Drawing the Line

Do you sometimes question yourself, how much is enough? When you are like me who hardly says no, where do you draw that line and say, I can’t do this anymore.

In our universe, there seems to be a limit to everything. No matter how boundless one thing seems, it has to end somewhere, somehow and sometime soon. We’ve heard most of it already, “we can’t live forever”, “I’ve had it up to here.”, “the fat lady has sung.” and you simply “ran out of luck.” I’m pretty sure each and every one of knows someone who can push it and yet still, there is a limit. (Or you are being pushed beyond your free will. I hope not.)

There are several things that no matter how hard you want to keep going, you can’t simply move on with it; whether the body or mind is no longer willing, or there is just too much conflict, resistance and hate, that compels you to simply put a stop to things.

For me, one of these things would be…Work.

The challenge in my profession is that, your problem is my problem, and I am tasked to resolve it. In my personal opinion, HR is perceived to be like the walking, talking, Book of Answers, a 24-hour convenience store and the ultimate house cleaner. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job. Every day I learn something new. On some days, the tasks are quite daunting, but achievable…if given the time.

On being the Book of Answers; I greatly appreciate it when people come up to HR and seek counsel. There is that level of fulfillment when the employee walks away satisfied with your answers, knowing that you have helped them resolve their issues. It feels good that HR practitioners are often dubbed as a shoulder to cry on, defender of the oppressed and a provider of resolution. But the one perception that I would like to change and I do admit, is that HR is not an omnipotent oracle that knows everything. (Well how I wish I had these powers as I shared in my other article, I’m no Superhero.)

In fact, as Albert Einstein said, “The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

Being in HR is also a test of endurance. There are some beliefs that HR never closes. (Or maybe HR practitioners are like doctors, who should be on call 24/7…but do we dare ask if the matters are that of life and death?) Nowadays, I’m lucky if I get any sleep for 3 straight hours during the work week. Calls and messages comes in almost every 30 minutes. But I think of it this way though, as one mentor put it:

• It is better that people reach out to you rather than not;
• But you must take heed because it could mean that if they continuously reach out to you because no resolution or action has been done, then you may deemed neglectful. Or if they don’t reach out to you at all, it could mean you have no credibility.

Now the real trials of the job are cleaning up the mess of others or getting things organized. Thus, being the ultimate house cleaner. Yes, I understand that we all live under the same roof and we all have our own roles and you have the heads of the family take lead, but maybe some residents should take accountability and own up. Or better yet, at the onset, get things organized. Again, I hardly say no and will offer whatever help I can; it’s my nature and not just the profession. But it does get quite irritating though when some say that, “we did something wrong, you have to fix this right now.” As if I have a magic wand and could simply chant bibbidi-bobbidi-boo.

Unfortunately I can’t just pick up a chalk and draw that line in front of me, as I have to accept the fact that this is indeed the nature of my work, and I signed up for it 11 years ago.

Taking cue from a Nike commercial...So maybe I brought this upon myself for not learning to say No. Maybe it was my fault for making myself very accessible and available for each and every need. Maybe it was not a good decision on my part to intervene in every little incident. Maybe it was my eagerness to prove my worth?

 

Or maybe, just maybe…as Michael Jordan put it…”Maybe you’re just making excuses.”