This is for all the junior devs and people moving into the corporate world.

Remember, HR is there to protect the company, NEVER the employee.

Do not fall for the okie-doke when they tell you they are there to help.

If destroying you is cheaper in the long run than damage to the company then be sure they will slit you from ear-to-ear.

Sooo... What happened??

@qlasico Nothing to me. I’ve never had any HR trouble. To be honest, I am mostly in the startup world and using the word HR really wouldn’t fit to what these companies have been doing

I did once give this advice to a guy in he break room of a job (another industry). He wouldn’t listen, said his fiancé told him that HR would help him with what was going on.

No details but basically a higher up was doing things on a job site that were total violations but also visible to others.

He went in. He did everything right, had all of his ducks in a row. Was a nice polite guy who never flew off the handle...

That man got hung out to dry. Yeah, he sued the company and won. Yeah, he still got a great job after. But to this day he still brings it up when we drink saying “what a fucking idiot I was. I didn’t need that bullshit!”

This is the old HR way, sadly it is the most commonly seen way.

In Startups you can't rrally say HR because HR does mainly recruiting and basic rule setting, all complains go thought the command chain and not through HR.
HR can act as mediator though, as so can any other manager/lead just to resolve conflict.

Fun part is, this "new" HR way where your lead/manager acts as HR has been going on since the 80's.

TL;DR - I almost got fired because some asshole TL tried sending a hand to my crotch. HR is definitely not your friend.

This is so painfully accurate. I got into a super awkward, borderline sexual harassment situation (the TL said it was by mistake, although I'm not quite sure what sort of mistake causes you to end up with your hand in your dev's genitals during code-review). I didn't want to file a complaint because I anticipated the shitstorm, but it came anyway. About a month after the "investigation", which I was reluctant to take part in, they decided to fire me for some ridiculous reason.

Eventually I stepped into their office with one of the best lawyers in the country (thanks, dad), and they backpedaled. I left on my own terms sometime later, because every day literally felt like going to war.

@NickyBones I'm really sorry to hear that. That TL was a total pathetic loser. I can't handle the cringe...

@AndSoWeCode I hit his hand harder than Thor's hammer, and banshee-shrieked so loud he's 80% deaf now. I'd say we got even :)

I think "Handling creeps 101" should be a mandatory class for boys and girls in elementary school.

Oh yeah.

I worked for a company, hit my cyclical depression spiral, they said they’d help organise flexible working for me.

Finally get it organised, as it was very wishy-washy and didn’t know they wanted me to choose.

Ask them a simple question about lack of IP clause in my contract. “We’ll get back to you”

Following week attend a company day where they go over reaffirming company values and how they’re here to support us and really work with us on mental health.

Feel really positive and like I’d found somewhere I belonged.

Next day (I kid you not) I’m in a retrospective meeting with my team and the CTO about a recent deployment, me and him nail some plans for work for me to do.

Come out of meeting to find a catchup meeting with HR on my calendar that wasn’t there earlier for 5 minutes time. Think nothing of it.

Go into meeting “sorry we’re letting you go for ‘lack of commitment’”

MFW.