Put a finger down if you’ve ever been passive-aggressive at work. Don’t feel too bad—we’ve probably all been there.

Roughly 83% of workers say they’ve received a passive-aggressive email or message at work, while 44% admit to being passive-aggressive, according to a recent survey of 1,006 Americans by language-learning platform Preply.

Whether employees are returning to the office and have forgotten how to be profesh, or working from home and have forgotten there are real people on the other side of their computer screen, HR professionals can spot passive-aggressive communication, learn from it, and nip it in the bud.

You didn’t read my email. Of all the corporate lingo like “circle back” and “land the plane,” “per my last email” takes the cake as the most passive-aggressive phrase used in work communication, according to Preply’s study, followed closely by “correct me if I’m wrong,” then “as previously mentioned.”

Keep reading here.—MC

Business execs may have stars in their eyes about AI’s potential, but individual contributors remain cautious: Only 39% are inspired by its possibilities.

For AI to have big benefits, it has to have clear benefits. Take Qualtrics—and how it’s using AI technology to empower managers to keep their teams and customers happy.

New AI capabilities across the XM Platform make it easier to help employees feel engaged and productive at work. When paired with Qualtrics’ proprietary database of employee sentiment, these fresh AI tools can help leaders understand where their employees stand to prevent attrition.

See it in action.

Recruiters and hiring managers have likely come to expect candidates to tell the occasional white lie during the hiring process—but candidates might not expect them to go beyond some light sugarcoating to get them in the door.

As it turns out, almost four in 10 hiring managers admit to having lied to candidates during the hiring process, according to a ResumeBuilder survey of 1,060 hiring managers and business leaders. Reasons for lying include hiding negative information about the company, exaggerating benefits, and making the job sound better than it actually is.

With the Great Resignation still looming over the post-pandemic workplace, HR leaders have had to come up with some unique strategies to recruit and retain their workforces. Maintaining open and honest communication throughout the application process and employment lifecycle is critical for successful recruitment and retention—without it, employees will run for the door faster than you can say “sabotage,” as Taylor Swift would say.

Keep reading here.—AS

Here’s this week’s edition of our Coworking series. Each week, we chat 1:1 with an HR Brew reader. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

When Ulteig, a North Dakota-based engineering company, noticed recruiters for its civil division weren’t getting many responses from candidates, the team got to thinking: What if the hiring manager sent out the recruiting message instead? The response rate was “just amazing” compared to when the recruiters did the outreach, Ulteig Talent Director Mandi Spindler found. Talented engineers regularly get dozens of messages from recruiters, but when they get a nod from a director, they’re more likely to respond, she said. So, Spindler revamped the hiring process and trained hiring managers in candidate outreach. While it’s not yet standard practice at the firm, recruiters now help find candidates, provide hiring managers with scripts, and let the hiring managers take the reins. “We’re in an engineering business, but we aren’t engineers,” Spindler said.

Spindler’s been at Ulteig since June 2019, leading the company’s recruiting team, DE&I efforts, company culture, and talent management. She has worked to foster more connectivity between employees and their managers, even requiring face-to-face, in-person time, which she said is “key for organizations to be able to be successful in the hybrid environment.”

What’s the best change you’ve made at work?

The best change I’ve implemented in a role was at Ulteig as we transitioned into our new hybrid work environment after the pandemic. We realized a flexible work arrangement worked well for us, but our people were craving more connection as we were more physically dispersed. We listened to their needs and feedback and quickly implemented a task force to develop solutions that would create greater connectivity at the location, team, department, and company levels.

Keep reading here.—AD

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: 40% of US employees work remotely at least one day a week. (WFH Research)

Quote: “The narrative that somehow the Republican legislature is going to prohibit workers from being able to take water breaks is not accurate.”—Mark Jones, a fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy, on an incoming Texas law barring local governments from enforcing policies in conflict with state law, like regulations requiring water breaks for outdoor workers (Voice of America)

Read: While employers can pay workers with disabilities less than the minimum wage, lawmakers at the state and federal level are working to outlaw the practice. (CT Mirror)

Learn: Every person on your team brings something different to the table. Getting them in the right seats is the key to success—and our Building High-Performance Teams sprint can help you do just that. Register now.

Hot tip: Wanna say goodbye to employee burnout? Workhuman can help. Check out 3 tips to help you ease burnout and prioritize employee well-being. Give ’em a look.*

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Looking to kick-start an impactful learning initiative at your company? Well, Politico just ran a custom course in partnership with Morning Brew Learning that might inspire you. We even put together a full case study to give you the inside scoop on how and why Politico’s HR leaders believe this course has changed the game for employee communication and collaboration.

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