As the pandemic catalyzed the age of remote work, in-person office norms—like wishing your colleagues a “happy hump day” or fruitlessly searching for your elusive stapler—eroded faster than Freddie Prinze Jr.’s leading-man status after the early aughts. Employers soon discovered they could maintain productivity with distributed teams, and many workers enjoyed being remote: A November ADP survey of almost 33,000 people in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia found that two thirds of workers would sooner quit their jobs than return to the office full-time.

To avoid incurring the wrath of Beyoncé, some companies are now thinking outside the cubicle, riffing on what purpose an office should serve amid an increasing appetite for hybrid models. For Tiffany Millar, workplace experience director at AI developer Augury, the RTO decision was shaped by a question: “How do we make our office a destination and a tool” for fostering the interpersonal connection that might get lost while working remotely?

HR Brew spoke with leaders at three hybrid companies, all of whom are attempting to take the office beyond its traditional moorings and evolve it into an incubator of corporate culture, camaraderie, and casual collaboration. In other words: “a destination” that evokes the casual vibe of your living room. Keep reading here.—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 (SHRM), an organization known to practically every HR leader, appears to have some of its own potential HR—let alone PR—challenges.

On July 1, HR Dive reported that a former employee filed a lawsuit against SHRM on June 30, “alleging discrimination and retaliation, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.” A “brown-skinned Egyptian Arab woman” who began working for SHRM in 2016 alleges, according to the lawsuit, that her supervisor “systematically favored” white colleagues and that she was “retaliated” against after she complained.

In 2020, Insider spoke with a dozen former SHRM employees who described working in an environment of “fear.” Another report from Insider noted that SHRM had received some criticism from HR leaders for not publicly taking a “firm stance against racism and inequality,” and some former members Insider talked to cited its response to Covid and an unhealthy work environment. In the age of HR influencers, well, you know where this might be headed...

In February, for example, Keirsten Greggs, the founder of TRAP Recruiter, questioned on Twitter why the HR organization, in a tweet celebrating Black History Month, would use a graphic where no Black people are visible.

#FixItSHRM, the hashtag Greggs used, has been active since at least 2019.

Started in 1948 as the American Society for Personnel Administration (ASPA) to advance the personnel profession, SHRM has practically become synonymous with HR and says it is the world’s largest membership-based HR organization, employing 504 people at the end of 2019.

SHRM provides training for HR professionals, holds various conferences, has a lobbying arm, and updates its more than 300,000 paying members with news and analysis about the profession.

Lead by example? SHRM’s tagline, “Better workplaces. Better world,” and its corporate vision to “build a world of work that works for all” may seem at odds with the fearful environment some former employees described to Insider in 2020. Keep reading here.—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.

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.

Nicole Hill is the diversity, equity, and inclusion manager at financial services company DailyPay. She started out her career in public relations before taking a “leap of faith” into the world of recruiting.

How would you describe your specific job to someone who doesn’t work in HR? As the diversity, equity, and inclusion manager at DailyPay, I’m accountable for leading the charge in creating a workplace of inclusion and belonging. To support DailyPay and its commitment to DE&I, I’m responsible for curating education programs that provide a deeper understanding of DE&I [and] promote inclusive behavior. In addition, I work with our employee resource groups (ERGs) to empower them to create positive experiences that enrich our culture and community to advance an equitable and inclusive workplace.

What’s the best change you’ve made at a place you’ve worked? One of the things that I’m most proud of is that I was able to develop a sustainable sponsorship program that led to the development and promotion of employees from underrepresented groups. Furthermore, the sponsorship program created opportunities for employees to forge relationships with senior leaders. The participants received coaching from senior leaders, who also advocated for the individuals.

What’s the biggest misconception people might have about your job? The biggest misconception about working in a DE&I role is the expectation that change will happen overnight. While this is the hope for many, change occurs when the organization prioritizes DE&I and organically embeds it into everything they do to foster a sense of greater belonging. At DailyPay, one of our core values is: “We win with diversity.” This is front and center, from new hire orientation through the full employee experience.

What’s the most fulfilling aspect of 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: 65% of older professionals (over the age of 45) say they “are unable or do not believe they can fully unplug while on PTO,” compared to 47% of younger professionals between 21 and 25. (Fishbowl by Glassdoor)

Quote: “Life’s too short to work for jerks.”—Executive recruiter Matt Kerr on the subject of bad bosses and how to deal with them (or not) (the Wall Street Journal)

Read: An anonymous “top human-resources executive” opened up about how they’ve been coping with this summer’s professional and political challenges, and the ongoing struggle to manage their own “mental burnout.” (Charter)

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