01/09/2021
HR is a chill job....
This 'assumption' draws many people to pursue a career in HR especially those having trouble with work-life balance in their jobs and want to pursue an MBA not only to hike their CTC but also to ensure they will have a good work-life balance. Many of us at XLRI during our initial days had this assumption, even the BM batch used to mock us saying the same.
For me, the first revelation that HR is equally taxing or can be more taxing came during my internship where I saw my guide working for 12+ hours a day daily, I have to wait till 8 pm or beyond just to have a small 10-minute conversation with him on my project, even the entire HR team was one of the last ones to leave.
Rarely anyone had a 'chill' or 'relaxed' job once we finished our MBA, the best cases were those who were putting in around 9 hours daily and have well-definied job roles. Most HR roles are about fire fighting where situations can vary from deciding the lunch menu in the canteen to creating a growth plan for senior leadership in a single day. Even the so-called picnics and parties have lot of backend bureaucracy to settle.
Some HR jobs do have a good work-life balance, but that is true for all streams, some marketing or some finance jobs can also have a good work-life balance. No company pays a person a good salary to watch them relaxing or sipping coffee during work hours.
The irony with HR jobs will remain the fact that even if they are very hectic, you will be mocked for doing nothing. HR being a compliance and control function, will do most of their jobs that are not visible to others and hence the assumption that HR is chilling.
Once I went to a farewell party in the evening where the farewell speech tilted to a mockery of HR and how lethargic HR is. Ironically, that day I was handling a flood relief situation in a nearby village and was coordinating with local Tehsildar and ADM ( even gov jobs are not as chill these days). I ended up working till 2 am that day, went to the flood area at 7 am in the morning with my team to control the situation on the ground, reach my workplace at 1 pm at lunch hours, and was greeted by the words ' HR kitna chill hai, bahar ghumte raho badia, koi kaam nahi'.
This post is not aimed at glorifying HR or even defending it, those who hate HR will continue doing so, many people do not find any value in any of the work HR departments generally do, but all those aspirants who think they should go for HR, because it has no work, do put some thoughts into it. Life can be a cruel joke sometimes. :)
