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Let your next career move come to you.

We constantly criticise HR peopl

Sometimes it is justified but sometimes, just sometimes there are real stars out there.

Yesterday was a very bad day. Someone passed away. I did the usual thing of burying in work tasks and commitments so as to get busy. I also had a really unhelpfully late meeting starting at 7pm with a board who flew in to argue with each other. It was generally a shite day.

Our HR business partner, so called but I don't like that term, came over and walked in and got me talking. Self-imposed isolation is a common thing for lawyers when news is bad as you don't want to make it worse by having to confront it or discuss, and oddly you want to prove virility by keeping going and showing a seamless delivery. Nonsense but inevitable. Anyway, big up to the HR person who had the courage to come in, close the door and get the conversation flowing. It made a lot of difference. I moved from being in semi despair and in a silent workpit to being expressive and then turning up at home a bit reconciled and not so much of an arsehole.  A good effort and an entry in the positive side of the ledger for our HR professionals.

"oddly you want to prove virility by keeping going and showing a seamless delivery"

 

dear oh dear , muttley. have a word with yourself!  work martyrs are never appreciated

oddly you want to prove virility by keeping going and showing a seamless delivery

 

this is what so many lawyers do. Don't criticise it because there is a whole load in all of us that responds to challenge in this way and it's important to admit it so you know when you are doing it and can then "have a word with yourself" to stop. Not recognising it in yourself is the first and worst problem.

Coffers I am not sharing that detail but all I wanted to say is that someone I work with did well. I have written to that person and that person's boss to say that. I just thought we should reflect on it here. We bash the HR community for being a load of fannies but sometimes they are not.

I know that you utter cretin. Let the perfect people like you make your magnificent  points in a deluded way with no regard to your own faults. Carry on of course.

Being prepared to accept you get things wrong is actually quite important and does not then require a specially crafted reminder not to do that.

OK in profound terms but very not really great on the surface, if you know what I mean, but thank you.

I have decided to take some unscheduled time off.  It's all a bit ghost of Christmas future and scaring the shit out of me.

I'm going to elongate Easter.  

 

Get some sunshine and look after yourself.  You are one of the good guys, Mutterz.  I actually know someone who used to work for you and you were very very highly esteemed by that person for your character.

I was recently reading the RoF posts in 2004 on my mother's death - nice people; thank you.

If M has something similar may the person rest in peace and I hope everything is okay.

 

However it can be hard to get this right - some work colleagues genuinely don't want a shoulder to cry on - the last thing some way; others really hope someone will come to them and talk like that.

not my mother. As far as I am aware she is doing ok, though crackers.

I think it is important for people in the workplace to have people to talk to. We all know this but when the chips are down it is very common that people just tuck under and push on, and people around them tend to look around and think everything is ok so no need to worry. And then things get far more ingrained and troublesome than they needed to and there is friction in other areas which causes greater stress. Family relationships, isolation and loss of friends, stoicism, alcohol etc. It's really important that people have the courage to ask if people are ok.  

Yesterday was a very bad day. Someone passed away. I did the usual thing of burying in work tasks

Usually they get buried in a grave.

 

 

 

Sorry for your loss and hope you're holding up ok. Good call to take some extra time off over Easter.

 

I understand and fair dos, Muttley. 

Agree re the sentiment expressed although it is perhaps a novelty that you got to see the human side of the HR bod. Some may say the same about lawyers (even with more incendiary examples). 

I agree but I think it important we don't judge people by the labels of their job or profession.  Lawyer, accountant, banker, doctor etc may connote certain styles and behaviours but there are exceptions to most broad brush concepts. I don't think most of us would regard ourselves as "typical" and some are clearly very untypical. Similarly, HR people with real skill and commitment may be very different to the archetype.

always nice to hear lawyers not automatically dismiss people in support roles as not as important as them, doesn't happen that often

sorry for your loss Muttley

 

I have never really liked the "back office" attitude lawyers have to non-lawyer members of their own business. You can't run a business without good professional support and they deserve some respect. Similarly, try running a hospital with a handful of consultant surgeons and no regard to the remainder who make up the rest of the business of making a hospital work. See how that goes. We need to do better as a profession. I am sure some here are really good at it but I see too much master/servant mindset. Service provider, yes, servant no..

Couldn't agree more Muttley. When I worked i n law firms I remember some cocky young lawyer complaining that some old bloke in 'support services', he said rather dismissively, was hassling him.

Someone advised him that said old bloke was the firm's highly regarded Finance Director.

Not a good career move.

I'm sorry to hear that Mutters.

I'm glad you got some support and are taking some time out.  Family is what really matters.  And labradors.  They are important too.

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