One of the best parts about blogging in this space are the reader e-mails I receive (oh yeah, you can send me e-mails). You see, 80-90% of them I simply just answer and go about my day. The ones I do answer publicly are e-mails that are really entertaining, extremely timely/pertinent or I haven’t written about it in some way before.
The fact of the matter is that going through every reader e-mail on this blog would get monotonous for the casual reader. Not because of the e-mailers but because my answers are typically along the same theme. People always ask me if something their supervisor or HR person did was illegal and if so, what recourse do they have?
Your Employer Is (Probably) Legal But Stupid
I have to tell them that, while I am not a lawyer, most of the problems people experience in the workplace aren’t matters of legality but matters of the employer either doing something that wouldn’t be advised or the employer not properly communicating a change well. Seriously! I answer a bunch of these questions “Probably legal but really stupid.”
So you and your supervisor got in a little spat and she is no longer communicating with you. Well, that makes working very difficult, your supervisor is acting just a bit immature about the issue, and it probably seriously hurts the company. Is is stupid? Yes. Illegal? Probably not. Your supervisor is messing with your schedule, manipulating your workload or taking credit for your work. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Illegal? Again, probably not.
“What Should We Do?” vs. “What Can We Do?”
And here’s a behind the scenes look at HR: sometimes your supervisor is asking us if that stuff is okay (most of the time though, that isn’t happening). And I am asking them “What do you mean by okay?” Because if they mean “Okay” as in “An effective strategy for dealing with an employee” then I am going to tell them it is a really dumb way to deal with problems. If they mean “Okay” as in “Legal” I’ll tell them that it probably is but if that is your biggest concern, we have other issues.
Some in HR get stuck in this theme of “If it is legal, then I shouldn’t worry so much about it.” I’ll tell you when I get concerned about legalities: hiring, firing, promotion, demotion, pay raises, pay decreases and discrimination issues. I don’t worry so much about these because we bring in legal experts and get it taken care of the right way. The problem is 95% of everything in HR isn’t about “what can we do” but “what should we do.”
“What should we do?” should become the motto of HR professionals. The issue of what we can do should be clear at this point for trained HR professionals. The “should” part of managing people are where organizations differentiate themselves. A HR team that is primarily concerned about litigation avoidance and legality isn’t adding value and is easily outsourced.
Three Ways To Combat Stupid Companies As An Employee
Since we can’t litigate them out of existence, here are a few ways to combat dumb employers:
- Don’t work for them – Most effective way at getting back at them but hardest to do in this economic climate. Depriving crappy organizations of good employees is a way to get them to change their ways.
- Move your way up and make change – Difficult because it means putting up with crappy stuff to get up in ranks. Once you are there though, you can be effective at pushing for change.
- Stay where you are at and make waves – The easiest but least effective way. You stay where you are at but try to make change by making waves. Risks include losing your job at a crappy employer. That still may be better than being unemployed though.
All of this talk about stupid employers is making me hungry. I better get some food before I start this fight.
January 26, 2009 at 11:49 am
I would say the hardest way is to start making changes where you are at, before being promoted. A huge part of what HR people (can) do is bring about change without resorting to authority. Authority seldom works well anyway, so it’s a small loss.
Employees have the same opportunity no matter where they’re at. It is the hardest way because it requires vision, persistence, and skill. Usually all three are lacking.
January 26, 2009 at 12:44 pm
You know, there were so many times that I almost emailed you because of stupid management and not having any HR department, but I think you’re right. Stupid is usually not illegal, the best thing to do is just quit. Thanks for the article!
January 27, 2009 at 5:50 am
Lance,
Did you just spend a week at my previous employer?
You are so in the money with this one, and I was a
“boat rocker” , I tried to get assistance with issues , make positive changes, but sometimes when they don’t want you to think, it is hard and frustrating-definetely time to move on, I guess that’s why so many go into business for themselves. I’m sure not all companies are like this, but my last employer really opened my eyes on many levels of how it should not be.
It’s also hard when your HR person is buddy-buddy with certain upper rank individuals, and does not keep an objective view, among other things.
January 27, 2009 at 3:06 pm
It’s surprising the number of questions I get regarding the legality of company actions. Yeah stupid is a problem and sometimes stupid can lead to legal problems, but stupid alone is not illegal. Usually.
And I can’t stand stupid.
January 27, 2009 at 3:21 pm
I’ve only worked for a frustrating boss once in my life–and I’m a septuagenarian. With a client list of nearly 500 managers and execs over the past 25 years, I’ve only had a couple that I thought were lacking significantly in intelligence and work smartsfor the job they held. Reading about the high level of employee frustration with one’s boss causes me to do some self-analysis. Am I just Pollyanish! Don’t I recognize stupidity when it’s in front of my nose. Am I really just dumb myself, so I enjoy my equally dumb bosses or peers? Or, do I just have a lot of dumb luck?
I’ll fess up. In all three instances, what bothered me was not my dumb client, but myself. How, I asked myself, were you so dumb as to get involved with those people? I’m certain that I was assessing my options and my clients readily before I got into those settings–and got caught with my pants down. Couldn’t read the tea leaves.
Both as an employee and as a consultant, I learned rather quickly to manage those people and get what I wanted out of them and move on. It’s tough in a climate like this way, but don’t tell me that you (whoever “you” is) didn’t know about that dumb boss before this climate bounced into your life.
I’d suggest that one of the reasons people find themselves working with a dumb boss is that they are terribly risk averse–and unwilling to take a gamble on finding another job with a more progressive and useful boss. Or, they haven’t learned how to manage their boss very well, and are living with the results of that failure. I’m quite certain that there a lot of people out there that really need to learn how to manage their boss–and a lot of this stuff would go away. Dan Erwin, http://www.danerwin.com
January 28, 2009 at 7:22 am
I find that employee and employer can be equally stupid, and many people who complain incessantly of their boss’ problems and failures typically have the following dynamics:
1) the very problems they are complaining about in their boss
2) exceedingly thin skinned individuals looking for a reason to be unhappy
3) don’t manage their boss very well (amen Dan)
4) at lastly, very well may not have a very good boss
January 28, 2009 at 7:50 am
For those of us in HR, we have a much better chance of reducing the “stupidity” level in an organization than the employee does. I’ve found that if I can’t make company-wide change, I’ve had success in building personal relationships with senior managers and supervisors. Then I can make a change on a one-on-one basis. Asking a manager, “What were you thinking, ” is easy when it’s just the two of you, and can be a lot more rewarding. Plus, you can help rebuild their confidence by telling them it wasn’t the stupidist thing you’ve had to deal with (if you’ve been around long enough it is very difficult to beat some of the “stupid” things we’ve seen).
January 28, 2009 at 8:54 am
I understand that in today’s climate it’s not easy to change employers, so this may not be applicable today, but… how many people do you know, in HR or otherwise, who are miserable in their jobs and just stay there out of sheer inertia? They gripe, gnash their teeth and wring their hands about how awful it is, contribute marginally to the organization, contribute to negativity in the organization, and are essentially a wet blanket around the place – they do it all but the won’t leave!!! As a manager these folks are a nightmare because they are just good enough not to get fired for performance issues but not the stars you look for on your team, and managing them out of the organization is very difficult.
So, each of us as individuals has to remember that our career is our own, and if we work for a stupid company that is unlikely to change, rather than becoming part of the stupidity problem by developing a victim mentality, we really have no choice but to take the high road and leave. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our jobs that we forget that they are a part of life, not life itself, and that working in a negative environment affects our physical, social and emotional wellness in ways that are inconsistent with who we are as individuals. These environments squeeze you dry, and the best you can hope for is to get out.
January 28, 2009 at 11:42 am
@Denise – The issue is that it is so incredibly common among employers now. Just from what I’ve experienced and discussed with others, it happens everywhere.
@Evil HR Lady – I can’t stand it either. Oh, and stupidity can lead to legal problems for sure.
@Dan – It may be a combination of luck and personality. Some people work at places that aren’t that stupid but have a personality that gets rubbed the wrong way.
@Catbert – Stupid employees are very common too. I find it easier to sympathize with stupid employees though who are often a product of their environment more than just genuinely dumb.
@Jerry – You are right. Good HR departments do that. Heck, good managers do that too. People who have the sense and the power in the organization to say “Wait, let’s think about this for a second” can be successful.
@Valerie – It is very difficult to change jobs right now but it is the most effective and “punishing” employers. Of course, you can make change within the organization and you can’t just keep switching jobs when someone acts dumb.
January 28, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Instead of illegal actions how about unethical. I find that a lot of companies are just plain unethical in their dealings with employees. HR departments don’t ask how can we solve this problem or help an employee or make the workplace better, instead, they are asking how can we turn this around to make it look as if the employee is the problem or try smooth things over and make it seem as if there really is no problem.
January 26, 2009 at 11:18 pm
@Bohdan – You’re right, making changes where you’re at is the hardest.
Authority does work when it comes to enacting change. I think you could make the argument whether or not that change is effective but it certainly works.
@Monica – There are things you can do but really, it is tough to do anything if you are just on the worker side of thing. The most effective thing is to move your talents elsewhere (preferably a competitor).