I’m going to go out on a limb here and postulate that most of us want the work that we do (our job/career) to “matter” in some way, shape, or form. This holds true whether one is a Obstetrician bringing babies into the world or a Clerk in the city’s police department with responsibilities for collecting fees generated by traffic cams.
This desire to have our work “matter” in some way has become conflated, however, with the need for work to be “meaningful.” Or “impactful”. We attempt to ascribe significance to the work we do that, more often than not, FAR exceeds its impact in the world.
Peruse the agenda for any HR conference or event – from the local SHRM chapter’s monthly meeting topic for a group of 50 to global events with keynotes for thousands upon thousands of attendees – and you will note the ridiculous pretentiousness (and preciousness) of it all. HR is forever building, transforming, and re-imagining. Not to mention empowering, disrupting, and forever (apparently) “unlocking” the mysteries of everything.
How incredibly full of ourselves can we be?
We tell ourselves we’re creating meaning at work, but in reality, we’re often just engaging in glorified administrative tasks with fancier job titles. It’s hard to feel like a purpose-driven change agent when you’re resetting someone’s password for the fifth time this month or answering yet another Slack message that could have been resolved with a quick Google search. But we can’t just admit that, can we? No. We must make everything seem grand, sweeping, and vital to the very fabric of society. We must be architects of “The Future of Work” and stewards of “Human Capital Evolution.”
And fittingly (it’s as if Alanis Morrisette was sitting in the back seat singing), just as their respective teams were getting ready to set up their booths (flashy HR conference, Expo Hall with booths kitty-corner from each other) the Rippling/Deel lawsuit news dropped. This story has it all – from tortious interference to racketeering!! It also, quite excitingly, features the story of how Rippling set up a “honeypot” to catch the alleged offender in action. This is like an episode of The Americans – only it’s HR!
No wonder we develop these illusions of grandeur.
Meanwhile, out in the real world, the US is rapidly careening into autocracy as we watch destruction of the American experiment in real time. I’m willing to bet we don’t make it in one piece to next year’s celebration of 250 years since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
Yet, here we are. Continuing to talk about shit like whether our engagement surveys are adequately measuring belonging. Encouraging employees to embrace their “whole selves” at work while simultaneously tightening policies around acceptable Zoom backgrounds. Because that is what will save the workforce. This nonsense is what will keep civilization from crumbling. Right.
Maybe it’s time to admit that our work is just work. It doesn’t need to be a calling, a mission, or a spiritual journey. Maybe, just maybe, it’s okay to stop this self-congratulatory verbal masturbation around the HR profession.
I myself am taking a deep breath, stepping off the “HR self-importance soapbox”, and vowing to never use words like build, transform or re-imagine in a session title, a podcast episode, or a blog post ever again. (talk about fucking pretentious – ha!)
Work is just work – let’s stop pretending it’s a spiritual calling.
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