Key Role of Bad Bosses and Toxic Workplaces in Employee Turnover Revealed by Barbados' HRMAB President

“When some people come into the workplace, they treat the workplace as if it is school; a lot of gossiping, a lot of backstabbing, a lot of people trying to climb the corporate ladder and trying to kick down the person behind or in front of them to get what they want,” he noted.

Roberts argued that while human resources managers should play a critical role in managing workplace toxicity and promoting effective leadership styles, the profession is often overlooked and misunderstood in many businesses.

“HR professionals still struggle within organisations to be seen as strategic business partners. A lot of leaders within businesses leave a lot to be desired. They do not take the advice given to them from their HR practitioners,” he said, adding that HR personnel are often relegated to administrative functions or tasked with carrying out unpleasant duties on behalf of management. “[We are seen as the] people that hire and fire staff or we do the dirty work . . . . While that may be a [small] part of the job, our biggest role within organisations is to shape strategy and to impact strategy when it comes to people.”

The HRMAB president urged business owners and managers to better utilise the expertise of HR professionals and work to improve employee relations. He stressed that HR is often privy to critical information on employee frustrations and workplace issues, which could be used to formulate solutions for the future.

“HR is supposed to help guide and support and encourage and strategise when it comes to culture . . . . You can only do that when you have a leadership team in place that is going to help you do that. By and large, the leaders within any business are the ones that are supposed to be responsible for how they lead teams, how they guide teams, and what is expected from people,” he said.

Roberts cautioned that if the advice of HR professionals is ignored, they may either conform to the existing culture or leave the organisation in frustration.

“When you have an HR person that feels as if their advice is not being heeded or being acknowledged or being listened to, they either throw their hands up in the air and leave the organisation, or they just go with the status quo,” he said.

The HR professional also criticised some businesses for using superficial measures to address deeper issues. He said they often “put plasters on sores” rather than deal with the source of the problems.

“They like to throw staff parties, they like to do pizza parties . . . but they’re not fixing the core issue and the problem. It’s just icing or sugar on top of a very bad-tasting cake . . . . They don’t fix what is at the root of the issues and problems within the business.”

sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb