A note to HR, with love.

Good morning friends!

This one is for my fellow HR people. Does it seem like the vibe is a bit off lately? No, I don’t mean the endless stream of layoffs (now, broadcast live!) or the shrinking budgets. I'm talking about our own communities and discourse. I get it– doing People work has been a really tough job, especially since 2020. HR folks have been through it, often thanklessly so, and deserve rest and appreciation.

That said, things are feeling mighty cynical lately. Popular posts and writing in the HR space these days tends to focus on harbouring resentment (or outright hatred) towards our jobs and the aforementioned thanklessness of them. New program? No one will read it anyway. Performance review season again? Pass the wine.

I’m not saying we should lean into toxic positivity. HR burnout is real, and commiseration with those who understand can be a helpful outlet. But if you’re the type of HR person who reads this newsletter, chances are you got into (or fell into) this job for the right reasons.

You wanted to help people, listen to people, and give them a safe space. You wanted to build the conditions teams needed to thrive, and to achieve incredible things together. You wanted to make work, where we spend so much of our waking lives, a space of fulfillment, and maybe even happiness. You wanted to fight the TV stereotype of the cranky, bureaucratic HR manager of the past. These people do exist, but they’ve ceased to bring their empathy to the job. They see every employee as a number, they roll their eyes at questions, they’re inflexible. We all like to say that not that kind of HR person, but if we let ourselves become jaded, guess what? We will be.

Chances are, your work has changed lives. You’ve matched people to their dream jobs, advocated for them to be promoted or earn more, coached them out of tough headspaces, and launched big things that support them and their families. Personally, I encourage my team to keep track of these wins; a folder or private wiki page will do.

In tough times, an empathetic and supportive approach to HR is more important than ever. If you do find that jaded feeling creeping in, take a step back. Reconnect with your values, reflect on that wins folder, work through it with your own manager and do a little self care, if needed. If a big change is required, take the steps to put it in motion.

The world needs good People people, and you (and your work) matter. Stick with us.

Happy building,

Nora

Bright Reads

• With all the talk about employees recording their remote layoffs, this court case (where a terminated employee was awarded moral damages) is fascinating.

• Speaking of bad layoffs, Anna Wintour apparently kept her signature sunglasses on while axing Pitchfork staff.

• In Canada, the government is currently reviewing recommendations from the DEI task force it appointed a couple years back, with the idea of updating the Employment Equity Act. Potential changes are designating 2SLGBT+ and Black employees as protected groups (right now they fall under general minority designations) and changes on how workplace diversity is reported.

• This interactive NYT piece on restaurant menu trends is fun in itself, but we took special appreciation of the rise in menus declaring their progressive labour policies (scroll down), such as what percentage of sales go to benefits programs, asking guests to use and respect staff pronouns, and changes to outdated tipping policies.

• Have friends who are looking to get into tech, but are overwhelmed by all the terms, events, and other things they’re just supposed to know? What In The Tech launched last week to be a central, ad-free resource for all things happening in Canadian tech. It’s about time!

• Nora was a guest on the Success Leaves Clues podcast, to talk about her journey building Bright + Early, our mission to create the world’s best workplaces, why we open-source our work and the unique HR things we do on our own team.

• In case you missed it, we published a big, exciting report of all the trends we saw in our work in 2023 (and our predictions for 2024). Explore the first annual B+E Wrapped report here.

Coming Up

• January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day

• February is Black History Month

• February 10 is Lunar New Year

• February 11 is International Day of Women and Girls in Science

• February 14 is Valentine’s Day

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