• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, August 20, 2018

According to a recently released study by Blind, a distrust of HR is a common theme among users of our workplace community app, and workplaces in general. HR is often accused of protecting employers (the people who pay them) rather than the employees, says the study. And it’s not unusual to hear about HR failing to produce timely or appropriate actions to resolve worker complaints.

From previous polls that we conducted, we’ve learned that 42.76 % of our surveyed users don’t feel comfortable reporting sexual harassment cases to HR, and 41% of our surveyed users have either witnessed or experienced retaliation from HR/management.

So, says the report, why the distrust? As Marketplace explains, “If you look at the history of human resources departments, you’ll find that their their No. 1 priority has been about protecting the company, although sometimes those goals aligned with employee needs.

In the most recent survey, says the report, users were asked, point-blank, “Do you trust HR at your current company?” The survey ran from July 30 through August 6 and a total of 11,892 users responded. According to the report, the vast majority of people replied that they do not trust HR. Here’s what the study found out:

• 70.3% (8,357 users) answered responded with 'No.'
• 25.7% (3,059 users) answered 'Yes.'
• 4% (478 users) answered 'My company does not have HR.'

Breaking down the results by companies with at least 100 survey responses from employees, here’s what the study claims:

• Intel ranks the highest for the number of employees who distrust HR with 83.18% answering ‘No.’
• Intel (83.18%), Amazon (79.86%), eBay (75.59%), Oracle (74.66%), Airbnb (74.29%), are the top 5 companies with distrust towards HR higher than the overall survey average.
• LinkedIn finished with the lowest, with 59.55%.

In order to improve our workplaces and allow employees to feel safe, both HR and the employee-employer dynamic will need to be reformed, concludes the report, 

As HR is not always a reliable ally, employees are turning to other options to deal with their workplace issues. Resources like Blind also allow employees to discuss workplace matters with a community, whether it’s to anonymously bring attention to an issue or just get advice from other employees.