10 Things You Should Never Tell HR

Depending on your Human Resources office and your relationship with your HR staff, there may be
things about you that you should never tell HR.
This lack of understanding can add up to a deep distrust of HR. Sometimes, the distrust is earned; HR
staff are people. You can't pigeon hole them, place them in a neat category that fails to reflect the actual
complexities of people and HR offices.
So, before you share a secret about yourself with HR at your workplace, know your HR staff. In too many
workplaces, these are the ten things that you should never share with HR.

1. You participate in some activity that is illegal even if it takes place totally outside of work.
Your HR person may feel compelled to do something or say something about it. HR doesn't want to make
a decision about whether he or she is legally obligated to report you to the police. The fact that you
caused the problem is not going to ring their happy chimes. And, it will deeply affect their opinion of you
and your place in your organization.

2. You are considering whether to become a full time mom while you are on your FMLA maternity
leave.
Jan-A teacher, shared with HR that - She is checking if stay-at-home mom was the best role for life
balance once the baby arrived. About half way through her leaves, she was informed that she had been
reassigned to teach in a different school.
In the meantime, Jan decided that staying at home full time was not fulfilling. As a result of sharing her
thoughts with HR, she found herself learning and preparing new teaching materials, while balancing the
demands of her infant. The key is that HR will make decisions in the best interests of the employer if they
are uncertain about your reliability or commitment. Don't give them the information that makes them feel
they need to make decisions.

3. You need favorable treatment, time off, privileges from the company because of an event that
isn't true.
My Friend's cousin had lied to his HR office when he was young and stupid about the deaths and funerals
of both his mother and grandmother. He said that he needed the time off to go to a funeral - when the
person wasn't dead.
Time passed and his mother became ill and needed him to take time off work to help her. His earlier lies
placed him in an unfortunate position. If he confessed his lies, company policy said that termination was
the consequence. But, FMLA time was only allowed for close relatives so he couldn't take time to provide
the care his mom needed without confessing.

4. You lied about something during the hiring and interviewing process before you were offered the
job.
Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson, who left his job after only four months in 2012, claimed on his resume to
have a degree in computer science - when he didn't. He was forced to step down as CEO, and he is not the
only company executive caught in a lie. Most companies have a policy and it may even say on the job
application that any untruthful statement can result in termination.
Companies need to be consistent in their practices, so if your organization has that policy, no matter how
much you are valued or liked, you may find yourself without a job. Never tell HR if you did.

5. Your significant other, partner or spouse might be transferred to a job in another city that is not
commutable from the current location.
Your organization is not going to promote you or provide you with career development opportunities
when they think you will leave. You may be ineligible for educational assistance which often must be
paid back through years worked.
This is more career busting than telling your employer that you are job searching, because the employer
will perceive that you have less control over the outcome.

6. You are moonlighting in a second job if your current job is full time.
When you tell HR that you are working a second job. They become concerned that you may be job
searching because the current job either doesn't pay for your living expenses or you need additional
challenges.
A good HR team will probe to find out the reasons for the second job to determine if there is anything
your current employer can offer or do. The HR team with whom you should never share anything will
hold it against you and you will lose access to opportunity in your current workplace. Plus, they will
blame any failings you exhibit such as missing work, arriving late, being unavailable for a meeting, and
so forth, on your second job. Unreasonable?

7. You sued your former employer for harassment, ADA accommodation, or civil rights violations.
HR departments live in fear of lawsuits - even the good, ethical, painstakingly fair departments. If you've
ever been sued, you understand the amount of staff time that must be invested - even if you're in the right.
And, the EEOC lawsuit that generally follows takes up even more time and energy and exposes years of
employee recordkeeping to the government and lawyers - both entities whom you avoid at all costs.
So, you have nothing to gain but suspicion from letting HR staff know about any previous lawsuits. HR
staff also regards the fact that you share this information with them as potentially threatening to them and
your employer.

8. You have medical issues that might cause disruption to the workplace flow when you need to take
time off, go on disability, or seek extensive medical treatment.
If you share your medical condition or information in too much detail, you may find that your employer
begins to work around you as if you are not there. The employer is trying to protect their productivity,
profitability, and work load; your absences would adversely affect the workplace.
But, if you create a situation in which the employer is anticipating your absence sometime in the future,
you are generally saying good-bye to transfers, promotions, opportunities, and plum team leadership
positions, to name a few examples.

9. You received a DWI or DUI, depending on your location, or were otherwise arrested for crimes
such as tax evasion, fraud, stealing, and so forth.
Employers are smart also to do comprehensive background checks. If you're applying for a job, if you
have a felony on your record, reveal it when asked on the application. If the employer finds out in a
background check, you won't get the job.

10. Your personal life, in general, is in a shambles.

Items like, you are afraid of your stalker ex-boyfriend, you filed a lawsuit against your neighbor, or you
haven't spoken to your sister in five years, don't belong at work. They consciously or unconsciously cloud
the workplace opinion about you as a person. These conclusions can adversely affect your career and
opportunities. And, the employer making decisions may never recognize that he or she is making
decisions about you based on what is known about your personal life.