There’s a reason there’s an HR department, but it’s not for the benefit of the employees. I used to think that before a corporate restructuring resulted in me being made HR manager. It soon became clear that my major purpose was to protect the company from the employees.

My company sent me to seminars where lawyers instructed how to avoid getting sued by employees. Management instructed me to offer employees a paltry “bonus” for waiving healthcare coverage (since the ACA, that’s probably no longer legal, if it ever was).

Having seen some employees suffer catastrophic medical events that would have bankrupted them if they didn’t have insurance, I advised anyone who asked about the bonus not to take it. I found another line of work as soon as I could.