Feeling Trapped in a Two-Year Bond: How to Handle a Toxic HR Environment?

Hello All,

One of my friends has five years of experience in HR and has been working in an IT company for the last eight months. He is currently under a two-year monetary bond. Throughout his time at the organization, he has discovered that his manager is very rude and tends to micromanage tasks. Salary and appraisals are consistently delayed, and there is often disagreement in the hiring process. Technical personnel may request specific requirements that the HR manager does not approve. Additionally, he faces unjust blame from his HR manager, despite completing tasks as instructed. His manager, with over 25 years of marketing experience but lacking HR expertise, is resistant to change within the organization. Meetings focus solely on rational thinking from a business and revenue perspective.

When given new hiring mandates, regardless of the level of experience or position, he is pressured to fill vacancies within three weeks. His manager sends official emails with designated "opening" and "closing" dates, and failure to comply negatively impacts his appraisal. Frustrated by the lack of growth opportunities and being restricted to solely recruitment duties while other HR tasks are delegated to a non-HR individual as "clerical work," he is contemplating breaking the two-year contract. He is willing to forgo an experience letter from the company.

He is considering resigning without serving the three-month notice period, as the company tends to harass employees who resign during the bond period. He seeks guidance on how to handle this situation effectively.

Kindly advise on the best course of action in this scenario.

Understanding Employment Bonds and Contracts

A bond has nothing to do with prevailing labor laws and is essentially a contract between an individual and the employer. A breach of contract can lead to a breach of trust and financial loss.

Navigating Notice Periods and Experience Letters

Being in HR, for whatever reason, it will be very complicated for your friend to justify not serving the notice period and not producing an experience letter. My recommendation is to talk to the manager and try to sort it out. There is a 50:50 chance it might work. Suggest being prepared before talking to the boss. In case of a lack of chemistry, seek permission to leave the job through the proper channel. Please update your friend's experience after talking to his boss.

Thank you for the feedback.

Talking to the manager is not worth it in this case because in the organization, anyone who tries to leave by mutual agreement has to pay a bond fee and serve a 3 to 4-month notice period. This would result in financial loss and missed job opportunities. Additionally, the manager tends to harass employees during their notice period.

Dear Anonymous,

Whatever you said about his manager, I felt like you were talking about my manager. They might all be the same when it comes to subordinates. It's good that your friend has a guarantee of getting a good manager in the next company, unlike this one, as the contract is monetary and your friend does not need relieving and experience documents. He is good to go; ask him to submit his resignation and move on.

Thank you.

I can understand your friend's situation. However, your friend is an HR professional, and some of the competencies organizations seek from an HR professional include the ability to communicate, convince, sell ideas, negotiate, manage situations, and maintain a good attitude. People would also look at problem-solving capabilities. So, if he leaves without proper notice and fulfilling conditions, there is a good chance he will be branded as an 'Escapist.'

I do agree that chasing mere numbers alone is not going to make any job interesting. He also has every right to leave the job. At the same time, just as when we buy a product or service, we have to respect the standard operating procedures (SOP).

Experienced individuals like him, especially in HR, should never agree to a bond next time.

Dear Consultme, thanks for your input. He tried his best to talk to the manager about the related problems, but even old employees told him that there is no option other than to accept it. Even though he is in HR, he cannot change things as his head is always against it.

His manager feels that having experience in HR, he should focus only on talent acquisition and not on other clerical work. Though his designation is "Manager HR," he has been assigned the task of talent acquisition only. This was not clarified when the offer was given, even though it was asked.

Things (role) changed when he joined. So he does not have any single positive thing in the organization, where he could have been capable to continue until the contract gets over. So finally, he made this decision. He just wants to make sure that things do not get legal.

Talent Acquisition and HR Responsibilities

You cannot choose your boss or father, as you have no say in the matter. Talent acquisition is also an HR job and a good one. Because your boss is giving you a time-bound delivery schedule, there is nothing wrong with it, and it is his job to get the team to deliver the results. Possibly, his behavior is the issue.

Growth and Career Decisions

You mentioned 'growth,' but you have only worked for 8 months, and you talk about growth. Did you join them without any growth above your previous company's CTC? Since you are not able to convince your boss and not able to get your way, you wish to quit (that is your decision). As an HR professional, I find it a defeatist approach. Please do not go by what others say about your boss. Handle him, as there is no human being who cannot be handled. Study him, know him, and handle him.

Regarding the Bond

Please share the copy of the bond for an opinion on that. It is surprising that being in HR and knowing about the bond, you are worried. I would advise you against leaving. In case you join somewhere else and the verification happens, where will you stand? What is the guarantee that you will not get a good boss in your new assignment? Risk is always there.

Warm Regards,

Bharat Gera HR Consultants

Hi Bharat, I agree with your perspective. When you gain experience, eight months can be sufficient to understand what a company can offer for your future, especially if you have a solid background with various companies. If you know your skills and a company fails to utilize them, it is the company's mistake. The same situation is happening with a colleague; he tried to convey his message to his boss, but unfortunately, he did not receive an appraisal because he requested a role he wanted, not the one his boss chose for him.

I believe that in environments with toxic leadership, survival is difficult. As HR professionals, we hire and assess people based on a one-hour interview. Therefore, eight months are enough to evaluate a company. There is no point in staying with a company where you cannot achieve your desired role, as it is detrimental to your career. Regarding cross-verification, I believe that when searching for a new job, it is better to present the facts. If you truly possess the skills, the company will hire you.

It is not always the employee who is at fault; sometimes, the company is to blame as well. It would be appreciated if people started accepting this fact rather than being judgmental towards employees.