaining the action plans to ensure that the issue does not arise again. And of course, the Case Management aspect, where in you deal with cases that sometimes may lead to labor or legal issues.

In order to ensure the site runs smoothly and that the employees remain happy, HR needs to log in heavy hours to be able to address these critical concerns. It doesn’t necessarily mean that we require extended hours, but to smartly manage the time in which these issues are attended to. (Check out my opinions on Working Hard vs. Working Smart)

In my 8 and a half years in Human Resource I don’t deny getting burned out at some point. I have accepted the fact that this is what I really want to do and what keeps me from completely exploding is that I learned to really love what I do. And this actually drives me to push myself beyond my threshold because there is nothing more fulfilling in my line of work than making one of your employees put on a smile for a job well done.