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Hiiii,

I’m fresh off of PTO, but don’t get it twisted…I’m still as excited for the weekend as any other week! 💅

It’s Wednesday, which means it's time to gossip about the things happening in the workplace.

This week is basically a case study in what happens when orgs move fast and forget their people exist. 

We're covering Gen Z's rebellion against AI, a data point about gender and wages that is way too familiar, and a conversation about whether authenticity at work is even realistic. 

Never a dull moment, right????

Let’s get into it!

✨ Don't forget: You can always vent, celebrate a win, or find support in Safe Space

✨ Don't forget: You can always vent, celebrate a win, or find support in Safe Space

Was this email forwarded to you?

☕ Gen Z workers are so fearful AI will take their job they’re intentionally sabotaging their company’s AI rollout

The TL;DR: 29% of employees admit to sabotaging their company's AI rollout, and among Gen Z, that number jumps to 44%! The irony is that orgs are saying that workers who refuse to adopt AI are actually more likely to get laid off, not less.

My POV: I couldn't decide how I felt about this article because at first it felt like yet another salacious headline about work. And truthfully, it brought up some of my strong feelings about how bothered I am about how generations are typecast in the workplace. I'll never get over the millennials and the avocado toast moment... 

But the data IS painting a picture that Gen Z is distrustful of AI, and I don't blame them! When employees actively work against a company initiative, it shows a massive trust and communication gap. 

So to fix this... we have to be SUPER clear in what AI means to our company and how it could impact things like work, structure, and the future. You have to bring the employees along for the ride. 

On the mic this week: Sarah Reynolds is a creative marketing executive with deep experience across product marketing and brand strategy. They bring a people-first lens to everything they do, blending ethics into modern marketing leadership. As a non-binary leader and advocate for pay equity and inclusive language, Sarah is known for calling out broken systems and pushing for better ones.

Pin this: 

• Authenticity at work isn’t always realistic, so most people are showing up as a chosen version of themselves.
• Power dynamics matter a lot, and they shape how we judge behavior and assign blame.
• CEOs behaving badly often becomes an entire a brand problem, rather than a leadership problem.
• Crisis management only works if leaders are actually willing to take accountability…and a lot of them just aren’t.

My H*ly Sh*t Moment: A lot of orgs may have a leadership accountability problem, but don’t forget the system that keeps rewarding bad behavior as long as the numbers look good too!

▶️ Press Play

Stat: More than half of adults say men have a better chance at securing competitive wages

My spiral: Unfortunately, this did not surprise me... when 30% of employed women have personally experienced wage discrimination compared to 10% of men, there's clearly an issue. 

So perception is um clearly reality?

How to combat this in your org: audit your pay practices!!! Every year!!! Look at how are decisions being made about pay. A documented philosophy, job architecture, and leveling guide are excellent places to start to ensure you are paying fairly regardless of gender.

At this point, you've probably sat through enough AI panels to last a lifetime, and somehow still don't have a single clear answer on what you should actually be doing differently! 🙃

So I'm hosting an HR Therapy on April 22nd called We're Sick of Talking About AI Too… because I actually went out and collected real data on where HR stands with AI right now.

I’ll let you in on a little secret: it's not where the thought leaders would have you believe.

We’ll discuss exactly what's working, what's failing, and why a surprising number of HR folks are using AI in secret (and what that says about trust in your org).

Come find out what’s worth your time!

🗣️ UNMUTE YOURSELF

You know what I've realized? 

Literally some of the BEST work we do is invisible sometimes!

It could be the retention you secretly saved or the culture shift nobody had a meeting about.

So think about this:

“What's a People strategy you're proud of that no one else noticed?”

🛠️ TRY THIS TOMORROW:

Is it just me, or are we notoriously bad at asking for help?? 

Honestly, a little ironic, given that our whole job is to create space for other people to do exactly that!

So here's your one thing to try tomorrow:

“Tell someone what you're struggling with this week. Normalize not having it together.”

👂 OVERHEARD IN SAFE SPACE

Sooo you're telling me the second HR becomes a revenue driver instead of a cost center, suddenly everyone wants to invest in their people? Truly groundbreaking.

Read what members had to say here.

See ya on Friday!

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