Depending on your workplace, HR can either be your mortal enemy or biggest fan. Their reputation has taken a hit in recent years, but are they truly as bad as they seem?
We asked Nigerians the craziest things members of their company’s HR department have done to them, and here are their responses:
“He told me to apply to other places” — Rhoda, 24, Data analyst
Our boss stresses everybody, and sometimes, picks on me. So I talked to HR about it, and he said our boss is giving him issues too. He told me to try to apply to other places. One time, he even sent me some vacancies.
“He asked me to get a degree” — Kola, 51, Teacher
I’m an NCE holder who’s been teaching music at private schools for many years now. At one of the places I worked, the new HR mandated me to get a university degree or get fired. I couldn’t imagine attempting to go to the university at that age, so I just resigned.
“She said we should address each other as “Mr” and “Ms” — Kemi, 25, Video director
She mandated us to call anyone who was in a superior position, “sir” or “ma”; we were mostly in the same age bracket. She also said we must use “Mr and Ms” when referring to each other. It was a small company, so I don’t even know what the karamo was for.
“She gave me extra salary” — Ola, 27, Writer
The notice period was one month, at my last company. But I got a new job and had to resume in two weeks, so I couldn’t give the required notice. I expected I’d be paid only half of that month as per my contract. When I was paid, I got the full salary. Thinking it was a mistake, I went to meet HR, and she just replied, “I waived it”. Thank God for her because that money really came in handy.
“She insisted that I needed a doctor’s report” — Grace, 22, Social media manager
I was so sick one day that my parents had to take me from my apartment to their house. I called in sick, and HR insisted I needed to bring a doctor’s report whenever I resume. After she threatened that I would be fired, I went back to the hospital to get the report, took a picture and sent it to her.
“She was strange” — Abbey, 21, Marketing Intern
When the company I work for employed a new HR, her first comment was about our dressing. She said, “You guys dress tacky”. We made it clear we didn’t appreciate being spoken to like that, and she responded that she’d already researched about us before she came. She was strange.
“I blocked her on Twitter” — Ola, 30, Reporter
I’m very vocal on Twitter, so when I found out HR had been following me and was seeing all my unhinged tweets, I blocked her. Before she’ll see the one that’ll make them consider deducting my salary.
“She told me to sweep”— Ngozi, 33, Graphic designer
After NYSC, I got a job at a balloon store. The HR told me my responsibilities and that the resumption time was 8 a.m. When I resumed, she said I had to sweep the office, which was a shock to me. I did it regardless. One day, she summoned me and said I was supposed to come in much earlier to sweep before others got to work. She said, “8 is the resumption time for everyone else, not you”. I quit.
“It was like she dreamt about me” — Damola, 31, Sales manager
I started working at this bookstore in a glorified sales girl role they called “business development intern”. People would come into the store, and I’d attend to them.
I was shocked that such a small establishment had an HR who was the boss when the boss wasn’t around. At the end of each month, I was supposed to count every item in the store, so I proposed we use Excel to aid the process. Initially, she agreed but came back the next day and said I shouldn’t. She insisted that I count every item manually. It was as if she had a dream about me overnight.
“He fired me because I was using my personal laptop at work” — Zion, 36, Web developer
I worked for a tech startup that had no revenue stream but had gotten some funding. Eventually, they ran out of money, and the HR began to look for flimsy reasons to lay people off. The first batch of lay-offs affected “nonessential parts of the company”. When it was my turn, he said it was because I was using my personal laptop at work.
“He forced me to stay on site” — Ugor, 36, SEO specialist
I got a job recently, and my contract said I’d work fully on site for the first month so I could understand how the company works. After that, it was supposed to change to two days on site and three days remote. The week before I was to go hybrid, I met with the HR to ask for data allowance. He told me I was supposed to have a review to determine if I’d be having those days off. I’d heard nothing about this review prior. After the review, he decided that I’d remain fully on site, and I just took it in good faith.
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