Philip, you’re HR material. You’re thinking about these things ina deep way…we neeed more like you in the profession.

Perrik, Great transition. I agree that it’s essential to work on the business side. That gives HR people perspective.

Worked for me. I was a techie before making the accidental and serendipitous switch into HR. I think there’s an advantage to having been in another field first, because you’ve experienced policies and implementation on the receiving end. You’ve seen what can improve morale and what just made you wince and update your resume!

On one hand, I have a deep suspicion of human nature that underlies everything from theology to politics, so Theory X would be more intellectually consistent with my other beliefs. On the other, I really like the idea of HR’s scope including “motivating” employees. This is probably because I have found myself demotivated so many times in the past, and HR has been pretty much useless in that regard. (To be fair, on only one occasion did I actively seek their help, but they were still pretty useless.)

Motivation is a complex topic, especially in technical circles. Of course some people are highly motivated by traditional compensation, but I’ve always struggled because I simply *CAN’T* be happy doing work I hate just for the paycheck. Most people fall somewhere along a continuum between “motivated by money” and “not motivated at all by money”, rather than at one of the poles. But I’m closer to the “not” pole, and that means corporations don’t know how to handle me.

By the way, if I like thinking about questions like this, does that suggest that HR might be a good career choice?

What prepared me to be in HR? Honestly the best preparation was overhearing my mother (who worked out of our home while I was growing up) be assertive with problem clients. Her job was of a nature that she often had clients that literally needed a mother and latched onto her to fulfill that need. She was professional but never cold and able to keep good boundaries. She taught me it is ok to stand up for yourself and maintain boundaries even if that means ending an uncomfortable conversation with a client. What more, one can do this without getting huffy or shrill.

Rules yes, but each must make sense and be defensible. “Because I said so” just doesn’t cut it with grownups. Glad you’re doing the good work. I think there are a lot of good people in the profession, but it’s the bad ones who can make it bad for the rest.