HR and the Bruises Left Behind

I hate having blood drawn. Unfortunately to maintain good health (checking cholesterol, sugar, etc.) and for some medical procedures it is necessary on occasion for a needle to be jabbed into my arm.

Even though I'm middle-aged, my veins have never grown larger than a baby's. Plus they're slippery suckers that challenge any phlebotomist. Thus to nail these suckers, baby needles are a necessity.

Also since I'm middle-aged, I know this. Through experience, I know using baby needles is the best method to get in and get out as quickly and as painlessly as possible.

Inevitably though, one of three scenarios will unfold when I have blood drawn.

1. I will mention to the phlebotomist that I have small, slippery veins. The person takes heed, uses the right size needle, and carefully hits the vein on the first try. 
2. I will mention the same thing to the phlebotomist and they spout back that they're an experienced professional. They claim to be able to handle the job and they use whatever needle they want. Hence, the vein slips away and I have to be jabbed three to four times before they hit paydirt. The bruise they leave behind, like the one I got a week ago, sticks around for quite awhile.
3. The third scenario is my fault. I will say nothing because I won't feel like tempting fate that my phlebotomist will be pompous and unyielding or I won't feel like having an argument in the doctor's office. Hence, I end up with a bruise like the one below.

As I watched the color of my arm turn yellow, green, and purple this week, I kick myself for letting scenario #3 occur. I could have prevented it. Instead, I decided to trust a trained professional. I trusted them to know my body better than I did.

In my defense though, I tire of the conversations with people in service positions that insist they know what's best for me. They talk over me. They scold. They resent attempts on my part to express my needs. They test my patience and in my weaker moments, I let them rue the moment. Even then, I wish they would be better listeners.

There's great value in listening. A lot can be learned when your brain is focused solely on what the ears are doing. Only then can one hope to get as close as possible to what is occurring in someone else's brain and body. Still, this approach towards empathy is just a cognitive belief of identifying with another's feelings and attitudes. No one can read someone else's mind or feel exactly what they are feeling.

We try as humans to do so. We try as HR professionals to do so. However, this is where HR can make its biggest mistakes. HR are the great listeners. HR are the great empathizers. In fact, they are trained professionals in both. (Or should be). But with this great skill comes great responsibilities.

For HR, those responsibilities are...

• To never believe HR is always right, 
• To never believe HR can read minds, and 
• To never believe HR knows the minds and bodies of their employees better than their employees do. 

The human mind is complex and there is no one-size-fits-all to solving employee problems (just like there's no one-size-fits-all needle). When HR acts like there is, assumptions are made and corners are sometimes cut. The resulting consequence can be severe enough to involve attorneys, or it can be enough to cause resentment and distrust amongst its employees. Either way, it can leave a nasty bruise behind.