Welcome to “The Most Interesting HR Stories of the Week,” a weekly post that features talent insights and information from around the web to kick off your weekend. Here’s what’s of interest this week:
Top Articles to Read Now
NLRB Accuses Amazon of ‘Threatening, Surveilling’ Warehouse Workers
“According to the complaint, the consultant [acting on Amazon’s behalf] ‘interrogated’ employees about their organizing activities, called union organizers ‘thugs’ and allegedly threatened employees by telling them it would be futile to select the union as their bargaining representative. The consultant also is accused of soliciting unspecified grievances from employees with the promise to remedy them if they reject the union.”
18 True Tales of Ridiculous Performance Appraisals
“Involved in a car accident while driving to a scheduled evening meeting, called from the ER to let the team know I wasn’t going to make it. The next week, I was called into the main office and written up for ‘allowing personal drama to interfere with my responsibilities.'” And there’s more that will have you shaking your head.
The ‘Angry Black Woman’ Stereotype at Work
The angry Black woman stereotype exists in many parts of American culture — including the workplace. Studies show people in organizations believe Black women are more likely to have belligerent, contentious, and angry personalities, an assumption not as readily assigned to other men and women. Recent studies suggest this negative perception is a unique phenomenon for Black women, and the researchers suggest that when Black women outwardly express anger at work, her leadership and potential are called into question.
Erratic Schedules Are a Nightmare for America’s Workers
“Despite essential workers being hailed as heroes during the Covid-19 pandemic, and a historically tight labor market, schedule instability has improved little over the past two years, new research finds. ‘Unstable and unpredictable work schedules continue to be the norm for service sector workers — especially for workers of color, and for women of color in particular,’ according to a report Friday by the Shift Project, a joint venture by Harvard University and the University of California, San Francisco.”
Google Expands PTO, Sets Minimum 20 Days’ Vacation
“The company now offers 24 weeks of paid leave for birthing parents (up from 18 weeks); 18 weeks for nonbirthing parents (up from 12 weeks); eight weeks for those caring for a seriously ill loved one, what the company calls ‘carer’s leave’ (up from four weeks); and a minimum of 20 vacation days (up from 15 days). The latter two benefits will kick in April 2, the company said, while the first two went into effect Jan. 1.”
What ‘Likeability’ Really Means in the Workplace
“The urge to be liked is a powerful force in this world: It can force you to rethink behavior, appearances, even relationships. But despite even the very best efforts, no one has a say in how much other people like them.”
The Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index 2022
“258 of the Fortune 500-ranked businesses achieved a 100%t rating (compared to 233 last year), with 15 of the top 20 Fortune-ranked businesses at this top score. 93% of the Fortune 500 include ‘sexual orientation’ in their nondiscrimination policies and 91% include ‘gender identity.’ Over 66%t of Fortune 500 companies offer transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits.”
Nothing Motivates Employees More Than Money When Learning New Skills
“To explore the link between training and compensation, learning platform O’Reilly issued a new Data/AI Salary Survey. The findings showed that 91% of respondents (largely tech professionals) were interested in learning new skills or improving upon existing skills, and 64% took part in training or received certifications during the past year. Furthermore, a majority of those who participated in training (61%) signified that they did so with the expectation of a raise or promotion. But the average increase in compensation over the last three years only amounted to a 2.25% increase annually.”
Read the most interesting HR stories of past weeks here.
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