This is such a laughably naïve view of HR that I can only assume you've never worked for a large corporation (Hell, possibly any corporation).
Human Resources exists to limit liability of, and reduce the associated costs caused by, the humans at your company.
I have a close friend who used to be the Vice President of Human Resources at one of the largest companies on the planet. I have known this person since I was 7. Working in HR changed him, and definitely not for the better. He told me about how early in his career, he had to a fire a man who had worked at <Enormous Defense Contractor> for 28 years. Who, according to their records, had only ever taken 3 sick days. He didn't fire him because of poor performance. He didn't fire him because of a sexual harassment scandal. He fired him because the Director of HR told him to fire him, because he was one of the last employees brought in under a 30 year retirement scheme, and he was going to eligible for a 50% pension in 14 months.
He created a predictive analytic model that could identify when someone was considering leaving their job within a 3-6 month period, with 94% accuracy.
He has told me about conversation after conversation where an employee came to him for a raise but instead he convinced them that they didn't want more money, they wanted more recognition and responsibility, so he created new job titles for them a laughably increased salaries that didn't even keep place with inflation.
He recently tendered his resignation and has since gone to work for a private firm, where he no longer has to be a, quite frankly, ruthless piece of shit.
He's a far better person for it. His drinking has considerably diminished, and his outlook on humanity is far less dark. HR is where decent people become twisted into cynical shitbags and where evil mother fuckers become downright sinister. In 25 years, I've only ever known one decent HR person. Just one.
Human Resources exists to limit liability of, and reduce the associated costs caused by, the humans at your company.
I have a close friend who used to be the Vice President of Human Resources at one of the largest companies on the planet. I have known this person since I was 7. Working in HR changed him, and definitely not for the better. He told me about how early in his career, he had to a fire a man who had worked at <Enormous Defense Contractor> for 28 years. Who, according to their records, had only ever taken 3 sick days. He didn't fire him because of poor performance. He didn't fire him because of a sexual harassment scandal. He fired him because the Director of HR told him to fire him, because he was one of the last employees brought in under a 30 year retirement scheme, and he was going to eligible for a 50% pension in 14 months.
He created a predictive analytic model that could identify when someone was considering leaving their job within a 3-6 month period, with 94% accuracy.
He has told me about conversation after conversation where an employee came to him for a raise but instead he convinced them that they didn't want more money, they wanted more recognition and responsibility, so he created new job titles for them a laughably increased salaries that didn't even keep place with inflation.
He recently tendered his resignation and has since gone to work for a private firm, where he no longer has to be a, quite frankly, ruthless piece of shit.
He's a far better person for it. His drinking has considerably diminished, and his outlook on humanity is far less dark. HR is where decent people become twisted into cynical shitbags and where evil mother fuckers become downright sinister. In 25 years, I've only ever known one decent HR person. Just one.