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From Chapter 2: Do It All Right and Lose the Store
When you look at companies that take HR seriously, they’re in the business of ensuring that no one will sneak sex, politics or religion even one inch through the corporate door. That’s law, and as long as you follow the law, things will turn out right – or will they? You’ve seen it happen over and over. The companies that work the hardest at keeping these issues “under control” end up having the most problems. And, paradoxically, companies that seem to operate closer to the line have fewer problems. While this seems counterintuitive, our experience is screaming at us every day that this is so.
Sex, politics and religion are “top of mind” important to everyone. We are all sexual beings. We know that political issues are in the fabric of most daily decisions. Finally, the way we view and value life colors the way we think and what we pursue. It’s simple, but not so obvious, that sex, politics and religion are at the very core of who we are and what we do. However, from a HR point of view we’re supposed to leave this all at the door when we walk into the sacred halls of work. We are expected to void ourselves of who we are, how we make decisions, and what is really important to us.
What’s wrong with this picture? You hire a competent person to lead the “Human Resources” Department. Every rule has been followed. You have a well-respected, talented employment attorney ready to answer the tough questions. You’ve done the training and had the meetings. You’ve talked with your staff and purchased the right insurance.
And yet we all worry that somehow we’re going to get hit with that dreaded case that will cost the company money, drain our personnel resources and make matters intolerable when we renew our employment liability insurance. We all have learned that even though we follow the letter and spirit of the law to the very best of our ability, it doesn’t insulate us from the ultimate nightmare of losing our job, our best customers, or our companies. Indeed, what is wrong with this picture? Why doesn’t the law protect those who follow it most closely?
Several years ago one of the companies that we work with had a problem with an employee who seemed to be lacking attention to detail and unwilling or unable to respond to feedback about his performance. The management team was pressured by the HR department to be unusually careful with this employee since he was approaching 60 and could easily make an issue of age discrimination. Every process was carefully followed. The HR team determined that the employee was to be demoted to a job in the mailroom with a significant reduction in pay. The employee protested vigorously, but accepted the position. Months later his performance in the mailroom began to drop. His supervisor informed the employee that he needed to address his performance or face termination. Again, the HR department cautioned that there was to be no mention of the employee’s age or reference to his age in any discussions of the problem.
A month after his termination, the predictable happened. The employee’s attorney informed the company that it needed to pay the employee (and the attorney) $60,000 or face a lawsuit that would cost them that much or more. The reason: Age Discrimination. Money paid – lawsuit avoided – anger raged – depression set in – and . . . all involved felt like victims.
And now the rest of the story . . . six months later the company heard that the employee had been recently diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s. Indeed all involved were victims . . . victims of a system that repressed the very human relations that it attempted to defend.
The objectives of a cautiously led HR department are to help us all follow a merciless number of (at times conflicting) laws. These laws have the unintended consequence of stripping the very essence of what it means to be truly human from every corner of the office. Authentic human relationships are crushed. We are expected to eradicate sexuality, political talk and religion from the very fabric of our company.
We believe that neutralizing these vital human issues is neither realistic nor possible. Nevertheless, this is the fundamental dilemma facing organizations whose honest intent is to not only follow the letter of the law, but the spirit as well.
The intention is to treat everyone equally and equitably. The result is a sterilized corporate culture that suppresses the very essence of who we are. And further . . . the very laws that are intended to protect people from improper discrimination; prejudice and harassment end up becoming a platform for harassing corporate leadership.