Hiiii, 

I’m back from Chicago and I’m STILL buzzing from The Safe Space Summit. In fact, I'll be riding this high for a while. More to come on what went down in the room, I’m eager to share some deets! 

As for other things I'm eager for… 

📺 Next month’s HR Therapy is a masterclass in navigating HR tech demos. Ever seen a tool and thought, that’s too good to be true? You’re not alone. I’m dropping deets on the most important questions to ask, how to figure out what’s real and what’s hype, and how to get the clarity you need on your tools. Basically, it’s everything I learned the hard way that I wished someone had taught me! Bring your friends, fam and anyone who has ever sat through and HR tech demo.  

🎧 THE POD IS BACK!!! I’ve missed being in your ears and on your mind. This season is all about the things that impact who we are at work. And today’s episode is one that is incredibly special to me because it’s about the cost of motherhood. Here’s to the moms of the world - the true superheroes. This episode is dedicated to you!! The fab Erin Grau joins me and we talk about the cost of motherhood, what workplaces can do to support motherhood and what HR needs to know. 

Now, onto today!!! 

While Halloween is Friday, I’m sharing the spookiest HR horror stories I collected this year!! One of my fave traditions!

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SPECIAL EDITION 

HR Horror Stories Vol. 3Copy anchor linkCopied

Every October, we gather around the campfire, the Slack channel, the group chat, or the happy hour vent session to share the stories that send chills down every HR person’s spine… 

The stories that make you whisper, “please, never again.” 

From cursed open enrollments to ghost employees who refuse to leave, from witchcraft on the production floor to candidates confessing murder mid-interview, these are the moments that remind us HR is so very strong. 

So grab your flashlight (and maybe your employee handbook). 

🔥 The fire’s crackling, the stories are unforgettable and your jaw is about to meet the floor. 

Shared by the brave souls who read this newsletter and still proceed to do this job. 

Submitted for the approval of The Hater Society… I call this collection, HR Horror Stories: Vol. 3.

The Tale of the Cursed Enrollment:Copy anchor linkCopied

During open enrollment, our small fully remote team decided to switch insurance carriers through our HRIS (which shall not be named). 

Days before the switch, we learned the HRIS had given us an incorrect quote because the carrier doesn’t actually serve California-based organizations like ours. 

We had to redo open enrollment from scratch, causing our entire staff’s coverage to lapse. I even broke my foot on the first day of the renewal and had to ask my provider to delay billing me. Others paid out of pocket for appointments. 

What followed were endless hours of calls with both the HRIS and the carrier, with little help or accountability from either. 

By the time coverage was restored, the real horror wasn’t just the lapse, it was realizing that when the systems fail, HR stands alone trying to hold it all together.

The Tale of the Office Creep:Copy anchor linkCopied

I was the new girl at work when this coworker in another department gave me the ick. 

He once told me I had the voice of a woman and the body of a child. 

Multiple Skype messages started with "I know you think I'm creepy but...". I told him I didn't like those comments but didn't tell my manager at the time. 

I would walk past his department and he would try to show off his butt while sitting on his exercise ball at his desk. 

Lo and behold a few months later he was let go for poor performance. He had to deflate his exercise ball before carrying it down with all of his stuff.

Turns out he was unprofessional with multiple women who came forward once he left.

The Tale of the Mind Control Machine:Copy anchor linkCopied

I worked for a global manufacturing company from 2019 to 2023. In 2021, I was stationed at a small facility in the middle of nowhere Iowa. 

To set up this story, I need to share that it was a recruiting desert. We literally could not hire anyone there.

So we were taking chances on employees that we might not normally hire. We also brought in a weekend work force that only worked weekends. 

So one Sunday, I got a call from the hourly lead on the weekend crew that he had a workplace violence issue between two employees. One employee had shoved another employee, but that's not the weird thing… 

The weird thing was one employee accused the other employee of using witchcraft and mind control to cause a piece of equipment to injure him. He was dead serious. He thought this other employee, who was across the production floor, used mind control on a piece of equipment to cause a hose to smack the other employee in the face. He responded to this equipment malfunction by running over and shoving the other employee. 

Having to text my division HR manager at 2 pm on a Sunday that I had a workplace violence incident that involved witchcraft and mind control was a highlight and lowlight on my career. We of course fired him. 

He then somehow managed to snag my personal cell number and text me two weeks later begging for his job back, promising that he wouldn't do anymore workplace violence. 

Actual words used. Anyways, Happy Spooky Season!

The Tale of the Interview Confession:Copy anchor linkCopied

Long ago, I worked for a distribution company and we held a job fair for prospective warehouse candidates. 

Our product had a high resale value so employee theft was a big concern. Our application asked about previous felonies. 

One candidate marked "will explain in interview". 

When I asked him about his response, he said "I was convicted of murder. I murdered my wife and her lover..... and I would do it again." 

Very unsettling response with his lack of remorse. Until then he seemed like a viable candidate.

The Tale of the Forgotten Termination:Copy anchor linkCopied

We had hired someone to be our receptionist. It wasn't working out and after two months we decided to let her go. 

She came back the next morning and I noticed her sitting at the reception desk after a meeting. I asked her curiously what was going on and she replied that we had a delivery and that her day was starting out smoothly. 

Internally, I am questioning if it's possible that she erased the memory of us terminating her employment. I was concerned for her mental state being that she was acting as if everything was totally normal. 

Creeped out -- I notified my supervisor and brought her in to sit in on my second conversation with the terminated employee to discuss their termination. 

The terminated employee ultimately opened up and shared that she had hoped we would have forgotten about the termination and let her stay on. 

It was a bizarre way to go about trying to keep their job.

Next week:Copy anchor linkCopied

Want more stories?? Next week on the pod, I read more juicy and honestly terrifying stories. Don’t worry, I’ll share the link. 

As for next week, if you missed The Safe Space Summit and want to know what was talked about in the room…. You’re in luck!!!

I’m recapping the biggest takeaways. 

See ya then!

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(HUMAN) RESOURCES

• More tariffs drama unfolded 
• Pinterest’s reemergence with Gen Z
• Boeing strike continues 
• Resisting the workplace emergency mentality 

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WORK-LIFE BALANCE

• 📚 What I’m reading: If Not For My Baby by Kate Golden. If you want to read a Hozier fanfic this book is for you. I could not stop imagining Hozier the entire time I was reading this. The protagonist ends up on tour with an artist to do his backing vocals after her friend backs out of the tour. There’s chemistry, music, accents and so much more. You’ll know what I mean when you read it. 
• 📺 What I’m watching: Halloweentown. I like to alternate between downright scary movies to childhood classics. I loved Halloweentown and if you need me I'll be scoping out what comes next in my Halloween inspired movie binge. 
• 👋 What I’m obsessing over: hand lotion. A good friend gifted me some nice hand lotion recently and it made me think about how to prepare for winter. I’M NOT READY and I know it. So, what are we doing to keep our hands from cracking? 

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SONG OF THE WEEK

🎧 Losing You, SolangeCopy anchor linkCopied

GO LISTEN TO THIS SONG AND HAVE A GREAT DAY. 

It puts me in such a good mood!!!!

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That's all for this week! I hope you enjoyed this, please let me know what you think and what other topics you'd love for me to cover. I'm allll ears.

Reminder: Take care of yourself and know that I support you.