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

Three Workplace Activists Were Making Waves at Apple. All Three Are Now Gone.

This is a story about employee activism at one of tech’s biggest giants. As one former worker-activist at Apple explains, “I didn’t feel like I could feasibly continue to work and also advocate for others publicly. I felt like there was no place for me there.” This is an interesting account of what certain workers were advocating for — and why they ultimately are no longer with the company.

Do You Know How Your Teams Get Work Done?

How much do managers know about how their teams work? Read this article from the Harvard Business Review, which is based on a recent research study involving 14 teams comprising 283 employees in four Fortune 500 companies. As the story points out, “When managers were asked about their teams’ work, on average they either did not know or could not remember 60% of the work their teams do. In one extreme instance, a manager in our study could describe only 4% of their team’s work.”

The End of Trust

“As companies have gone virtual during the coronavirus pandemic, supervisors wonder whether their remote workers are in fact working. New colleagues arrive and leave without ever having met. Direct reports ask if they could have that casual understanding put down in writing. No one knows whether the boss’s cryptic closing remark was ironic or hostile.” So begins this story about today’s trust recession.

The Impossibility of Planning a Return to the Office

Google recently delayed a planned return to the office of workers in light of Omicron. That makes sense, but with continued uncertainty and a pandemic that keeps dragging along, how should HR be planning a return to onsite work? Are plans without dates at this point necessary?

Job Promotions Jump 9% This Year, Reversing 2020’s Slump

Really fascinating stats about job promotions in recent years in this article. What’s causing promotions to rise? Why were they lower last year? Sure, the pandemic turned talent management on its head in many ways, but why and how exactly were promotions victims to the tumult of 2020? Nevermind that 2021 feels like 2020 2.0.

Should Employers Rethink What They’re Offering Workers?

This is a great interview with Wharton management thinker Peter Cappelli. It’s based on his report, “Let’s Stop Guessing: Here’s What’s Truly Changing About Work” and offers insights into the new relationship between workers and employers.

Overworked and Overwhelmed. Welcome to HR Today.

If you’re like many HR professionals, you are overworked and overwhelmed in your role. And by the looks of what’s going on in the world, your job will continue to be a daily struggle. Plus, let’s face it: Most of your employees probably don’t appreciate what you do. Indeed, there’s a good chance they don’t even like you. Still, you are doing important work. You are making a difference.

Preventing Burnout on High-Performing and Resilient Teams

“According to a 2020 study about the drivers of work engagement, focusing on creating more job resources, rather than on decreasing job demands, increases the odds of preventing burnout,” explains this article. “Beyond required tangible resources — finances, personnel, technology, and/or equipment, which may be beyond your control — consider these less obvious but no less important intangible ones.” Like which, though?

Read the most interesting HR stories of past weeks here.

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