As Twitter rapidly cut its office space, it tried to turn its office decor into memorabilia, auctioning off a neon bird for a cool $17,000, an espresso machine that retails for $10,000, and high-end rocking chairs earlier this month.

But closing an office involves more than offloading furniture and kitchen appliances; it’s a logistical process, involving HR leaders and their colleagues in IT, real estate, and executive leadership.

As US companies double down on remote and hybrid work, with 52% planning to reduce their office space within the next three years according to data from commercial real estate firm CBRE, sources told HR Brew that people leaders will have to keep their employees informed along the way—even when it comes to how they’re taking out the trash.

Where does the stuff go? Closing an office isn’t like cleaning out your parents’ basement, but it can feel just as daunting for those in charge of the process. Getting rid of office supplies is more complicated than listing random items on Facebook Marketplace and hoping someone makes an offer. And it’s not just furniture, either—everything from desks to Post-its needs to go somewhere.

Offices account for around 35–45% of the millions of tons of municipal solid waste (MSW)  that ends up in landfill each year, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. However, businesses like Reseat, Anew, and Green Standards offer companies an alternative.

Trevor Langdon, the CEO of Green Standards, a company that helps companies ethically offload their office furniture, told HR Brew that companies are rethinking the way they downsize as they consider how their business decisions impact the environment—and their employees become more cognizant of their environmental practices. Instead of just sending everything to landfill, Langdon said companies like his help businesses donate and resell their unwanted materials to local organizations.

Read more here.—KP

Think of the most cringeworthy follow-up you’ve received from a job applicant. How bad does it make you squirm? Now, imagine the follow-up came from the applicant’s wife.

That recently happened to a Montreal-based recruiter named Dawn Williams—and apparently isn’t as rare as one might think. After posting about it on Twitter, other recruiters responded with tales of spouses (or parents) of applicants reaching out on their behalf.

We had to know more, so we spoke to Williams, president and sales recruiter at staffing firm Sirius Personnel, who said she receives messages from applicants’ wives multiple times a year.

“I’ve had many, many wives looking for their husbands,” she told HR Brew. She also noted that the outreach isn’t limited to emails or just for entry-level positions—she has received phone calls, too, and follow-ups for tenured roles during her 16-year recruiting career.

Beyond the cringe. While outreach from an applicant’s spouse may make a recruiter snicker, wince, or just hit “delete,” Williams recommended HR leaders respond with empathy. “Tell them, ‘I really don’t want to discuss this with you. I would rather discuss this with your husband directly,’” she said, adding that she tries to keep an open mind.

However, Williams suggests that recruiters should view outreach from a wife or significant other as a potential red flag for the applicant. “If you can’t even put the effort into looking for the job, why should I put the effort into doing everything else to help you find a job?” she asked.

What about you, readers? Have you received phone calls from the spouses of applicants, or even those of existing employees? Let us know by responding to this email.—KP

Do you work in HR or have information about your HR department we should know? Email [email protected]. For completely confidential conversations, ask Kristen for her number on Signal.

On Wednesdays, we schedule our weekly 1:1 with HR Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

Wendy Edgar is an HR veteran with almost 30 years’ experience leading total rewards and empowerment at EY. Creating people programs that benefit her colleagues brings her joy, and she loves hearing stories from coworkers about how her work has impacted their lives for the better. Edgar has worn many different hats during her career and recommends HR pros make an effort to understand their businesses beyond “just people” in order to be real partners with executive leaders.

How would you describe your specific job to someone who doesn’t work in HR?

I say that I have the best job at EY. I am a strategic business partner with the responsibility of developing and aligning the talent priorities at EY to our overall growth and business objectives. My work is to create a positive, high-performance culture at EY, which ranges from implementing well-being benefits to enhancing our recruiting efforts.

What’s the best change you’ve made at a place you’ve worked?

I’m proud of the projects I’ve led that ultimately improve the overall well-being of our people. I helped institute the summer and winter breaks at EY, which empower our people to disconnect together. Our entire US firm closes for these, and they have been widely considered as one of the most popular benefits…When it comes to supporting our people, we know it’s critical to offer benefits that meet their unique needs. I helped implement and then expand our “pathways to parenthood” benefit, which provides EY US employees with a lifetime maximum of $50,000 per family to cover expenses related to infertility, surrogacy, egg and sperm preservation, and/or adoption that are not covered by medical insurance.

What’s the biggest misconception people might have about your job? Keep reading here.

Want to be featured in an upcoming edition of Coworking? Click here to introduce yourself.

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: 64% of US consumers said they’re living paycheck to paycheck last year, up 3% from the year before. (Bloomberg)

Quote: “This also just drives home that work is not your life, and employers—especially big, faceless ones like Google—see you as 100% disposable. Live life, not work.”—Justin Moore, a laid-off Google employee, on how layoffs have changed their perspective on work and the tech industry (Insider)

Read: Big Tech giants like Meta and Alphabet are trying to relive their scrappy, startup days. (Vox)