Jaded HR: Your Relief From the Common Human Resources Podcasts
Jaded HR is a Human Resources podcast about the trials and tribulations of life in a human resources department….or just a way for Human Resources Professionals to finally say OUT LOUD all the things they think throughout their working day.
Jaded HR: Your Relief From the Common Human Resources Podcasts
Must Listen to HR Podcasts: Jamie from HR Besties Discussing Poop and Porn
Jamie, from the acclaimed HR Besties podcast, joins us for a riotous chat that promises both hilarity and insight into the world of human resources. Together with her co-hosts, Leigh and Elaine Henderson, and legal whiz Ashley Hurd, Jamie hosts a must listen to podcast HR Besties. As we welcome Jamie, she gives us the backstory on her popular meme persona, the "Chief Meme Officer," and how the pandemic inspired her to create Humorous Resources. With a flair for transforming workplace drama into comedic gold, Jamie walks us through her journey of meme-making and the unexpected success that followed.
In an episode that blends personal anecdotes with professional wisdom, Jamie also sheds light on her experience as a one-person HR department during COVID-19. From tackling ever-changing CDC guidelines to handling the pressure of managing 200 healthcare employees, she shares the rollercoaster of emotions that led to the creation of Millennial Misery, a nostalgic refuge for her fellow elder millennials. Listen in for Jamie's unfiltered perspective on the trials of working in HR, the therapeutic power of humor, and what's next for the HR Besties as they gear up for their fourth season. Whether you're an HR veteran or just in need of a good laugh, this episode offers something for everyone.
Listen to the HR Besties Podcast.
HR Besties on IG
Jamie's Instagram accounts:
Humorous Resources
The Chief Meme Officer
Millennial Misery
Parody Parenting
Ashley's Instagram: Manager Method
Leah's Instagram: HR Manifesto
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Had you actually read the email, you would know that the podcast you are about to listen to could contain explicit language and offensive content. These HR experts' views are not representative of their past, present or future employers. If you have ever heard my manager is unfair to me. I need you to reset my HR portal password, or Can I write up my employee for crying too much? Welcome to our little safe zone. Welcome to Jaded HR.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Jaded HR, the podcast by three HR professionals who want to help you get through the workday by saying everything you're thinking, but say it out loud. I'm Warren.
Speaker 3:I'm Cece and I'm Jamie.
Speaker 2:All right, as you hear, we have Jamie from HR Besties one third of HR Besties and you may also know her on social media as the chief meme officer. Some hilarious stuff going on there, especially Halloween costumes and things like that. But yeah, we're continuing our series of must listen to HR podcasts and we're so fortunate to get Jamie on here to represent the HR besties, which, if you are listening to this podcast, you haven't listened to HR Besties. I don't know what's wrong with you. But, Jamie, go ahead and tell us a little bit more about yourself.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so I am one third of HR Besties with my co-host, leigh, elaine Henderson and Ashley Hurd. Ashley Hurd is actually a she was a general counsel of several large companies down in Atlanta, in Louisville, and so she is our legal expert. And then Lee and I both had 20 plus years of HR experience, and so we all met on social media and Ashley had the crazy idea to start a podcast and I said why the fuck not? And so here we are, a year later and we're about to kick off. In January We'll kick off season four, so we're very excited about that Love that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Cool. So well, let's go back to the beginning. How and did you come up with the chief meme officer idea and where did that come from?
Speaker 4:Yeah, so I actually started Humorous Resources, which is a meme page. It's a corporate humor meme page. I started it in September of 2020. And so I was actually an HR director at a small nonprofit clinic. Well, we had four clinics, but I was overall four.
Speaker 4:I was department of one and COVID hit and I literally thought I was losing my fucking mind. One, working in healthcare during that time was a nightmare for anyone, not just HR, obviously. Those that were truly on the front lines the doctors, the nurses had it way worse. But I just I felt this immense guilt, almost, that I was in HR and I was able to sit up in my office and I needed to protect my employees, but I just didn't know how. So I started really obsessing about the CDC guidelines and every morning I would come in and I would sit down with our medical director because they were literally changing daily, and we would sit down and we would see what was new and see what we needed to implement. And then the vaccines rolled out. And then there was a mandate about employees need to be vaccinated and I just it was so much and, being a Department of One responsible for 200 employees and during COVID in a healthcare environment.
Speaker 4:I literally felt like I was losing my mind and I needed an outlet. And so I had been making memes on my old personal page, but I hadn't. I don't know, I never thought about making a meme page Like you know, like who does that, right? Like that's so weird. And I'm in, I was at this time, I'm in my late thirties and I'm like who makes a meme page? And I was like, ah, fuck it, who cares, right? So and I posted like a few just corporate humor and HR, really, because you know, that's what I've been doing for the last 21 years. And it took off and I, honestly, was not expecting it because I don't know, you know, my humor, I feel like, is different, but I don't, I guess it's not. You know what I mean.
Speaker 4:So, shortly after Humorous Resources, in July of 2021, I started Millennial Misery, because I'm an elder millennial yes, geriatric, if you will and I had so much content like nostalgia content that I wanted to post, but it didn't fit on like a corporate humor page, like humorous. So I started millennial misery and that was even more successful than humorous, because people love to bathe themselves in like 90s culture and like nostalgia. They love it. So that was like a huge thing and I thought so far I'm not showing my face, I haven't showed my face yet, right? And then I thought, what if I actually showed my face?
Speaker 4:And that's kind of where Chief Meme Officer was born, because I call myself the Chief Meme Officer officer, because I make so many memes and I created chief meme officer to show myself and like so my own, I do my own reels and videos on TikTok and whatnot and I post, I post a lot of like my core HR memes. I post them on the chief meme officer too, and so that's how they've all been kind of created. I also have a new parenting meme page called parody parenting too. That I recently started because I am a mother of many and so I parenting humor too. I was like where can I put this shit? Cause I've got, I've got stories for days. So I started that and it's pretty small right now, but another one of my little love child.
Speaker 3:I love that, so I too am an elder millennial. I feel like Warren, you are outnumbered on this call.
Speaker 2:I'm the old dude, I'm the geezer.
Speaker 3:But that is so funny, OK. So first of all, I think you don't have a weird sense of humor. Your humor is pretty much on the nose. So I feel that's reflected because you've grown so much, but I just had a baby 12 12 six months ago, so oh, I like I have to check out the parody parenting thing, because right now, everything like that's just kind of whether it's work or the baby. Those are where, like, my life is going right now. That's where I'm at yep.
Speaker 4:I feel that and that's really where I I started parody parenting because I'm like my kids, literally alone, could have their own content. Just the crazy shit that happens as a mother. That's why I was like I have to create memes for this.
Speaker 2:I love it, yeah, and as a parent of children in their 20s. Now it doesn't. It'll continue. You'll have plenty of ammunition for years and years to come.
Speaker 4:That's kind of my thought too. It'll give me content forever.
Speaker 2:I did want to cringe word circle back to what you mentioned earlier. You were in a healthcare industry 200 to 1 ratio. I mean healthcare is one of those industries that get the more padding ratio. I mean healthcare is one of those industries that get the more padding. I think SHRM says, I think it's like 151 everywhere, and then I think the medical is like 100 or less to one and things like that. And wow, that was especially in a pandemic time crazy.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it was. I mean I knew when I started there in like 2019. So I knew what I signed up for and, looking back on it, I'm like, wow, how did I do all that? Because I was like doing recruiting, compliance, training, onboarding, offboarding, you know, employee engagement, obviously, health and safety because of COVID, I mean there are so many things that I was doing and I did not realize, like I didn't realize the stress of it while I was in it and it wasn't until I got out of it. Also, it was incredibly toxic, go figure.
Speaker 4:Until I got out and how I was like, oh wow, that was kind of fucked up and I kept begging to have like someone like this year's budget budget, could I maybe have a generalist? That would be super cool. And, of course, right when I was about to leave, they were like they hired someone and of course, they let her get a generalist. So we know where that, they know where. I think I know where they thought about me. Yeah, because, like, obviously I was doing it all. So why you know what I mean if I was doing it all, she can handle it yeah why pay?
Speaker 3:why pay someone else, yeah, so I actually know someone who purposefully like let things fall through the cracks because she was so like she was doing it all so well, but at the detriment of her own health. Yep, and it was like she's like screw it, yeah, like no, that's smart, actually, we're just gonna let things fall through the cracks.
Speaker 3:And it was funny because there was like a team meeting. It was, like you know, our monthly operating review, and she would just be like, oh yeah, all that's in yellow. Yeah, I couldn't get to it, thank you, and like and guess what moral of the story. Like spoiler alert, she's getting a direct report next year. Like it's happening. Like literally they're writing the job description and I'm like laughing, so like sometimes you just have to let things fall apart.
Speaker 4:Yeah, no, for real yeah for real, and I think they noticed that when I left too, like, oh shit, maybe no one wants to come work here I.
Speaker 2:I spent a whopping six months in health care before the institution I worked at lost its medical license, so a hospital without a medical license does not need a lot of people or HR for too long, there's a good story, oh, afterwards.
Speaker 4:well, I'll tell you all about it. There's a good story there, I know there is.
Speaker 2:There are a lot of good stories. Oh, and the CEO, because it was made national news and things blamed HR for and I'd only started. I was only there for six months actually blamed HR for a lot of the problems. I'm like, okay, you're a piece of work, but anyways, yeah, hr, the fall guy.
Speaker 2:Of course always so crazy. Well, you took us through your personal social media and you started the launch of HR Besties. So tell us a little bit more about you know if there's, by any chance, anybody who hasn't listened to it already? On listening to us, tell us about HR Besties and y'all's format and what y'all do.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so we have an episode every every Wednesday and it's typically about like a core topic. So we've covered an HR department of one We've covered and, like corporate responsibility, as far as like charity giving campaigns, we have a new one coming up called open enrollment and benefits. So we usually focus on a main topic. We always throw in a corporate cringe word that we try to sneak in during the episode and then we usually start with a crazy wild story from our years of being in HR because, honestly, you can't make this shit up and I know every HR professional literally could write a book of the crazy shit that we've had to deal with, because people be people and people people hard and it's wild. I'm going to be honest. I actually majored in HR in college.
Speaker 2:Same here. You're like one of the other two people I know that did.
Speaker 3:Oh wait, my husband did too. He has his bachelor's in HR, really.
Speaker 4:So there you go Three. Okay, that's very cool actually. So I didn't. I'm not that person who's like I got into HR because I love people. No, I really thought that I enjoyed helping people and actually I took like the Myers-Briggs and it told me to be a lawyer and I was like fuck that shit. So I was like what's the next thing? Hr professional and it kind of fell in line. It was a business major. I went to the University of Tennessee go Vols.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 4:I was a business major and it Tennessee go Vols and I was a business major and it was in the same family as a business admin. I'm like great, perfect, done. And so I really thought that I wanted to be like learning and development, Like that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to teach people and train them. And then I got my first job out of college was in benefits and I fucking hated it Though I do appreciate all the benefits knowledge that I have now because it's very helpful to use even 21 years later in my career. But I was like I don't want to be pigeonholed and I got into like general HR, core HR, and I have not left because I love it. I love being able to do a little bit of everything and I don't know if I'm good at any of it, but that's okay, because no one could know, because I'd have to do so much, oh yeah.
Speaker 3:So I've never worked in like HR, hr, I've only done talent management and I've only done learning and development and I did some talent acquisition and I hated every second of it. But it's funny because my husband, he does his career has been hr, hr. But now he's like working in that more strategic level of hr because he, you know there's like the more you grow, the more strategic it gets. So now we just like help each other out. I'm like I'm building career pathing, like what do you got on that? And he's like let me help you out. So like, oh my god I love that.
Speaker 4:That's actually really cool this.
Speaker 3:it's the nerdiest household you will ever walk into, because he we both work from home too, which makes it worse or better, not sure and like literally, I'll like hear him working on things and I'll be like you need something on that.
Speaker 4:I gotcha, like that's awesome. Actually I don't know what I like. I could not imagine my husband also being in HR, like because I don't know, I don't, I would probably not be very nice.
Speaker 2:For a while, both my wife and I worked in HR, but she turned her career towards payroll, and she loves payroll.
Speaker 4:And we love her for that Of the earth.
Speaker 3:They really are.
Speaker 2:I've been trying for five years now to get my wife on this podcast. She will not do it. What the hell? Because she's got some of the best stories about people.
Speaker 4:I'm sure, I'm sure.
Speaker 2:Some people's crazy payroll issues.
Speaker 3:Well, it's like the one thing I learned serving tables. It's like you don't mess with people's food and you don't mess with people's money. And as soon as one of those things goes wrong, it is like all hell breaks loose.
Speaker 1:It gets emotional.
Speaker 3:People get crazy. So like payroll yeah, I get it.
Speaker 4:Oh yeah, I mean I've had, I've run payroll, obviously being an HR department one. Many times I have run payroll and or been the owner of payroll and I have had people get mad about 12 cents and I'm like literally taking it out of my own wallet and be like here's your 12 cents, like please, please, don't do this to me.
Speaker 2:One of our first episodes or the first season, I had a real experience, an employee that our former timekeeping system did PTO to four digits but your page stub only does it to two digits and we owed him and he did these spreadsheets and everything like that. We owed him I forget exactly how much time, but it came to like 10 minutes of time PTO because of all the rounding. But he did all these spreadsheets and he came in angry and I talked to the president of the company about it and I said, okay, well, this person's upset and here's the situation. Well, how much PTO do we owe him? I said 10 minutes and she said tell him he can take that PTO anytime he wants. I said hell, no, I said he wasted that much time putting the spreadsheet together.
Speaker 2:He wasted hours.
Speaker 4:Like think how much time he wasted working on a spreadsheet to calculate that. You know what, when we switched payrolls, I guess it was like a year ago at my current company we switched from semi-monthly to bi-weekly and you would have thought we were stealing money out of people's checks, thought we were stealing money out of people's checks and, like, I had elaborate spreadsheets that I created for people to like plug in their annual salary and calculate it all out for them. It did not matter we were stealing, it was just like never will I ever, ever go through another pay change cycle. I will be. I will go to the cfo and be like no, I'm not doing that Absolutely not.
Speaker 4:Fire me.
Speaker 3:So my first question is this individual who spent hours working on this spreadsheet, what kind of a performer was this person?
Speaker 2:Actually he's a really good performer. He's meticulous at everything he does Clearly, clearly.
Speaker 2:And yeah, he's really good at his job, no doubt about it. But I mean to get actually come in my office upset that he was being screwed out of time and he, you know, yeah, I was like, and I don't I could go back to the time sheets and actually see the four digit, because it put on the time sheets or crules and things like that and and it went to four digits and I was like, oh, just all the no 10 minutes. No, I'm not not worth my time. You waste the 10 minutes of my time. But it was. But it's a great story. It's like another fun story, but another fun story. You know you talk about all this shit you have to deal with. You know, I've always said you're not truly in HR until you've had to deal with literal shit somewhere you have not earned your HR badge of honor.
Speaker 4:I honestly I wish someone would have stopped little 22-year-old Jamie and been like hey girl, you're going to see a lot of poop and you're going to see a lot of poop porn, but not the porn that you want to see. You know what I'm saying, like it's for your enjoyment, it's going to be because you're investigating. So I really wish someone would have told me that because, like like I said, I I mean I say this all the time but people do be people in and oh yeah, I I think you know. First of all, I'm jaded as fuck and I say that. So thank God I'm on the podcast, right, but if you have seen what probably all three of us have seen in our years, you'd be well jaded too. I mean stories. We could write books. I could probably write a miniseries, like it would be insane. But yeah, like literal shit, like feces, so much feces. I don't like it still shocks me.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 4:And like Lee told a story on a podcast once, I think like she's like a psych nerd, like she knows all this stuff and she told a story once that if an employee is basically doing something with their feces, like spreading it on the bathroom wall or something, it means that they're in control and they're trying to show you they're in control, like that's their I don't know whatever, and I'm like, yeah, but I still have to clean it up. Like good for them, you're in control, but I still have to clean up your shit. And why do I have to clean it up and why am I the?
Speaker 3:first to know about it too. Honestly like I think that's true because I think that's what was happening during the pandemic. Remember that run on toilet paper.
Speaker 4:Oh my God.
Speaker 3:There has to be something where people are like.
Speaker 1:I need to feel in control of something I need to feel in control of my bowel movements, Like I need to feel in control of something I'm in control of
Speaker 2:my bowel movements, I don't know. Hopefully, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:Explicit text and porn, like things that I like. Let me enjoy porn for my own, like don't you know, like I don't want to Now I'm, now I can't enjoy, like what I, what I don't understand, like I really like it's. It's shocking and it's also shocking how many people don't realize, like their work, computer, like sending stuff, I and I'm like oh yeah, you have a cell phone that isn't company issue, just use that.
Speaker 3:People also don't recognize, though, that if you have your work email on your personal phone, if they get busted, the whole personal phone could be subpoenaed or something. So yeah, just be cautious of that too. Don't do stupid shit to get busted. That's just the number one rule. Just don't do stupid shit, but busted. That's just the number one rule. Just don't do stupid shit.
Speaker 2:None of us would have a job if people didn't do stupid shit.
Speaker 4:Wipe your ass, keep your dick in your pants, don't do stupid shit. Just do your fucking job, and then I wouldn't have a job and, honestly, I'd be okay with that.
Speaker 3:So I'm trying to look this up feverishly and you just reminded me with the porn thing. There's some small, there's some smallish company, I don't know, but I guess the owner for I think it was for political reasons was like, oh, we don't care, you go watch porn at your computer. And like they let people like just watch porn. And people were doing it for a little bit as like a novelty. And then I was just like that's uncomfortable, like yeah, I, I'm not a prude, but I don't want to be knowing what my co-worker in the cubicle next to me is into.
Speaker 4:Yeah, like what's their kink. Yeah, like what's their kink, because next thing I know I'm going to be kink, shaming them and then associate relations comes into play and then there's a training behind it, like don't kink, shame. Oh yeah, like it's a whole thing. I didn't realize Betty was into poop porn. Like it's weird, sorry.
Speaker 1:That's the.
Speaker 3:B in belonging, okay, we need to be accepting to that T-E-I-B.
Speaker 2:In the 90s I worked at an IT company. We did stupid things and we would put porn on. If you left your computer open, somebody was putting porn and everybody did it. Nobody cared and it wasn't a thing.
Speaker 2:It was oh got offended or buttered, or we'd put their okay, the N-A-M-B-L-A, whatever NAMBLA, the National man Boy Love Association. We would put like that website up on people's computers, their work computers if they left their computer unlocked If they didn't lock it. Oh, and one time we had the window washers coming and we took big screen TVs that were put porn on. We're all sitting there watching porn while the window washers are washing the window. Just the fuck with the window washers.
Speaker 4:Wow, I'm glad that I wasn't an HR professional in the 90s no we were HR.
Speaker 3:That's the thing.
Speaker 4:It's like no, no, like we were doing this. I think like the best thing I did was put the World Cup on like a screen, Like not for.
Speaker 2:Things you can't do today.
Speaker 3:Not the same.
Speaker 1:So much fun.
Speaker 3:I have to say I was listening to, I had like this is a weird segue, but that, that conversation, that or the what you just talked about, oran, there is a feeling that I get sometimes that like the golden age, not to say that that was particularly the golden age, but like there is a golden age of working in a corporate office before oh my god, remote yes pre-pandemic, oh, and like I remember, like because I used I used to work at this very large company and it was like what it was oh it was, I'll say it, I don't care.
Speaker 3:So I worked for a company called exotica which basically owns everything in eyewear, so it's like lens crafters and like pearl vision and sunblast, like they're like the parent company. So back like when I was to work there, it was magnificent and I was like early career too, so, but it was like there was always things going on. People would like fuck around with other people's computers when they were left out and like done and it was all in good spirits and we'd have like track and field week and like all these really fun things. And I was thinking about it today because you had mentioned in the last podcast, jamie, that like there was jeans, like you donated, you could wear jeans to work.
Speaker 3:I can't tell you how many jean stickers I had on my badge that let me wear jeans. Like it was just like this weird. Everyone I was like everyone made friends with each other. I was in people's weddings.
Speaker 4:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 3:And I kind of feel sad that it's not there anymore.
Speaker 4:Yeah, like it was truly like pre pandemic office work was literally a lawless place. I mean, pandemic office work was literally a lawless place. I mean I can't believe I got work done and got promoted Because, like, the amount of work I do right now, like in eight hours at my house at my house, is probably more than I did an entire week in an office. Because, like, I'd go to accounting because they had peanut butter M&Ms and like, and then I'm gonna circle around to our someone else's IT because they have peanut butter cups and then I'm gonna go get another cup of coffee because why the fuck not? And I'm gonna stop and I'm gonna talk to Debra and then, and like, I like, how did I get anything done?
Speaker 4:like literally and and exactly doing like the fun shit, like doing stuff when, when, like from when, they're computers. I wouldn't do porn, but we would do like funny, like youtubes, like what's the? What's the little boy there's like listen, linda, I would do that a lot back in the day, listen, linda linda, linda like what.
Speaker 4:and then now I, oh, and going out to lunch. Oh, ladies who lunch, like me and my work bestie, we would drive like a good 30 minutes away and eat lunch. Yes, now I don't even get up from my desk except to pee. Yes, like I might like, if I'm hungry, have an adult Lunchables, what I call them, the little like kind of fancy Lunchables that are. I might have an adult Lunchable, like if I'm feeling crazy, but it's so wild. And so I go into the office, usually about once a week, but there's literally four people there, maybe, maybe, and it's the same shit, though. Usually we end up in my office talking, not doing anything. So I have to like pre-schedule my, my days in the office, knowing I'm not gonna get shit done.
Speaker 3:yeah, like I gotta be honest. So next, next week, is the first week where I will meet my co coworkers and my boss for the first time since I started there two years ago.
Speaker 4:Oh wow, that's going to be fun. We're all going to Kansas City. That's where I was going to say do you have?
Speaker 3:to travel. Yeah, like Kansas City, I'll take it, though I'm like this is awesome. But like we're already talking about all the shenanigans we're going to get into after we're done working. Already talking about all the shenanigans we're going to get into after we're done working, we're like oh, we're going to do happy hour, oh, we're going to do this, oh, we're trying bourbon, oh we're trying tequila.
Speaker 4:Like, let's do it like, like me, I'd be in, uh my, my hotel with room service, watching my shows that's funny honestly, there's a piece of that I'm like.
Speaker 3:I get to spend monday through thursday not worrying about anyone else's bodily functions except my own like this is I might be working, but this is a dream.
Speaker 2:Yep, yep no, no random wake-up calls from a screaming baby from the other room oh yeah, traveling for work, though I'm not the type of person like I said, if I can actually get stuff done, I go back to my hotel room. I don't go out and party or investigate the city or things like that. The places I go are not places I particularly want to go when I have to travel for work. It's not like a cool place or anything like that. If I got to go someplace I've never been before and cool, yeah, I'll maybe check it out. But yeah, I'm just going to go back to my hotel room, probably watch TV or Netflix or, who knows, go to sleep early.
Speaker 4:I'm pretty lame now but back in like my 20s, when I travel for work like I would have fun. But no, now I'm lame. I'm literally in my PJs, literally in the bed, watching like Vanderpump Rules with like a hamburger from room service. I'm a Bravo girly.
Speaker 3:Thank you, as am I. Vpr from day one. Yep, same Same.
Speaker 4:My first I was on maternity leave, literally so like. It's wild to me that now the kid's almost 12 and I watch that show. Isn't that crazy yeah?
Speaker 3:I was working the Friday when Scandaval dropped and I can tell you exactly where I was and what I was doing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Scandaval was bananas.
Speaker 3:I was like Kevin, like he knew, but yeah, so really fun fact, I actually went to college with Ariana. So there's that.
Speaker 1:I never.
Speaker 3:And we have a mutual friend, although I don't know her, but like her friend, meredith, who was on the show, was a mutual friend of mine back in college. Very cool Ariana's gorgeous she is and she deserved nothing of Tom, so I'm glad he's gone Fuck that man, and this is where this is a segment of Jaded HR, where I would like to call mediocre men failing up.
Speaker 1:Yes, we talk about this.
Speaker 3:I'm so sorry we talk about this in like corporate. Sometimes I'm like how is this man still here or how is he running this meeting? And he doesn't know how to work Excel right now, like what is happening.
Speaker 4:I actually posted something on Humorous Today similar to that. It's like I did not realize, like I wish someone would have told me, like how I don't think that I'm very smart or intelligent, like I don't. I, you know, I do what I can, but sometimes, when I'm at work, I'm like holy fucking shit, I am brilliant next to these people.
Speaker 1:Like wow.
Speaker 4:Wow, and I think it's mostly because I have problem solving skills. It's not anything else, it's just that I and I also have the tendency to be a bossy bitch and I'll like just go okay, no, like, this isn't making sense, we're going to do this, this and this, and then done, like, then the problem is going to be solved, which it's crazy to me that, like, even people in C-suite, they have they're strategy wise on point right, but they can't execute for shit. And so then here, like, hr is usually having to execute, so, like, I feel like that's what I do is my boss has these extravagant ideas and she has to come to me and I have to be like, well, here's, here's what we can do on that idea, and then I got to be the one to figure out how the fuck to do it.
Speaker 4:Like why did I sign up for this again?
Speaker 3:There was a time where, like I just remember, so we had, during the pandemic we had, I worked in health care. I worked for a huge dermatology company and we had our annual summit and our summit had to be remote healthcare. I worked for a huge dermatology company and we had our annual summit and our summit had to be remote. So we got like this. Really honestly, it was a pretty cool platform that we did this like remote conference, but it was funny because I had to have two training sessions to teach MDs. Yeah, oh God, yeah, how to like like be familiar with this platform before the actual summit took place. And I'm sitting here and I'm, like you're a medical doctor, like why can't you understand? Yeah, that you like sit at a table, but even though you're not sitting at the table, you're still sitting at the table. It's the same table. It's the same table.
Speaker 4:So I've worked in healthcare for the last 11 years of my career and the amount of brilliant physicians and even like nurse practitioners or physician's assistants brilliant. They've had years and years worth of schooling but they could not like. They're book smart totally, but common sense no. And typically if it's a male, no offense Warren, but their wife has got to help, like know where their male practice is. Their licensure is where. I'm like how have you been practicing for as long as I've been alive and you don't know where your fucking medical license?
Speaker 1:is Like who are you?
Speaker 3:Yeah, don't get me, okay. So when I first started, there was not first started, first started, but when I like, I was working in talent acquisition and I did have to collect, I don't know why I had to do this one day, but I had to go collect someone's I-9. It wasn't part of my job, but they're like, go do it because today's like the last day. Three, days.
Speaker 3:I'm like okay so and this was before, like, like I still had to go, like get the documents and whatever. So I this this. This guy was like a c-level person and he brought a pilot's license in and he's like here you go, and I'm like I can't know, is it on one of these lists that we mailed you and like he was in the middle of moving.
Speaker 3:So he's like, well, I don't know where that stuff is. And I'm like, well, we, we need it. And he's like then he got pissy with me because he was like, well, I don't understand, because a pilot's license is it's more secure than any other license, like blah, blah, blah, and I was like I don't care, it's not on the list.
Speaker 1:So tell me you had to call to the irs.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I know, like call the I don't know. And then he had to call his wife. His wife had to go find it, unpack it overnight it like it was a whole thing and like for some reason I was again HR's at fault for everything. Of course, but I'm like my man. You've been here for three days. Like you can't get this bitchy with someone. For the simplest request, three days in yeah.
Speaker 2:C-suite. I'm one of those people who's guilty. I don't know heads or tails of anything on the planet Earth without my wife giving me direction and it pisses her off to no end. And you'll know how many times I actually physically go to work every day and she works from home and I'm leaving home. You're going to wear that to work, and so she has to go pick out my new outfit, or at least another shirt, like today. You can't see I'm wearing khaki suits.
Speaker 1:She goes as I'm leaving, she goes have fun at.
Speaker 2:Target today. As I'm wearing a red shirt, since it's a podcast, you all can't see it. Have fun at Target today. The only things you know a husband and wife can do, and the thing is, she worked there for 15. That's where her HR experience came from.
Speaker 1:She was there for 15 years.
Speaker 2:So yeah, it was.
Speaker 4:God bless her even more.
Speaker 2:The things that you have to rely on your wife for is interesting. But going back to these genius people, brilliant people who can't tie I used to do the term they can't tie their own shoes is. I worked in education. You have all these PhDs with all these great certificates, they can't tie their own shoes. I've worked in engineering firms. Same thing brilliant engineers have some difficulty doing those very simplest of things. I've worked at a law firm the same type thing. It's like how do you do this?
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, and it's really wild and, like you know, I still struggle, you know, 21 years in, with imposter syndrome. But then I get in a meeting and I'm like how the fuck are you even employed? Like, how did you get a job? How did you get past the initial phone screen? Because it's shocking, and I don't think that I'm brilliant or smart or intelligent. I think I'm okay, clearly I'm doing all right, but I think truly that I just have problem-solving skills and I can execute natural leader. And it's not. I don't think that I'm necessarily I don't know, I don't know what the word is but like I'm just a natural leader that like I'm going to step up and I'm going to be like, look, this can't happen.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and and so that's like I don't know if I'll ever be in the C-suite because of that, and I'm okay with that. Do you know what I mean? Like I I'm good with the level I'm at, like I've reached the top of where I want to be in the corporate ladder and I don't really want to sit in the C-suite unless it's for a company that really, like HR, has a seat at the table and HR is truly like seen as a resource, because people are I hate saying, an asset, but people truly are like the first priority in a company. And you know, you don't see that very often. I feel lucky to be where I'm at right, now that HR does have a seat at the table. I still don't want a C-suite job, but I'm high enough that I'm like I'm cool and I feel like I'm still able to be an influence to the C-suite and they trust me and they listen to me. And sometimes I don't like decisions and that's going to happen, because that's true in any place, right, but I'm going to execute and we're going to figure it out and we're going to move on.
Speaker 4:So I think that's like really the hardest part in HR, right, and I'm being an HR content creator. That's the hardest part of even like putting my content out there is because people automatically want to hate you, because they don't have actually any idea what HR does. They just think like you hire people and you fire people and that's like the gist, like that's all you do, and so I think that's like the hardest, like y'all's and ours exists because we're shining a light on on hr when people had no freaking clue what they really, what we do, and and showing them the evil, wicked side that some people have, like our crazy stories of shit and porn and um, but also like showing how we are trying, we're behind the scenes and we are trying and we're trying to influence C-suite to make better decisions, or we're providing with data or metrics and you know we're rooting for you, for an increase or a promotion or, and like we're always in the background and I don't think people realize that. And granted, is there bad HR people? Absolutely there is, but there's bad CEOs, there's bad CFOs, there's bad everybody. And I know, you know, and one thing I joke about is I know your uncle, bobby got fired by that one HR lady because he showed his dick in the parking lot, but I'm not her, and she should have fired him. So you know, it's just like it's. I think that's that's one thing that has has.
Speaker 4:I still get so much hate, like whenever I post an HR video. If someone's like, oh, that's all y'all are good for, y'all are useless, I'm like, ok, I mean, if we're useless, think about all the things that, like, you have benefits because of us. You probably get paid sometimes because of us, because maybe payroll, like there's so many things that HR does, we're advocating for a raise for you even though, like, let's be honest, you probably don't deserve it. You know, like there's so many things that we do that many people don't realize and I know that's true with a lot of other departments. But I think HR has always been kind of demonized and that sucks it kind of it sucks to be. I wish I would have known that when I was 22. I still think I would have picked this profession because I like to think that, like I'm trying really hard to scream and show that we're not bad.
Speaker 2:Well, you started saying something that I think your podcast and our podcast we also take a. It's a way for HR professionals to take a load off and relate to people who've been there done that. You know we have some other HR must listen to podcasts that are more interview style and you're there to learn something. You might learn something that you might not, you might have. We just want to have a good time because commiserate with your other HR people. For sure, we've been there, we've done that. Yeah, nobody's going to believe our stories about wiping up shit, about you know what porn in the office. Yeah, because we've been there, we've done it and we oh yeah, that's that's normal for us to deal with. But other what, that doesn't happen, oh, yes, it does.
Speaker 3:A butt plug was found in the parking lot at a company I used to work for and somebody picked it up, not knowing it was a butt plug, and returned it to the security desk because they thought it looked like it was something important. And the security officer was like, oh fuck, now and and. Then HR got involved and it was a whole thing. But yeah, there was a butt plug in the parking lot. These are stories that really happen.
Speaker 4:I love that. Actually, I love a butt plug. I might have to use that. I might have to use that on HR Besties because that's hilarious. Oh my God to use that. I might have to use that on HR Besties because that's that's hilarious.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh, my God.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I used to love walking into like again I work, I like I mainly work in like very large global organizations. And my other favorite thing was walking into employee relations where it's like kind of like a call center system where people are calling in and like the the side of the conversation you're hearing is always fantastic. And I was just down there one day talking to someone and I just hear well, I understand, you found the joint in the parking lot, but what made you feel like you had to smoke it? And I was like that is a great question. I need to hear the answer.
Speaker 4:Can I listen in on that? Because, yeah, but yeah, like HR is really lonely, and specifically because HR is typically like a very lean team I mean, not according to Sherm, but it's typically a very lean team. So you're, you know you might be alone, you might have just one other person, and so that's why I love having podcasts to listen to of like the crazy shit that we go through and you might learn something. You might not, but at least you enjoyed it. And you, exactly, you commiserate with HR professionals who are in this crazy world of poop and porn.
Speaker 2:Poop and porn that's the title of our episode there actually yeah poop and porn.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 4:Poop and porn with the chief beam officer.
Speaker 3:NHR, there will be poop, yeah.
Speaker 2:Here's the one story I've told her. I did a harassment investigation and I had to report back to the vice president of HR about what happened. And I'm trying to. She's a little. She was older than me and even though I was the manager and she was the vice president, we didn't interact at all. I mean, I would go months without talking to my own boss and it was fine. It was weird, but it was fun.
Speaker 2:But I'm giving her this, I've got this thing, I'm reading it and I'm just giving her the PG version and she says no, I need to hear the real words of what was said, what was done and things like that. And I'm putting the paper over my face is I can't look her in the eye and say these actual quotes and these actual things, and I could feel my my face being bright red. I'm like, oh, and I was, I was in my 40s then. Uh, being able to having to like I can't be, I can't, I cuss all day long, I don't care, but I can't say these things to my boss, even though it's not my words, yeah yeah, it's like I'm ashamed yeah but yeah, that's another thing we we have to go through.
Speaker 2:We have to recount these interactions. People have harassment in detail as much detail as we have and it, you know it gets graphic, yeah, and it it's rough because you know you are dealing with people and you know you sometimes don't wait to get through. It is to laugh a little maybe.
Speaker 4:Yeah, well, yeah appropriate with well, yeah, with their team was yeah, like don't do it in a termination, that'd be weird oh but yeah, like I mean even even, look, I'm 21 years in and I still hate terminations, even if they're warranted, like I still hate them. I also absolutely hate telling people like, like, like they smell, I hate that. I absolutely hate that. Worse, I'd rather drink an entire bottle of bleach. Like there are some conversations that are incredibly uncomfortable that we, as HR professionals, have to have on a semi-normal baseless and they still are never easy. They're still never easy and they still suck every time.
Speaker 3:Hygiene is never easy.
Speaker 4:Yeah, hygiene is probably the worst because a lot of times the hygiene conversation is another rite of passage in hr.
Speaker 2:You yes, you haven't worked in hr unless you've discussed somebody's body odor, and hopefully it's only armpit odor, but it could be a lot worse wash their ass.
Speaker 4:I've had to tell someone they to wash your ass like uh like yeah, I mean I worked.
Speaker 2:I worked at a water park for one summer only and that was more than enough for me. I can't deal with 400 teenagers. But there was this one who had constant body odor and the other lifeguards decided they were just going to shove them in a pool every day to at least get them rinsed off. And you know, I was like I. I had to tell him okay, you can't be doing that. That can you know that's like I had to tell him okay, you can't be doing that, that's dangerous, you can't do that. You know all this other stuff. Every day he was getting shoved into the pool and you know we took light disciplinary action on the situation.
Speaker 1:I was like oh.
Speaker 2:God it was. But yeah, vigilante justice, on that I was like oh gosh yeah.
Speaker 3:Whenever I hear stories like that, I'm like, oh, that is life imitating art. I'm like that is straight out of Wet, Hot American Summer. I am like so happy. Every time I hear something like that, I'm like, oh yes, this is just everything's coming to reality.
Speaker 4:Yeah, they got it from. Somewhere.
Speaker 2:Right, well, jamie, I really want to thank you. I think it's a good place to wrap things up. I have not thanked our Patreon supporters, hallie, the original Jaded HR Rock star, bill and Michael, who are other Patreon supporters. You can be like them and support us on Patreon. The links are in the show notes. We will have links to all the HR besties, their social medias and HR besties podcast information in our show notes as well. So if you don't live on planet earth and you don't follow any of them, their accounts, you can find them easier. Any final words anything you want to promote, talk about anything else that we didn't get to in our poop and porn episode.
Speaker 4:No, just listen to HR Besties. If you like Jaded HR, you can find us on HR Besties pod on Instagram or Spotify or Apple, and then obviously follow my co-host, which, ashley Hurd, is at Manager Method and then Lee is at HR Manifesto. So give them a big shout out to them as well.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, absolutely Well. It's been a thrill. I definitely want to do this again and see what we can make happen. So thank you for joining us at HR Besties, one of the absolute must-listen to HR podcasts out there. So thank you very much, as always. Well, let's see. The voice artist of who does our intro and outro is Andrew Kolpa, and the intro and outro music is the Underscored Orchestra with the Devil with the Devil, and now, as always, I'm Warren.
Speaker 3:I'm Cece and I'm Jamie.
Speaker 2:And we're here helping you survive HR. One what-the-fuck moment at a time.
