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TOTAL REWARDS

I see your RTO and raise you $10K

Anna Kim

More companies are calling employees back into the office five days a week, but workers aren’t convinced full-time RTO is the right move, numerous studies suggest.

Some employees would rather lose a romantic partner or get a divorce than return-to-office five days a week, one LiveCareer survey found. Other surveys show remote work ranks high on the list of benefits workers receive from a job; in some cases they’d even take a pay cut to keep it.

Even so, large employers like Amazon, JPMorgan, and AT&T are forging ahead with full-time RTO plans. One smaller firm, Cameo, is betting that workers will comply with a four-day-a-week policy, thanks to a raise.

“Elegant solution” to the RTO problem. Cameo, a platform where customers pay for personalized videos from celebrities, had not had a formal RTO policy since its employees began working from home five years ago due to the Covid-19 pandemic, CEO Steven Galanis told HR Brew. But upon realizing its sales team was more efficient working from the office, it started to reconsider its approach to fully remote work.

For more on Cameo’s new RTO policy, keep reading here.—CV

Presented By UKG

Serve up some delish data

Want the recipe for creating a better workplace for employees? Don’t forget to add a dash of data. HR leaders who have access to the freshest (aka most relevant) data can make informed, strategic decisions.

Join UKG on April 23 for the Data Makes the Difference virtual webinar. Speaker Diana Valler of TravelBrands and UKG’s Radhi Chagarlamudi will discuss how HR leaders can use data to become better leaders + build trust with employees.

Here’s a sneak peek at the menu. Learn how data can:

Help HR identify patterns and improve employee retention.
Provide insights and automate tasks.
Tailor programs to boost engagement and productivity.
Align strategies with business goals.

Earn one professional development credit toward SHRM and HRCI recertification when you attend. Save your spot.

HR STRATEGY

Coworking with Rocki Howard

Rocki Howard

“Strategy” has been a big HR buzzword over the last few years. (We even have a section of our website dedicated to the topic.) But is it possible to be too strategic?

If you ask Rocki Howard, chief people and equity officer at Textio, HR heads at small and midsize businesses must find the right balance between being strategic and involved in operations.

“You can’t be too strategic and lean only on those skills, and you can’t be too operational, and lean only on those skills,” she told HR Brew. “There has to be a balance to get the outcomes that you need for people and for the business.”

Howard, who stepped into her role in February, after serving as a senior HR advisor, is excited about several initiatives, including ensuring Textio’s people and DEI strategy is aligned with business imperatives, in part by hosting one-on-one meetings with the company’s roughly 65 employees. This has required her to balance strategy and operations.

For more on how Howard balances strategy and operations, keep reading here.—PM

TECH

Staff, infected

Black woman using computer to work as nurse in the private clinic.

Anchiy/Getty Images

A database containing thousands of healthcare related records was left open to the internet, a researcher found.

Staffing agency app ESHYFT, which provides professionals with a mobile platform on which to connect to long-term care centers for per diem work, had a 108.8 GB, 86,341 record database publicly exposed and free of password protection for an unknown amount of time before Cybersecurity Researcher Jeremiah Fowler discovered it.

Red alert. Fowler, reporting on the breach on Website Planet, said that he alerted ESHYFT of the breach and that it was closed “over a month later.” Fowler added that he did not download any of the data and that there was no sign that anyone had accessed the information.

Travel time. ESHYFT is available in 27 states. While the demand for traveling nursing is no longer at the peak it was during the pandemic, the traveling nursing market dropped 40% in 2023 from 2022. Akin Demehin, the American Hospital Association’s senior director of quality and patient safety policy, noted last year that full-time work is becoming more of a priority to healthcare centers.

For more on the implications of the data exposure, keep reading on IT Brew.—EH

Together With Noom

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WORK PERKS

A desktop computer plugged into a green couch.

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: Some 78% of Gen Zers want employers to offer menstrual leave. (EduBirdie)

Quote: “We’re seeing a meaningful transition in the way work is done in the white-collar world. I tell people a wave is coming.” —Carl Tannenbaum, Northern Trust chief economist, on why AI technology and new political pressure from the Trump administration may lead to a decline in the role of the knowledge worker (the New York Times)

Read: The Supreme Court is set to examine if Wisconsin’s law requiring taxation on all employers to fund unemployment benefits should exempt the Catholic Charities; a win could mean new avenues for some organizations to skirt workplace laws. (Vox)

Let productivity bloom: Help your team blossom with a data-driven strategy. Learn how HR leaders can use data to inspire their teams + boost productivity during UKG’s webinar on April 23. RSVP here.*

^{*A message from our sponsor.}

WEBINAR

Cyber safety, no excuses

Morning Brew

Cyberthreats are evolving, and employees—and their families—are more vulnerable than ever. With AI-driven scams and data breaches on the rise, identity protection is now a must-have benefit. HR leaders play a key role in securing both company data and employee well-being. Join us on April 9 to learn how addressing these challenges is crucial for overall security.

Quarter Century Project

Amelia Kinsinger

From LinkedIn’s launch (2003) to the rise of #MeToo (2017) and HR’s pivotal role during COVID-19, the past 25 years have reshaped the workplace. This quarter-century project explores the defining moments that transformed HR from paper-pushers to strategic leaders. Discover how the past informs the future of work.

Check it out

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