Feeling Stuck in HR: How Can I Find Satisfaction and Growth in My Current Role?

Dear Seniors, I have completed my MBA in HR and am currently working in the HR Department, although my role is primarily in the Time-office. I find myself unsatisfied with my current job situation and am eagerly awaiting a better opportunity. I always try to show my boss that I am content with my role, but the reality is quite the opposite.

Lack of Opportunities for Learning and Growth

The work environment also lacks opportunities for learning and growth. I would appreciate your guidance on any strategies or tactics that could help me find internal satisfaction in my current position.

Thank you for your support and advice.

Best regards,

In organizations, you can often find similar situations where self-learning processes are encouraged. If you come across a better opportunity, you can skip the current one. However, if you find the same culture in the new organization, what would be your next step? Would you choose to move again, or would you try to adjust there? If you are willing to adjust in the new environment, why can't you adjust here as well?

I hope this helps clarify the message.

You are doing yourself, your boss, and your current company a disfavor by pretending to be completely satisfied and waiting to jump ship. If your boss is not aware of your sentiments, how do you expect him or her to "change for the better"? Put yourself in your boss's shoes. If every day your boss tells you that he is very satisfied with your job performance but out of the blue tells you that you are fired because you have not achieved your KPIs, how does that feel?

Since you are in charge of HR and Training & Development comes under you, why not be proactive about it? Do your planning and sell it to the boss. Just remember... it takes two to tango...

Regards,
Autumn Jane

The word "SATISFACTION" relates to the fulfillment of one's needs, which is a psychological issue. If you think you are not satisfied with your current job, then don't hurry to quit the job. Before getting any better opportunity, if there is any scope, then try the following steps:

1. Review your current job description with duties and responsibilities.
2. Measure your performance.
3. Point out your strengths and weaknesses.
4. Try to minimize your weaknesses by participating in various training.

Regards,
Asif

Know Yourself Well and examine "where you stand" in terms of your capabilities to learn. "Learning" is not something to be served on a plate; you have to acquire it through personal effort.

Any job, including the one in "time office," offers plenty of opportunities to learn. For example, have you ever tried to analyze how efficient management of the time office: (i) impacts "employee costs," (ii) contributes to the "work culture" of the organization, (iii) how technology can improve time office management, and (iv) how to integrate shift planning with time office management? Well, there are many other areas that can improve through efficient time management. These are all aspects of self-learning. If you are exposed to "Google search," are not shy of reading information on the web, and have the will to learn, nothing can stop you from gaining more knowledge and becoming an expert in "time office management." Try, if convinced!

To add to what other colleagues have proposed, I wish to add the following:

1. Consider your present position as an opportunity and make sure you do 100% justice to your job responsibilities. Add innovative concepts to showcase your initiatives and achievements.

2. Understand the essence of HR and develop a thorough knowledge of various rules, regulations, and statutory compliances to be fulfilled.

3. Develop a good relationship with higher levels of HR personnel and offer to take up some additional responsibilities to demonstrate your intent.

4. Be positive and prepare a plan of where you would like to be at the end of each year. Treat every day as an opportunity. After breaking up your larger objectives into smaller ones, achieve them one by one in a systematic, progressive, time-bound manner. As is rightly said, "Plan your work and work your plan."

5. John F. Kennedy had said, "Ask not what the country has done for you, ask what you are doing for your country."

6. Common sense is one of the best attributes. Use it to find solutions.

7. Develop good English language written and spoken communication skills. This would be essential as you climb the career ladder.

My very best wishes to you for a satisfying and rewarding career.

Regards,
R. S. Patwardhan

I agree with our Senior's comments. Please do not feel it's a low-profile job for you. Maybe this is a starting point where you can prove yourself and take on much larger responsibilities in the future. I would suggest trying to efficiently develop time office systems. If leave management is also associated with this responsibility, do your best to discipline and guide employees regarding leave rules and proper recording. If you excel in one of these functions, management will trust you, and then you can request more HR tasks.

Best wishes!

With regards,
Vaishalee Parkhi

Stop Feigning Satisfaction

First of all, stop feigning satisfaction. How will your boss even know that you are not satisfied with the job?

Seek an Appointment for Discussion

Second, seek an appointment with the boss for a detailed discussion on what you can do for the organization. In the meeting, tell your boss nicely but clearly what you expect from the job. Also, tell him what you can do in addition to your present job. Remember, these additional tasks that you offer to do should be relevant to the organization's objectives, and your offer should be for doing something in addition to, not in place of, your current job.

Expanding Your HR Role

You can further take initiatives in covering ESI for all employees, ESI challan remittance, half-yearly return submission, PF coverage of all employees, monthly challan remittances, and monthly/annual returns submission.

Additional Responsibilities

- Welfare activities
- Administration
- Public Relations
- Inspector of Factories-related correspondence
- Pollution Control Board-related correspondence
- Labour Office and Contract Labour-related activities
- Minimum Wages
- VDA Calculation
- Maternity Benefits
- Training Coordination
- 5S in Shop Floor
- QCC Teams
- Suggestion Schemes

By involving yourself in these activities, you can improve your knowledge and enhance your career prospects.

Regards,
S. B. Ramesh

There is so much you can do in that outfit, so do not throw in the towel yet. No matter what the core business of that organization is, its human resources need to be trained and re-trained, remember? Just do a training needs analysis, then get them trained!

Look around, see what people are doing as opposed to what they are supposed to be doing as per their job descriptions, thrash out the gaps, and fill them, bearing in mind the organization's goals. You will be better off doing a business case first, presenting it to management, and if approved, you can roll out your questionnaire for the skills gap analysis. When it comes to planning, executing, and evaluating the training, we are here... when you get there, our tidbits will flow. Please let us know how you are getting on. All the best!

Regards

You need to do this short self-assessment:

1. Why are you not satisfied with your job?
2. What were your expectations before you joined the company?
3. What are you actually doing now in your department?
4. What else are you currently doing that you did not expect to do?
5. Why are you not able to discuss the problem with your boss?
6. Will your boss not be happy with you after discussing the problem with him/her?
7. Which of the HR theories you learned during your MBA can help you in your current situation?

Try to answer all the questions posed above, and things will work better for you.

Regards.

You say you are not satisfied, and there is no learning environment. You are just pretending to be satisfied, so trust me, the answer is like this:

1. In 99.9% of companies, especially in HR, people feel the same unless they accept the realities of the true world. HR typically means just handling administration, salary, time office tasks, typing, and drafting a couple of letters, at least when you are at lower levels. So, there is nothing wrong with your job as you have chosen this field, and no one forced you into it. If there were any mistakes, they were likely due to your lack of information about the job profile of HR.

2. Lack of a Learning Environment

I disagree with you; learning is an ongoing process, and anyone can learn if they wish to. There are many things you can learn, such as becoming an expert in ESI/PF rules and regulations, understanding labor laws and the latest developments in the field, exploring new types of incentives and staff promotions, and learning about various employee training programs in different industries to improve productivity at different levels. There is no shortage of opportunities for learning, and you have to take the initiative and try to persuade your seniors to let you implement those ideas in your company. By doing so, you will experience better job satisfaction. Therefore, do not expect the company to teach you everything, as they hired you assuming that you are knowledgeable in your field and can fully meet their needs.

3. You mentioned that you are pretending to be satisfied. I believe you have achieved something at least. Losing patience over trivial matters without recognizing your own weaknesses and shortcomings is not helpful. A person feels unsatisfied when they are unfit for a situation, and it takes time to adapt to a specific environment. One major reason for feeling unsatisfied is that you are fresh from college with a wealth of information and knowledge about various HR theories and conditions from books, most of which are written by people from abroad or from large companies with completely different atmospheres. It is certain that you cannot implement most of those theories in our small to medium-sized companies.

So, dear Ali, consider the following:

1. If you are satisfied with the salary and perks.
2. If your boss is satisfied with your performance.

If the answer to both of these questions is yes, rest assured that with time and effort, you will find many things to learn and experiment with. I am confident that after some time, you won't have to pretend anymore, as you will genuinely be satisfied with your job, etc.

Best wishes.

I can understand your feelings. I suggest that, first of all, you go to your boss and explain your job responsibilities to him. Brief him and ask for additional tasks related to the HR Department.

Regards,
Ravi Sharma

I hope you all are doing well. Thank you very much for motivating me. I have read all of your comments, and you are absolutely correct. Yes, I have recently completed my master's degree, which is why I have noticed a significant difference between HR bookish knowledge and the reality on the ground in professional life.

You are right. I should consider this as an opportunity for my initial career step. May Allah Almighty grant me the chance to overcome stress in such situations in the future.

The quote that "99.9% of companies perceive HR as Administration/Salary/Time office, etc." is very motivating for me.

Once again, thanks for giving me importance! Allah bless all of you.

I would suggest that you discuss with your boss about this and tell him that you would like to work in other areas of HR. Only time spent in the office won't help you learn at this crucial training stage in your career. Please tell him that in addition to time in the office, he should give you an opportunity to work in other areas of HR as well. If he does not agree to it, then the last resort would be to consider changing jobs.

Regards,
Sumeet