Y-Vonne Hutchinson, an international human rights lawyer and founder and CEO of ReadySet, a consultancy that helps companies with inclusivity, has had her share of disappointing bosses.

There was her first boss, for a summer job at an amusement park as a teenager, who assigned her to work janitorial duties while the “paler” teens worked in customer-facing roles; another who accused her of plagiarism because her writing was “too good” to be believably her own; and a third boss at a consultancy in France who insisted it was “not racist to throw bananas at Black people.”

Years later, Hutchinson said she can still feel her emotions from these encounters as if they were yesterday.

“There’s a lot of pain there. Because I still feel it: I still feel let down. I still feel upset,” Hutchinson told HR Brew. “I’m still astounded by the gall of some of these people [and] still angry. The trauma’s still there.”

Hutchinson wants to help young Black professionals and allies benefit from her experiences, which she writes about candidly in her new book, How to Talk to Your Boss About Race: Speaking Up Without Getting Shut Down, published this month.

Courageous conversations. The book covers how to identify signs of racism at work, understand your power, prepare for tough conversations, handle resistance, and, as a last resort, determine an exit plan. It reads like a mix of personal memoir, a primer on critical race theory, and much needed advice from an older sister.

According to Hutchinson, one barrier to approaching a boss at all is a reluctance to label an encounter as racist. Hutchinson told HR Brew that racism likes to “waste your time” by making people of color doubt themselves. Hutchinson used to lose sleep over colleagues’ intentions, now she advises Black professionals to “always trust your gut.”

Hutchinson acknowledged that initiating a conversation involving race isn’t easy. For employees of color, Hutchinson says the topic of race is “adrenalized,” and for white employees, they may never have had the “race talk” and be afraid of getting called out or of doing the wrong thing.

Clue up. Beverly Wright, professional development coach and founder of Wright Choice Group, wants employees to know that their boss might be a bit clueless—but that doesn’t mean they aren’t open to learning. Keep reading here.—SV

Do you work in HR or have information about your HR department we should know? Email [email protected] or DM @SusannaVogel1 on Twitter. For completely confidential conversations, ask Susanna for her number on Signal.

The unionization drive at Starbucks stores across the country is gathering momentum faster than the most ardent brand loyalists can say “venti caramel macchiato.”

What started as a fledgling union effort last summer at a Starbucks in Buffalo, New York, has expanded to include employees at 105 locations across 26 states filing petitions to organize with Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Richard Minter, the union’s vice president, told HR Brew.

Starbucks employees involved with the union campaign say the company has actively tried to deter unionization, including by staging mandatory meetings with corporate leaders that employees have described as intimidating. Several employees in different states involved in unionization efforts have been terminated, including seven workers at a store in Memphis, Tennessee, earlier this month. Starbucks spokesperson Reggie Borges told the Washington Post that the firings were prompted by violations of safety and security policies and were “unrelated to the efforts to unionize.”

So how did the globe-conquering coffee behemoth find itself in the midst of a burgeoning union movement, which has spread from western New York to its front door in Seattle, Washington? Pull up a chair (no purchase required). — SB

Do you work in HR or have information about your HR department we should know? Email [email protected] or DM @SammBlum on Twitter. For completely confidential conversations, ask Sam for his number on Signal.

The Society for Human Resource Management recently released its annual State of the Workplace Study, highlighting the current challenges faced by HR professionals and what they say they’re focused on for the rest of the year. Spoiler alert: Remote recruiters are winning.

Among other things, the survey underscored some ongoing concerns shared by HR professionals: Just 25% felt their organizations are effective at finding and recruiting talent, and nearly three-fourths of respondents (72%) felt their HR departments have been working beyond typical capacity.

The study also found:

• 46% of respondents hiring for remote organizations reported they were effective in finding and recruiting employees, compared to just 18% of HR professionals hiring for in-person positions.
• 32% of in-person organizations rated themselves as effective in retaining top talent, versus 47% of remote organizations.
• 80% of HR professionals reported that maintaining employee morale and engagement is a top priority in 2022.
• Only 26% of US workers felt that their organization did a good job at developing more effective leaders.
  

We checked in with Sam Hammock, EVP and chief human resources officer at Verizon, to see if the report aligns with what she’s experiencing in her role managing a staff of 140,000 worldwide. She said the survey responses on engagement and retention were particularly resonant.

Hammock believes that listening to employee feedback and providing work flexibility will be key in 2022, especially as more workers return to the office. After conducting its own employee survey, Hammock said Verizon decided that its hybrid workers will choose (in consultation with managers) how frequently they will be in the office.

Hammock said the goal is to “empower” employees to develop RTO plans and change them as needed. This approach officially starts in March, with a month-long test period, where Verizon hybrid employees are encouraged to tour the offices and participate in team events to create new office routines. “Change management around communication, in my opinion, is really critical,” Hammock said. “It’s going to be trial and error, and we’re all going to learn together.”—KP

Do you work in HR or have information about your HR department we should know? Email [email protected] or DM @Kris10Parisi on Twitter. For completely confidential conversations, ask Kristen for her number on Signal.

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: The tech industry leased 76% more office space in the last three quarters of 2021 than it did in 2020. (Real estate company CBRE via the New York Times)

Quote: “This is the kind of bubble a financial professional should see forming—one where investors lose sight of fundamentals like profitability and cash flow and embrace a kind of Beanie Baby zeitgeist. In fairness, on Wall Street you can make a lot of money dancing to the music at a bubble party. Or you can stand by the snacks and watch. What you cannot do is pretend that the music will never stop.”— Linette Lopez, Business Insider

Read: How companies are showing a greater interest in off-site gatherings to help employees and managers build rapport after years of remote work. (The New York Times)

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Catch up on the top HR Brew stories from the recent past:

• Wellness is a big business. But what does wellness really mean?
• Your company’s pet-related benefits could impact your talent and retention
• Workplace relationships are complicated. Here's what HR pros should consider when employees get involved