‘I hate HR too!’ Epic distrust wrecks employee relations with people managers
When Marissa Andrada — a deeply experienced HR leader who has worked in senior people management roles for companies ranging from Starbucks and Kate Spade to Universal Studios — tells people what she does for a living, she tends to get the same response. Namely, a negative one.
Even with her husband-to-be.
“When my husband met me, he goes, ‘There’s no way you’re in HR,'” she recalled. Her reply: “It’s OK. I hate HR too!”
It’s a reality for many HR people: Most of their employees — the very people they advocate for — don’t want anything to do with them. That’s according to resume and career service MyPerfectResume’s 2025 State of the Workforce Report, which points to a growing crisis of confidence in workplace relations, one that should concern HR professionals as they close out one year and set the course for another.
Based on responses from 1,000 recruiters and job seekers, the survey paints a worrisome picture of the workplace, one where fear, burnout and mistrust are prominent themes. For HR professionals, perhaps the most salient finding is that 85% of workers hesitate to bring them their work-related issues, citing fears around confidentiality and retribution.
“The fear surrounding HR departments has reached alarming levels, with many employees feeling unsupported and hesitant to voice their concerns,” said Jasmine Escalera, career expert at MyPerfectResume. That sentiment is reflected in the survey data, which reveals that 90% of workers are dissatisfied with how HR handled past grievances.
Warnings about HR’s trust issues are not new. Headlines like “Why Employees Don’t Trust HR” and “Why HR Is the Most Hated Department in the Organization” have been around for some time. But the fact that such sentiment is so ingrained begs the question: Why, after all this time, does it continue to be a problem? And what, if anything, can be done about this epic distrust?
Procedures over people
According to MyPerfectResume’s survey, several factors contribute to the current HR trust deficit, with about 7 in 10 employees seeing HR as too entangled in office politics and too quick to prioritize procedures over people. The same share of employees expressed frustration with HR’s response times.
For HR to foster an ongoing dialogue with employees is a solid start to combatting these issues, according to Joe Galvin, chief research officer at executive coaching platform Vistage. “The way to create trust is through clarity, through consistency and through communication,” he said, proposing that each organization examine the issue of HR trust through the lens of its own unique culture.
In fact, HR’s place in a company’s culture is essential to building good relations with employees, experts say — though all too often, people managers are viewed by rank and file as “other.” In many organizations, “HR is kind of like the stepchild — the island of misfit toys,” Andrada said. She recalls her time at one employer where the HR department was literally marginalized, “put down this hallway where no one wanted to even come visit us,” she added.
“I sense that some HR professionals may still be too detached and unavailable to people in an open and human way,” said Nebel Crowhurst, chief people officer and chief appreciation officer at employee rewards and recognition platform Reward Gateway | Edenred. For example, she noted, many HR teams still sit behind closed doors in private offices because it is widely assumed that HR, as it usually deals with confidential info, cannot sit among the rest of the team. “This is a fallacy and, in fact, supports the unapproachable persona HR has,” Crowhurst said. “Not only does it not help with how we build relationships and trust, but it also leaves HR out of touch with what people are truly feeling.”
Andrada — now the chief transformation officer at WUF World, a storytelling platform devoted to people’s relationships with their pets — advocates for a fundamental shift in how HR operates. “HR starts from a transactional standpoint versus a relational one,” she said. “I don’t even want to be called the CHRO, nor am I going to call my function human resources. Because it’s not about us, not about the function of HR — it’s about the people.”
Like Galvin, Andrada said she believes the path to building trust in HR requires moving beyond merely one-way communication. “It’s got to be 360,” she said. “You need to listen more than you actually talk in your role.”
RTO mandates erode trust
HR trust is but one challenge of the workplace the MyPerfectResume survey addresses. It found that 88% of employees are experiencing burnout, with 77% reporting that work stress negatively impacts their personal lives.
Add to that ongoing tension over RTO mandates. Nearly 8 in 10 employees see such policies as a control mechanism rather than, as bosses maintain, a means of encouraging collaboration and productivity. That perception further strains the relationship between workers and management, placing HR departments in the difficult role of mediator.
For HR leaders looking to bolster trust in their companies, MyPerfectResume’s report suggests several areas of focus, including:
Enhanced approachability. With more than one-third of employees finding HR staff unapproachable, departments should focus on creating more welcoming and accessible channels for communication.
Strengthened confidentiality. Given that 37% of workers doubt HR’s ability to protect their privacy, establishing and communicating clear protocols is essential.
Improved response times. The high percentage of employees frustrated by the rate with which HR addresses or resolves their issues indicates a need for more efficient processing of employee concerns.
Balance between process and people. While procedures are important, the perception that HR prioritizes process over people suggests a need to humanize interactions and demonstrate greater empathy.