The days of awkward elevator small-talk and pungent-smelling microwaved lunches might seem like a distant memory to some, but as we ease out of a global pandemic, corporate execs and people leaders are continuing to explore RTO options.

Despite high-profile RTO mandates like Disney CEO Bob Iger’s earlier this month, and Wall Street executives like JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon criticizing WFH, only 5% of US CEOs cite RTO as a priority this year, according to a recent Conference Board survey. That offers HR professionals the time and space they need to help execs make the right decisions when it comes to work arrangements.

Matthew Kahn, University of Southern California economist and author of Going Remote, suggests that while some industries are better suited for in-office work, the problem with RTO mandates is that they prioritize the quantity of in-person interactions over the quality.

“Why is going in five days a week optimal? If I go to work two days a week, but I’m in great spirits on those days, the quality of my face-to-face interactions can make it such that it’s not a big loss that I’m at home three days a week,” Khan told HR Brew.

There are no mandates for employees at financial services firm Synchrony. Employees are organized into “hubs” (Synchrony offices or other meeting spaces) where they can work or meet when it’s convenient or makes sense for the work, but it’s entirely up to employees. Tech and sales recruiting platform Hired went fully remote in March of 2020, and execs made the decision to stay remote in July of 2021.

Here are a few things that the people at these companies considered before deciding against RTO.

Keep reading here.—AD

If you’re the parent of a preteen and are looking for new ways to effectively say, “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed,” we wish you’d caught New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) virtual hearing on the status of its automated employment decision tools (AEDT) law, Local Law 144. AI ethicists, politicians, and CEOs alike put on a masterclass in finger-wagging.

The law, passed in 2021, requires employers that use AEDTs to independently audit the tech for bias and publish the results. The final rules have been more eagerly anticipated in some circles than the reveal of Kylie Jenner’s baby’s name. (It’s Aire, ICYMI.) During a public hearing on Monday, New York City Council Majority Whip Selvena Brooks-Powers shared why she was one of the 38 lawmakers to originally vote for Local Law 144, calling it a “massive opportunity” to bring about “real progress on racial equity in hiring.”

However, creating a first-of-its-kind law has proved difficult. Employers and HR pros have had questions, including what it means to perform a bias audit and who counts as an independent auditor. After proposing one set of rules and receiving criticism in public comments in October 2022, the DCWP pushed back the effective date of the law from January 1, 2023, to April 15, 2023, and released a new draft of the policy in late December.

During Monday’s hearing, seven of the 10 commentators had the same critique: The DCWP’s interpretation of when the law might apply is too narrow.

Keep reading here.—SV

Errol Pierre didn’t always have “write a book” on his bucket list. It came to him once he’d ascended the ranks of corporate America and found himself as one of the few to have seemingly figured it all out.

But even if he looked successful—he was a college professor and a healthcare executive—Pierre told us he still felt unsatisfied. Part of the problem, he realized, was that he was one of the few minorities he saw achieving at the highest levels in corporate America.

The data told him this wasn’t because of gaps in education or a lack of experience; there were plenty of people of color graduating from universities and pursuing white-collar work. People who looked like Pierre, he determined, were dropping off in part due to barriers to success, like lack of mentorship and pressure to assimilate into a white corporate environment.

In his new book, The Way Up: Climbing the Corporate Mountain as a Professional of Color, he speaks candidly about the trajectory of his career, how he weighed the personal and professional, and how HR professionals, especially those of color, might leverage his lessons as they make their own way up the corporate ladder.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How did it feel to get to the top in your profession and find such poor representation of minorities?

In the book, I talk about the Jackie Robinson Syndrome…it’s when you are [one of] the few persons of color to reach a level…You’re under scrutiny, so there’s a burden to be perfect, so that you don’t close the door to the next person of color…you don’t want to mess up…[so] you are inauthentic to get to those levels. I joke—but it’s not funny—that I probably have a PhD in making white people comfortable.

Keep reading here.—SV

What book should HR pros read next? Click here to let us know.

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: 66% of executives have taken a salary cut in the past six months, nearly all in an attempt to prevent or reduce layoffs. (Resume Builder)

Quote: “Where childcare prices are high, mothers are less likely to be employed outside the home, even in places with higher wages.”—Wendy Chun-Hoon, director of the Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau, on a new report on national childcare expenses (Department of Labor)

Read: Continued hiring by small businesses has complicated the Fed’s efforts to address inflation. (the Wall Street Journal)