Dear Fellow members
I think all points have been covered beautifully, except a few; so I shall dwell upon those left untouched..
Quite often, the repressed frustrations of employees manifests itself in the form of "weird acting". To enable such feelings to come out without inhibition or fear of reprisals, one can have a model Grievance Redressal Policy and Procedure, a multi-tier system which maintains confidentiality of the aggrieved to the extent possible.
Another reason could be - personal problems. From my experience of an HR with old economy industries, I have seen employees suffering from personal problems which changes with the life-stage they are in. So, from involuntary spinsterhood to under-achievement of progeny, marriage or marital life of daughters to ailing old parents, there is a wide range of personal problems that an individual employee has to cope with.
An HR person is not just an office-functionary. He is supposed to be a "friend, philosopher and guide" in the true sense of the word, to every employee. And why not ? It depends on his sense of commitment. Whether he just wants to be another "paper-pusher" busy with various paper-work; or he has genuine interest in the area of his specialization, namely "Human Resources" ?
To illustrate, is not a good marketing manager obsessed with market share, competitor's strategy, his channel management, publicity and sales incentive, new product launches etc etc ?
A corporate finance manager is obsessed to an extreme with Capital expenditure, financing decision, new avenues of raising fund, getting a better deal from FI's, devising audits, checks and balances etc.
A production manager knows each nut and bolt of his production system, maintenance schedule, replacement of parts, specifications, suppliers, compeitive products and processes etc.
What we find, is that these professionals are not just in touch, but immersed in their core areas. Whereas, most HR managers keep their core of interest - the "human resources" at an arm's length. They are more happy to do bureaucratic office tasks with the typical impersonal touch of a bureaucrat. They never try to build rapport with human resources. My seniors would tell me that an average HR person should know the names and recognize by face, each and every employee; and a good HR person should know the family and the problems of each and every employee. And I am talking about employee numbers in thousands.
Sitting on their ivory towers will not help unlock the mystery of an employee acting weird or looking unhappy. Once the communication barriers are demolished, HR becomes more accessible; it becomes easy to get to the roots of the problem. Employee counselling helps; a patient ear and a reassuring hand on the shoulders go a long way in brightening-up the life of a miserable employee.
Regards.