What HR Is — And What HR Is Not

HR is one of the most misunderstood roles in any organisation.

Ranked by title, we’re often seen as clerks rather than strategic partners.
Measured by perception, we’re blamed for decisions we didn’t make and silences we were forced to keep.

But what many fail to see is that HR sits at the most fragile intersection of business and humanity.
We are the stabilisers, the ones who hold the balance between employer and employee, fairness and feasibility, emotion and economics.

We are called villains by both sides.
And yet, we still show up, to mediate, to guide, to protect, to rebuild trust that others have broken.

But when HR is constantly portrayed as the villain, some begin to surrender.
They stop challenging management. They become “yes-men.”
They follow orders, not because they agree, but because that’s the only way to survive.

And that’s when the real damage begins: the business loses its conscience, and people lose faith in HR.

It’s not easy to be seen as the least valuable voice in the room, yet still be the one who must hold integrity for everyone else.

I’ve seen HRs who lean too far toward management and lose the people.
I’ve seen HRs who lean too far toward employees and lose the business.

To stand in the middle, to stay fair, to keep balance, that’s not weakness.
That’s leadership at its quietest and hardest.

People often say,
“You’re too friendly for HR.”
“HR needs to be strict.”
“Doing HR is easy.”

Easy?

HR isn’t easy.
HR is standing at the intersection of people and policy, trying to hold balance while everyone else chooses sides.

HR is not about pleasing everyone.
HR is about being fair to everyone.

It means enforcing rules with empathy.
Caring deeply, but not blindly.
Listening without judgment, even when the truth hurts.

It means keeping secrets… illnesses, salaries, misconduct, personal struggles… and still treating everyone with dignity.
It means sitting across from someone whose job you have to end, steadying your voice while your heart breaks inside.
It means defending management when you don’t agree, because integrity sometimes means protecting the process, not the person.

And yet, after all that, you’re told you’re “too nice.”
That you’re not “HR enough.”
That the job is “easy.”

But what many don’t see is this:
HR is not about authority. It’s about responsibility.
HR is not the company’s mouthpiece. It’s the company’s conscience.
HR is not the villain. It’s the stabiliser, standing alone in the middle when both sides pull.

And no, HR is not a politician.
We don’t campaign for sides.
We don’t promise what can’t be delivered.
We don’t fight for applause.
We fight for balance.

HR is not a union rep either.
We don’t exist to oppose management, nor to silence employees.
We exist to protect the bridge between both, because if that bridge collapses, the whole company does too.

I’ve been accused of using “People First” as my principle.
But let me be clear: when I say “people,” I don’t mean it the way a politician does … rallying one group against another, choosing a side to champion.

I mean all people.

The employee facing retrenchment.
The manager under impossible pressure.
The CEO carrying the weight of hundreds of livelihoods.

Each one is a person, with their own fears, hopes, preferences, perceptions, and priorities.

“People First” isn’t about being soft.
It’s not about taking sides.
It’s about empathy, the kind that hears both stories before deciding.
The kind that fights for fairness, even when no one claps for you.
The kind that remembers that the employee you once protected might one day become the CEO.

And that CEO? Still human.
Still carrying the same weight of responsibility, just from the other side of the table.

That’s why empathy matters.
Because titles change, but humanity doesn’t.

And if anyone still believes HR can be replaced by AI… think again.

AI can write your policy, schedule your meetings, even draft your termination letter.
But AI can’t look someone in the eye and say, “I’m sorry.”
AI can’t hold the weight of people’s fears and still show up the next day to do it again.

Because HR is not just about process.
It’s about presence.
It’s about being human, when everything else feels mechanical.

So no, HR isn’t easy.
It’s human.

And when HR’s role keeps being reduced to taking sides instead of keeping balance, that’s when trust dissolves.

And perhaps the hardest part?

I’ve heard it so many time… “Don’t trust HR.”
“HR is never on the employee’s side.”

HR has always been misunderstood.

But in all these conversations, no one ever asks, “How is HR?”

When I left my previous company, a colleague from another department asked why.
I told her I needed a break.

She looked at me and said,
“You’ve been taking care of all of us. But no one took care of you.”

That stayed with me.

Because HR is only visible when we’re fading.
People expect us to absorb everyone’s emotions without breaking.

But the truth is, HR has feelings too.
We cry after termination meetings.
We carry people’s stories home.
We keep everyone’s secrets… and sometimes, we drown in them.

HR has always been human.
It’s just that, to everyone else, we were never human enough.