Workers say some HR departments are quick to enforce rules but slow to address misconduct

MALAYSIA: When Human Resources ignores misconduct, it implicitly gives tacit approval to poisonous behaviour. This not only exacerbates employee stress and turnover but also undermines corporate trust, diminishes accountability systems and normalises wrongdoing in the workplace.  Such silence can, over time, affect company culture, where employees come to believe that reporting difficulties is futile and that bad behaviour is implicitly allowed.

Rather than safeguarding the workforce, HR’s inactivity can instead form a toxic triangle of poisonous managers and cooperative employees that eventually harms the company’s underlying culture.

A manager recalled her experience of working in such environments: “I was humiliated, shouted at, at some point I felt as if I was valueless, but what troubles me the most is when the surroundings heard and saw it. HR definitely knows about it, but there’s no action being taken.”

This concern has also been mirrored in recent public workplace incidents.

According to a story published by The Sun, an employee was questioned by HR for being five minutes late to work due to traffic. The case garnered attention because it highlighted perceived differences in HR enforcement, that minor attendance infractions were addressed quickly, but broader issues of fairness, workplace behaviour, and employee well-being were lower on the agenda.

The employee then closely adhered to working hours and pointed out when others were also late, which made the company’s policies seem unjust and inconsistently handled.

Similar patterns are also mirrored in online discussions, where an employee reported experiencing prolonged workplace bullying, including verbal abuse, intimidation, and public humiliation, while management dismissed the complaints as a personality conflict rather than addressing them as misconduct.

The incident only came to light after the employee left, demonstrating how HR intervention can be delayed in a way that contributes to prolonged exposure to toxic behaviour.

These occurrences feed concerns that, if misconduct is normalised or improperly handled, staff may detach or leave the business rather than trusting internal resolution methods.

It is a problem that the function of Human Resources is not often appropriately highlighted, since workplace disagreements are sometimes seen as issues between two individuals, rather than matters requiring organisational involvement. HR is supposed to be a mediator and a positive force in the workplace and, therefore, should be dealing with such matters effectively.

As one user online replied, “Then tell them that if they really cared, they would have done something years ago because everyone knows where the problem is. I bet you’re not the only one to walk out because of him.”

Overall, these examples suggest that the effectiveness of Human Resources is closely tied to how consistently and appropriately workplace concerns are addressed, regardless of their perceived severity.

When employees perceive that issues are either overlooked or unevenly managed, it can weaken confidence in organisational systems and affect how policies are interpreted in practice. This highlights the importance of clear, timely, and balanced HR intervention in maintaining trust, supporting employees, and sustaining a healthy workplace culture.