August 17, 2026

Presented By

It is Monday! HR pros, families across the US are preparing for the annual return of yellow school buses, relentless runny noses, and homework. It’s back-to-school season! The smell of a new Trapper Keeper, No. 2 pencils, and superhero lunch box can be pure bliss for a young pupil…and many grown adults (🫣).

What would you include in your fall “back-to-office” reset list?

In today’s edition:

🤖 Arrested adoption

🌎 World of HR

📖 Wise words

—Paige McLaughlin, Kristen Parisi, Mikaela Cohen

hr strategy

AI-cautious

J Studios/Getty Images

Dear CEOs: Have you asked your CHRO for their opinion on your organization’s AI transformation lately? It might surprise you.

CHROs are less optimistic about the AI readiness of their organization and workforce than any other C-suite executive, a recently published survey of more than 800 global executives by management consultancy Protiviti found.

Just 13% of CHROs surveyed strongly agreed that their organization’s jobs are ready for an AI redesign, compared to 28% of all C-suite execs, and 88% of IT leaders (the most optimistic respondents.) Similarly, only 14% of CHROs agreed that their org’s learning capabilities were AI-ready, vs. 36% of the C-suite and 96% of IT leaders.

For more on where HR leaders are lagging amid the AI transformation, keep reading here.—CV

Sponsored By Ashby

Live from London

Don’t miss Ashby’s keynote in London on Sept. 9. No need to pack your bags or hop on a plane—it’s all streaming live at 9:15am BST.

Tune in to get the first peek at Ashby’s new product updates and get demos of the latest features. Plus, you’ll get the scoop on how TA teams are shifting from experimenting with AI to fully integrating and adopting it in their daily ops.

EMEA attendees, this one’s for you: Learn how Ashby is investing in the EMEA TA community, distributed teams, and focusing on regional compliance complexity.

Save your spot.

hr strategy

World of HR

a globe with symbols of office life floating above

Morning Brew

What happens in an office after the lights are turned off and everyone goes home is often a mystery, and typically a boring one (at least until you can’t find your favorite three-hole-punch in the morning). But some companies are trying to put its unused office space to good use at night, offering it up as a safe haven for an unhoused person to sleep or study in.

In 2019, a group of 15 business leaders created Bureaux du Cœuer (Offices of the Heart) in France to help some of the country’s more than 330,000 unhoused people have a place to stay. The founders claim that most office spaces are unoccupied 70% of the time (think nights, weekends, holidays).

The program prioritizes students, domestic violence survivors, and vulnerable populations trying to obtain stable employment. Companies take in one person at a time, and provide a stable temporary housing solution for people who are close on a pathway to a stable life, according to the organization’s website.

For more about this French program putting office space to good use after hours, keep reading here.—KP

Sponsored By Wellhub

Bot burnout? Thanks to AI, productivity is up. That’s great news, until you realize livin’ life in the fast lane requires intentional recovery. Wellhub’s upcoming seminar on Aug. 20 will explain how your team can build workplace systems that prevent burnout, protect focus, and keep your people performing at their best. Save your seat here.

career development

Hope is in the air

Two hands holding on opened book with text highlighted

Emily Parsons

Hope is in the air.

So far this year, several authors have shared with HR Brew some lessons for people pros navigating the choppy waters that are the modern workplace.

Here, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite takeaways.

Employees need coaches. “It’s your responsibility to set up a one-on-one with each employee, either at the office, or by phone, or by Zoom, where you can really continue to build this relationship. And, it’s not just about giving feedback. It’s about asking, ‘How do I help you do your job better?’ When you think about what a coach is, the earliest definition of a coach is a vehicle or vessel that takes people or goods from one place to another, and so our job as a coach is to take people from the place where they are to where they want to be in their careers.”—Lois Frankel, author of Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office: Unconscious Mistakes Women Make that Sabotage their Careers

For more lessons and insights from our book club, keep reading here.—MC

Sponsored By Quantum Health

Beyond the cost curve. If healthcare costs keep rising, where should employers look next? Quantum Health joins HR Brew to discuss why some employers are looking beyond the cost curve and focusing on the decisions that drive it. If you’re an HR, benefits, or total rewards leader, check it out.

Level up your career with these resources from our sponsors!

Haunting the job boards: How New York is fighting ghost jobs

From side hustle to scale, Founder Brew covers the moments that define founders

work perks

A desktop computer plugged into a green couch.

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: 54%. That’s the percentage of surveyed jobseekers who believe finding a new job in the next six months “will be difficult.” (Stagwell Global)

Quote: “When a hiring manager says they want personality, what they want to know is, in the moment when we need it, will this person ask a useful question?...Can they read a room? Can they receive feedback?”—Henna Pryor, workplace performance expert, on the rise of personality hires in the age of AI (MarketWatch)

Read: The Department of Justice said it is escalating investigations into alleged hiring bias of US workers, especially at tech firms. (Bloomberg Law)

events

Show your work

A Promo card for the HR Brew live and virtual event about Total Rewards on September 17, 2026

Morning Brew Inc.

Cost, care, and culture don’t naturally balance—someone has to do the math. The Total Rewards Equation brings HR and benefits leaders together on Sept. 17 to work through the real trade-offs, live in New York or on the livestream. Register now.

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Written by Paige McGlauflin, Kristen Parisi, and Mikaela Cohen

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