HR Brew // Morning Brew // Update

January 28, 2026

Greetings, friends! Assigned seating is here…on Southwest flights, that is. The storied budget airline known for its open seating strategy began assigning seats to its passengers this week, saving the best ones for the travelers with deeper pockets and fatter wallets.

Rest in peace to setting “Southwest” or “Check in” alarms on our phones to remind us to quickly lock in a slot in boarding group A, or B 1–30…because heaven forbid getting anything after that.

In today’s edition:

What’s next?

Coworking

ROI of AI

—Courtney Vinopal, Adam DeRose, Courtney Vien

TOTAL REWARDS

Spending down

Morning Brew Design, Photo: Adobe Stock

Since defined contribution plans like 401(k)s became the dominant type of employer-sponsored retirement benefit in the US in the mid-1990s, many HR teams have focused on helping their workers save enough money to retire one day.

These efforts have paid off, at least according to data from one major retirement plan provider, Vanguard.

“We’re at the point now, where, through the very good work of the HR community…that the accumulation phase for (401)k saving is very much on the path to success,” David Stinnett, head of strategic retirement consulting for Vanguard, told HR Brew. A majority (85%) of employees with access to Vanguard retirement plans were participating in them as of 2024, Stinnett said, up four percentage points from 2015. Additionally, plan participants were saving at an average rate of 12%.

Now that more workers are saving adequately for retirement, plan sponsors are turning their attention to what happens after employees stop working, Stinnett said.

For more on how HR is helping plan income after retirement, keep reading here.—CV

Presented By Deel

Leading the charge

The expectations for HR leaders are changing fast. AI is moving from experimentation to execution, workforce models are becoming more fluid and global, and the people function is increasingly being asked to help steer business strategy—not just support it.

To help HR leaders make sense of what’s next, Deel created HR Trends for 2026. This report explores the forces reshaping HR, from agentic AI and ethical governance responsibilities to skills-based workforce models, leadership resilience, and global talent complexity.

Inside you’ll learn:

how AI is changing how humans and machines collaborate
how leaders can build adaptability + resilience
why managing fairness, compliance, + trust is a core HR responsibility in an AI-powered workplace

Ready to future-proof your 2026 people strategy? Get your copy of the report.

HR STRATEGY

Madame (deputy) secretary

Credit: Reid Walsh

Reid Walsh tells her HR team at NEOGOV, where she serves as its CHRO, to focus on impact. Walsh told HR Brew she has been “maniacally focused” on it since she joined the cloud-based HCM and hiring platform designed specifically for the public sector back in 2023.

It’s not about just identifying the people work that needs to get done. Walsh wants her teams focusing on the interventions and programs that will deliver the most impact for employees and thus the business.

It’s “being aware enough and involved enough, and honestly, having the superpower of intuition and impact to be able to address things when you could do everything,” she said.

Arriving three years ago amid rapid growth, a major acquisition, and a remote-work reset that transitioned away from a central office in LA, Walsh focused first on stabilizing a culture in flux, and set core operations (SOPs, payroll, hiring) that would deliver the most impact for the business.

TECH

One step forward, two steps back

Pm Images/Getty Images

With so many CEOs doubling down on AI initiatives, AI is poised for a consequential year in 2026. So consequential, in fact, that half of CEOs, according to the Boston Consulting Group’s January 2026 AI Radar survey, believe that their jobs are dependend on “getting AI right.”

But studies provide conflicting data about the ROI of AI.

A December 2025 EY pulse survey of 500 business leaders, for instance, found that 96% of organizations have seen productivity gains from AI, with more than half of respondents (57%) describing the gains as “significant.” But more than half of the 4,454 global CEOs in a survey fielded by PwC in fall 2025 said that AI hasn’t either lowered costs or increased revenues.

One method of tracking AI’s impact on productivity is in terms of time savings.

For more on how to measure the ROI of AI, keep reading on CFO Brew.—CV

Together With Collective Health

Build bolder benefits. That is the MO of Together with Collective Health. This is a three-day event (March 4–6) dedicated to expanding your knowledge, network, and perspective. Join in as their speakers share the latest insights in healthcare policy, clinical AI, direct contracting, health plan transparency, and more. Register for your free spot here.

WORK PERKS

A desktop computer plugged into a green couch.

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: Only 1% of company leaders would call their AI deployments “mature,” with systems that are integrated into the flow of work and delivering actual business value. (McKinsey & Company)

Quote: “Investment has been primarily on the technology and not so much on the people. That needs to shift.”—Elizabeth Faber, Deloitte’s global chief people and purpose officer, on HR and businesses approaching training and career development for employees on using AI to best reap the benefits of the technology (Business Insider)

Read: “New blue collar” jobs, those at the intersection of the digital world and the material one combining both “hands-on” work and prowess using AI and digital tools, are emerging as the key players in the onset of the AI transformation, building and maintaining the infrastructure needed to do business in a digital era. (Fortune)

HR’s new chapter: HR is changing fast. Deel’s HR Trends for 2026 covers AI, workforce shifts, resilience, and skills, plus a practical toolkit to help people leaders move from operations to strategy. Read it here.*

^{*A message from our sponsor.}

When employees feel stuck

Business woman trying to walk with red bands holding her back.

Nuthawut Somsuk/Getty Images

Burnout and fatigue are on the rise as workers feel stalled in their careers amid a slower job market. Here's why feeling “stuck” is dragging down morale, what HR teams can do to offer growth without promotions, and how transparency and skill-building can help employees push through the pause.

Check it out

EVENT

Beyond busy

Morning Brew Inc.

Everyone has a feeling about productivity. Sam Naficy, CEO of Prodoscore, has the data. Learn how people analytics can separate real performance from calendar noise and help leaders make smarter decisions without turning work into surveillance theater. Grab a ticket now to our first HR Brew Summit.

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Written by Courtney Vinopal, Adam DeRose, and Courtney Vien

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