Archive
Everything published by I Hate It Here.
October 2023
- OCT 5do you know what you want?✍ Any advice for leading a multi-generational team with varying leadership experiences? I manage 18-65 y/o with 0-30+ years of experience all looking for different management styles and all not understanding that others want to and need to be managed differently. Jessie Fields, Talent Development and DEI Leader at C2FO: As a leader to a […]
- OCT 4S2 E5: Creating Inclusive Hiring Practices With Dani HerreraIs it possible to eliminate bias in the workplace? Not really, no. However, we can, at the very least, strive to minimize our unconscious biases.
- OCT 2Highlights from Culture Can’t WaitWhat a time to be alive!! The Culture Can’t Wait workshop was a freakin’ blast. I’ll be riding that high for a few weeks. There’s something about getting folks together to have conversations about challenges they’re facing. If you missed the workshop, I want to share some highlights that came out of that day. What […]
September 2023
- SEP 28✨ Involve while you evolveMy employees keep asking me questions about pay transparency. How do I navigate those conversations? What do I say? Manager at an early stage startup, we don’t have a public policy and I don’t want to just tell my employees to go to HR. Cassidy Edwards, Director of People Operations at Tradeblock: This is a […]
- SEP 27S2 E4: The Good, the Great, the Exceptional—What Makes an HR Leader Great? with Adam WeberWhat separates the good from the great HR leaders?
- SEP 253 key metrics for culture:This quarter I’ve been focused on different aspects of culture from what it is to what can impact your company culture. I wanted to wrap up with how to measure your culture. Is it even possible to measure culture? Yes and no. Measuring culture can be complicated because: But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try […]
- SEP 21I Want It That Way ( Edition)My company doesn’t have a compensation philosophy. How can I, as a hiring manager, encourage my HR team to establish this? Erin Hubbard McCann, Head of People Operations at 86 Repairs: For hiring managers, you’re the voice for HR to your teams and you need to feel educated and ready to answer inevitable compensation questions that […]
- SEP 20S2 E3: We Have Trust Issues, But So Do You: Fostering Trust in HR, with Minda HartsPeople trust their next-door neighbor more than they trust their HR department—and that’s a massive problem.
- SEP 18Does your organization care about DEI?Did you read the headline and immediately think, nope? Well, buckle up because this might be just for you! But first, WTF has been going on lately? In the last year: It’s been alarming reading about the attack on DEI initiatives because we know that diversity and inclusion is good for business and your culture. […]
- SEP 13S2 E2: Jessica Zwaan on AI and Tech’s Equity EvolutionIn this week’s pod, Hebba sits down with Jessica Zwaan, COO of Whereby and the author of “Built for People,” to chat about AI’s potential impact on the structure of compensation and equity in the workspace and the evolving landscape of HR.
- SEP 12Do we hate it here less?I freaking hope so! Since day 1, I Hate it Here’s mission has been to inspire HR leaders to build workplace cultures that employees actually love. BTW: It’s also been about celebrating the amazing work HR leaders are doing and creating a safe space to just be yourself. This past year I’ve covered so many […]
- SEP 8you won't break my soul
- SEP 6S2 E1: Why Employers Fail to Understand the Needs of Working Parents, with Kim RohrerWait— we thought that parents just don’t understand. But as it turns out, workplaces don’t understand parents at all. So how can HR help to better support the working parent?
- SEP 4What are we celebrating on Labor Day?^^ Please shush. Labor Day is the annual celebration of workers and all that they achieved. An origin story… Setting: Late 1800s, height of the Industrial Revolution. The average American was working 12 hour days / 7 days a week. No thank you! Children as young as 5 were working in mills and working conditions […]
August 2023
- AUG 31Recruiting Woes and No’sQ: What are your thoughts on behavior tests as part of the recruitment process – DISC / StrengthsFinder? I think these kinds of assessments are better suited for employees after they are hired to bring awareness to their strengths and opportunities and how they can better work with folks.During the recruitment process, it may result in screening […]
- AUG 28How can HR leverage AI?I have to admit when AI started to take off late last year I had a lot of doubts. I was worried that AI would just amplify the bias that already exists (it does) and I couldn’t quite understand how my work would or could radically change. But with every passing day I hear about […]
- AUG 21Could AI transform HR?AI feels like it’s the ✨hottest ✨ topic right now. I haven’t gone a day without reading a new article about it or hearing about an AI that can “do that.” Is AI the new IT girl of tech? Seems like it! Need a new headshot? There’s AI for that Need a long document summarized? […]
- AUG 14Is HR the new PR?We out here doing damage control on the daily! You can call me the Olivia Pope of HR. Why? Because like PR, HR: While PR focuses on the external relationships, HR spends most of its time on the internal relationships. At the core of those internal relationships? Communication. Effective communication is crucial for HR’s ability […]
- AUG 7Does team culture really matter?Ever work somewhere where you loved your team culture but disliked the overall culture of the organization or vice versa? ♀️ You’re not alone. When team culture and company culture are aligned it can be a beautiful synergy of a unified and cohesive culture. Sounds ideal. But, if team and company culture are wildly […]
July 2023
- JUL 31Are your leaders sabotaging your company culture?Sometimes I struggle writing about culture because a lot of aspects of culture feel outside HR’s control. Like the fact we’re usually one of the later hires on an executive team or that most HR leaders are hired after there are already cultural issues. HR leaders end up walking into situations that are more complicated […]
- JUL 24Your unspoken values are hurting your culture.Once your company values are set and rolled out, employees should all know how to act right??? Maybe not. Every organization has unspoken values. Unspoken values are the values that don’t get written down. They are the behaviors that are learned through observations and experiences. “This is the way we do things here.” Chances are […]
- JUL 16Do company values actually matter?Did you know: there are about 50 different definitions of corporate culture in academic literature? Most of the definitions out there have something in common… Values. Values are often seen as the foundation of culture and the way to inform and guide employee behavior. Hot take: values can be a bunch of corporate jargon BS. […]
- JUL 12The moments that matter most…Thinking back to my school days I was most excited about the first day and the last day of school. Truthfully, everything in the middle has kind of become mush in my head. The same could be said about an employee’s experience. While, there can be quite a few key moments in an employee’s experience, […]
- JUL 9Company culture is complicated.There was a time where almost every organization was obsessing over their culture. Culture became this coveted prized possession. Companies tried to outdo each other with bold proclamations on websites, bright words splashed across office walls, unlimited PTO, ping pong tables, free lunches, nap pods and onsite masseuses anything to be described as having a […]
- JUL 3Summer slump or comeback of the year?^^if you know what this headline is referencing please reply. Hint: screaming into the void playlist. As a kid I looked forward to summer more than any other time. Summers were synonymous with trips to see my family in Egypt. I have about 25 first cousins and 6 of them were around my age. We […]
June 2023
- JUN 288: New Stand Special: Creating an Environment for ConnectionAlright— that’s it. We’re finally settling the debate of who wore it best: remote, hybrid, or in-person. Or uh… at the very least, we’re coming to some massively inconclusive conclusions about which work style reigns supreme.
- JUN 25Is there inequity in your workplace?If you also heard that GIF in Beyonce’s voice, welcome. Question: Do you have inequity in your workplace? I bet you answered yes. Why? Because achieving equity in every aspect of the workplace is an ongoing challenge for a lot of companies and is quite complex. Complex because there are societal issues that impact our […]
- JUN 218: New Stand Special: Why Employees Stay or Go at WorkWork sucks, I know. And since we can’t all make it to Blink 182’s show… How exactly do we cope with the uncertainty of an insanely competitive, wildly unstable job economy?
- JUN 18Is it time to rethink holiday policies at work?There was a moment in time where I wouldn’t tell any of my coworkers about the holidays I was celebrating. I would just quietly put in PTO and tell them I had a day off planned. It probably stemmed from feeling like an outlier growing up because I was one of the few kids in […]
- JUN 159: S1 E8: How to Build a Better CommunityLet’s face it— not everyone wants to be at work. So how do you build a better sense of community without feeling like you’re pulling out teeth?
- JUN 12What your employees want is changing…^live footage of me every time I get a work email… I want to talk about the longest relationship I’ve ever had. Spoiler alert: it’s not a romantic one. It’s my relationship with work! Did you know that the average person spends 90,000 hours at work OR about ⅓ of their life? That’s such a […]
- JUN 5Are you feeling uninspired at work?^ live footage of me some days. Have you ever felt like you’re in a rut at work? Where most days feel like you’re on autopilot, nothing feels exciting and the tasks seem endless. No, you’re not dead inside. You must just be uninspired. The last few years have been tough. I’m like a broken […]
May 2023
- MAY 28The HR AdvantageIn the last decade we’ve observed a shift in the boardroom. Gone are the days of HR being viewed as a “support function.” Now, HR leaders are being looked to as strategic partners. What a time to be alive! It’s like organizations woke up one day and realized their people were their most important asset. […]
- MAY 22Why is talking about unfair treatment in the workplace so tough?Talking about unfair treatment may be the hardest conversation to have in the workplace. Why? Well, there are a few things at play! Employees are navigating the following: That’s a lot of complicated things to navigate, especially in this current economic market where there is a heightened fear of losing a job. Enter managers. Many […]
- MAY 15Why do we dread giving critical feedback?Your palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy… It’s time to drop some critical feedback. Don’t lie to me, you’ve been there. I know I have! It might not matter how many times you’ve practiced giving critical feedback, it can still feel incredibly frightening to look someone in the eye and tell them they […]
- MAY 107: S1 E7: Managing Relationships At WorkOver 50% of all employees are stressed out at work. Could it have anything to do with the fact that in the same survey, 69% of managers said they felt uncomfortable actually managing them?
- MAY 8Why is talking about compensation so hard?Have you ever had an employee completely bypass their manager and come straight to HR to ask about a compensation adjustment? ♀️ I’ve been there more times than I can count. Most of the time it’s because the manager has fumbled the conversation and the employee decided to go directly to the source of all […]
- MAY 1What causes tensions at work?Does your workplace have any unresolved tensions? Not me trying to get you to spill the tea… Maybe there’s a recent conflict between two coworkers, a disagreement that has carried on for weeks, coworkers that try to avoid working together, or even two employees that don’t like each other. Its more common than you […]
April 2023
- APR 24Can a company really change its culture?Maybe but also maybe not. ♀️ Have you ever worked somewhere where you loved the people but hated the culture? Been there! At some point you probably thought or wished that the company culture could change. Real talk: it’s pretty hard to transform company cultures. Why? 1. People are resistant to change. This should be […]
- APR 17Why are founders so hard to work with?Last week I kicked off a series about the key to HR’s success. tl;dr: it’s all about navigating all the relationships HR manages and their competing expectations. This week I’m diving into the trickiest relationship of them all, the one between founders and their Chief People Officer/Head of HR. What makes this relationship so tricky? […]
- APR 10The key to HR’s success:One of the most difficult parts about working in HR is navigating all the different relationships and their competing expectations. It can feel impossible to make everyone happy because everyone has different priorities and expectations. From an HR team’s perspective, balancing all the competing expectations can sometimes be frustrating. Prime example: When a CEO demands […]
- APR 2Why does working in HR feel so lonely?Most people who meet me assume I went into HR because I am an extrovert who loves meeting and connecting with people. That’s somewhat true. I’ll let you guess which part isn’t true. What most people don’t realize is that working in HR is actually incredibly lonely. Why? Well, there are quite a few reasons: […]
March 2023
- MAR 26Best practices in the hybrid world.Over the last few weeks I’ve been diving into different aspects of the hybrid world and how to tackle the challenges we’re facing. To recap: some companies are demanding a return to the office because hybrid work can be harder, puts more power into the hands of employees and makes expensive offices less useful. Despite […]
- MAR 226: S1 E6: WTF Is Going On In The Talent World?The job market and talent world feels way too confusing right now, so what’s going on?
- MAR 20Hybrid work helps foster inclusion. In the Summer of 2020 we saw corporate America jump into action with commitments, dollars and initiatives for how they would be addressing systemic racism. Bold statements about the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion were made. Companies seemed accountable more than ever for creating inclusive workplaces where everyone could thrive. But, was it all […]
- MAR 13Do your employees feel invisible in the hybrid world?Have you ever heard that phrase, “Out of mind, out of sight?” Other than being a great Buffy episode, it’s a common phrase that describes how a lot of employees feel in the hybrid world. Invisible. And while hybrid work has many amazing benefits like flexibility we need to be mindful of a potential downside: […]
- MAR 85: S1 E5: The Feedback And Wellbeing ConnectionHow can you give (and receive) feedback in a way that puts wellbeing firmly at the center?
- MAR 6Why is managing in the hybrid world so hard?Historically, corporate America’s approach to management has been: But, when the world went remote the issues with this approach were put on full display… It is a struggle managing in our current environment with low engagement/declining productivity, inflation and wage issues, and general employee anxiety about layoffs and this economy. Not to mention actual work […]
February 2023
- FEB 27Why are companies demanding a return to the office?The state of hybrid work right now is… interesting. Some companies are demanding a return while others are staying flexible. But there’s one thing we can’t deny… Employees want and need flexibility. Hybrid work has been shown to: Despite those benefits, companies are still mandating minimum days in the office. Cough Amazon Cough. So, why […]
- FEB 20Laws Every HR Person Should Know AboutThe Civil Rights Act of 1964 Introduced by: President John F. Kennedy Passed by: Lyndon Johnson Year: 1964 The situation: President John F Kennedy introduced the bill in 1963 but when the bill reached the Senate it was opposed by a filibuster. After President Kennedy was assassinated President Johnson pushed the bill forward. BTW: the […]
- FEB 154: S1 Ep4: How To Manage Employee Stress And WellbeingHow do you manage the wellbeing of employees when everyone seems stressed?
- FEB 12WTF is going on in this labor market?Are you also confused about what’s going on in the market? You’re not alone! I’ve been watching the layoff news closely and it seems like not a day goes by without another company announcing a reduction of employees. On the flip side I see so many jobs posted and I hear directly from talent acquisition […]
- FEB 83: S1 Ep3: What We Get Wrong About Parental LeaveWhat are companies getting wrong about parental leave? Well, quite a few things actually!
- FEB 6What we get wrong about parental leave:The biggest thing I’ve seen companies get wrong about parental leave? They center the policies around birthing mothers. While there is no doubt that being a working mother has its difficulties (dove into that last week) focusing parental leave policies on one experience is inequitable. Not to mention, our concept of what is considered a […]
- FEB 12: S1 Ep2: Do Your Employees Feel Like They Belong?When your team is fully remote, can you really create a sense of community?
January 2023
- JAN 30Does your workplace support working moms?I’ll let you in on a very personal secret of mine: I’m afraid of someday becoming a mom. Not only does the responsibility of caring for a human scare me but I also worry about my career. Am I alone in that worry? I don’t think so. The stats around working moms and their career […]
- JAN 23You can’t ignore mental health at work.The first panic attack I had was because of work. I remember being so scared and not understanding what was going on. I had never felt this way before but something had been building for months. The pressure of the job, the unrealistic demands from my boss and the lack of support from the HR […]
- JAN 181: S1 Ep1 : Why You Should Care About Employee WellbeingThe poles have never been further apart when it comes to employer vs employee expectations. Can HR help fix the problem?
- JAN 16Do your employees trust their HR team?Did you know that 78% of employees trust their employer? If your reaction to that stat was no effing way… same. I find it hard to believe that the average employee trusts their employer. ♀️ Every time I post something on Twitter there’s always someone who jumps in with the “HR IS NOT YOUR FRIEND.” […]
- JAN 11I Hate It Here – Season 1 TrailerIf HR is one of the most soul-crushing industries to work in, how come we’re not talking about it more?
- JAN 9Could a 4-day workweek ever be the norm?Do you know why we have a standard 5-day workweek? You can thank the Industrial Revolution for that! The concept of the 40 hour workweek was born in the 19th century. Yeah, in TWO centuries our workweek hasn’t evolved. Despite the following: So… why haven’t we had our own workplace revolution? Because corporate America has […]
- JAN 3The proactive vs reactive HR teamI wish I had a crystal ball to tell me what to anticipate for this next year. Everyone has their predictions but if the last 3 years in HR have taught us anything it is to expect the unexpected. While every day can feel like a fresh and unique challenge, that does make our job […]
December 2022
- DEC 195 gifts your HR team really wantsGift 1: The ability to not give AF If I could bottle something up and give it to every HR/People person it would be the ability to not give AF. You could spray it on yourself like perfume in moments where you feel yourself caring toooooo much. So for me, anywhere from 1 – 50 […]
- DEC 12You’re in meeting denial.It’s time for an intervention. Ding! A new notification comes in that invites me to a new meeting. Dread fills my stomach about hitting accept. I hover over the decline button for a brief moment. Do I dare? I give in and click accept. I’m weak. As a remote employee, meetings are a way for […]
- DEC 53 initiatives HR/People teams must focus on in 2023:We’re less than a month out from a new year, and some uncertainty is on the horizon. This year has been tumultuous with companies pivoting their strategy, decreasing headcount and freezing hiring. From our conversation at HR Therapy LIVE, one clear theme is emerging for 2023: retention. How can companies retain their top talent and […]
November 2022
- NOV 28Challenging the status quo at work?Last week I dove into the topic of psychological safety and how to build a culture where employees feel comfortable enough to speak up with ideas, concerns or even to admit mistakes. Of the 4 stages of psychological safety, the stage I feel isn’t discussed enough is the challenger safety stage. Challenger safety is about […]
- NOV 21Employees don’t feel psychologically safe at work and it stifles innovation.Have you ever feared admitting that you made a mistake? Or tensed up so hard when you saw a certain name pop up in your notifications? How about constantly feeling on edge during the entire workday and doubting yourself? I remember the sinking feeling I would have before 1:1s with a certain manager I had. […]
- NOV 13The secret ingredient to engagement:So many companies claim to have amazing cultures and will tout some things they do to ensure their employees are engaged. Like a great recipe, some ingredients are kept a secret. But we don’t keep secrets here! The ingredient you’re missing to build an engaged workforce? Fostering an environment that embraces and supports the growth […]
- NOV 7Bad feedback kills engagement. Here’s how to do it better.I have a secret to share. I am addicted to self improvement. There I said it! I always want to know what I’m doing well and what I could improve. Feedback is my drug of choice. But… I haven’t worked in many places where I get regular, actionable feedback. I don’t think many folks have. […]
October 2022
- OCT 31is anyone a good manager?
- OCT 24your onboarding is costing you
- OCT 17your employees aren't engaged
- OCT 10Everyone hates their f**king jobs, right?It sure feels like the average person hates their job. I mean this newsletter is called “I Hate it Here” for a reason… We’ve been in a pandemic for over two years and, throughout that time, employee engagement decreased for the first time in over a decade. Are you surprised? I’m not! We haven’t quite […]
- OCT 3What the f*ck is happening with layoffs?They’re scary, really confusing and sometimes poorly executed. It seems everywhere I turn I’m seeing posts about layoffs. I’ll never forget the Better layoffs disaster or the crying CEO moment. Companies that seemed impervious to layoffs, like Netflix, Snap, Twilio and most recently Docusign, are suddenly cutting hundreds of employees. And those that aren’t publicly […]
September 2022
- SEP 26Performance reviews don’t actually assess your performance.Two dreaded words have the power to ruin employees and People team’s day: performance reviews. GAH I tense up writing those words. I’ve never met a People team that enjoys performance reviews. If you do, drop me a line please! Reviews are easy to deploy thanks to great softwares but a freakin’ pain in the […]
- SEP 19The office isn’t inclusive.What do I mean? I’ll never forget the summer of 2020. The first summer of the pandemic, the rise of remote work and corporate America FINALLY addressing systemic racism. The murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor inspired nationwide protests and a demand for accountability. Call me naive, but it felt like things were changing […]
- SEP 11New Era of Pay Transparency is HereWhat’s happening? For far too long pay has been a mystery for employees and jobseekers and it’s by design. But, certain states are passing laws challenging everything we know. With a distributed workforce and remote hiring, People teams need to be aware of laws that could impact their hiring efforts in certain states. Here’s what […]
