HR vs... the clergy

Come one, come all and welcome to the HRville job satisfaction extravaganza, where HR takes on all challengers. Who shall reign supreme and who shall wallow in defeat? Which job shall stand victorious as the career of choice?

Today’s challenger is a job that has a thousands of years of history and an attitude to boot. Fresh from wrestling the devil in a pit of fire and brimstone, please put your hands together for… the clergy!

Office Wear

Unsurprisingly for those of the cloth, your threads are a big deal. There is no casual Friday. Every day is habit day. There’s just not much scope for creativity. The further up to the ladder you climb, the fancier clothes you can get, but they are a little gaudy for most people’s taste.

For HR, yes it depends where you work, but there’s scope for some individuality. Different colours! Different shoes! When you walk out the office, not everybody instantly knows exactly what you do.

HR 1  Clergy 0

Reputation

On the flipside, with the collar comes a certain gravitas. Like a doctor’s coat or a firefighter uniform, many people respect the job because it represents a person who serves others professionally. HR do the same thing, but let’s just say they haven’t quite got the same cred. We bet priests get sworn at less.

HR 1  Clergy 1

Career Opportunities

While those in HR have a number of strings to their bows, there’s no disputing that the top jobs in the clergy are generally the most impressive. Who wouldn’t want to be a Pope or Archbishop? The hats, the gold, the women… oh.

HR 1  Clergy 2

Equality & Diversity

The Church of England only recently admitted their first woman bishop. And for the Catholic Church, women need not apply (except to be nuns.) And that’s saying nothing about homosexuality. Let’s not linger here.

HR 2  Clergy: 2

Benefits and Perks

Hmm. It’s tough. On the one hand, HR don’t need to work on Sundays, have less existential crises, and can get away with eating shellfish no problem. On the other, the clergy get free wine, reserved tickets to the pearly gates, and get to hang out in some nice churches (the original open plan offices.)

We were calling it a tie, then we realised that religious holidays aren’t holidays for the clergy. Thanks but no thanks.

Final score: HR 3  Clergy 2

About the author

Jerome Langford

Jerome is a graduate in Philosophy from St Andrews, who alternately spends time writing about HR and staring wistfully out of windows, thinking about life’s bigger questions: Why are we here? How much lunch is too much lunch? What do you mean exactly by ‘final warning’?