The architects of technological change like Facebook, Microsoft, and others are busy building 3D simulated worlds on top of the physical reality we call IRL existence. Their new ambition is to create the metaverse—a series of interconnected, 3D environments that humans explore via avatar, conversing and collaborating through spatial audio.

It may one day be your place of business. The mad dash toward the metaverse isn’t only about Big Tech, video games, and boatloads of advertising dollars. Startups such as Virbela and Gather are focusing specifically on creating virtual, metaverse-based offices for flesh-and-blood workers.

VR’s proponents believe the technology has the potential to overcome many of the challenges faced by distributed companies. The metaverse “helps people put together the organization as a whole when they’re disconnected physically,” said Erin McDannald, the CEO of Environments by LE, an IoT tech firm that facilitates virtual workplaces.

But while beaming workers into virtual rooms could foster better collaboration than screen sharing on Microsoft Teams, some privacy experts warn that there is currently little in the way of regulation when it comes to the metaverse, particularly regarding the collection of biometric data.

Keep reading here for our deep dive into the rise of VR at work.—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 Starbucks union movement is hotter than a Venti cup of Pike Place splashing across a freshly pressed gingham oxford shirt. Since last December, workers at 126 stores across 28 states have filed petitions with the National Labor Relations Board to join Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), spokesperson Dawn Ang told HR Brew. There are around 9,000 corporate-owned Starbucks in the US.

Presently, workers at six Starbucks stores—five in western New York and one in Mesa, Arizona—have successfully voted to unionize. The nascent organizing process—which began last summer in the Buffalo area—has been tense, with the company launching a website that says things like “We do not believe unions are necessary at Starbucks” and allegedly staging “captive audience meetings” with workers at stores that are organizing. Several terminations have occurred at stores throughout the country that Workers United alleges were retaliation for union activity.

Starbucks said the firing of seven employees who had been “involved in union effort” in Memphis last month was not in response to union activity, but rather due to “significant” violations of workplace safety rules.

Private-sector union membership remains low, with only 6.1% of workers belonging to unions, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But as the Starbucks union drive demonstrates, organizing momentum can shift quickly, especially when high-profile union drives make national headlines. To help HR professionals understand some compliance issues that can arise from unionization in the workplace, we spoke with labor and employment lawyer Keith Brodie, who shared his thoughts on the legal landscape.

Know what, uh, not to do…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.

On Monday, Twitter did what it does best—united in outrage—over perhaps the worst return-to-office campaign of all time. Oxford Properties in Toronto welcomed its office tenants back to work with tongue-in-cheek signs goading workers: “Miss your sweatpants yet?” asked one. Another taunted, “Bet your dog’s missing you.”

Cute.

Twitter users were unamused. Many reminded companies that in today’s job market employees hold the cards.

“Honestly, I’d quit if I saw things like that in my company’s lobby. It’s bad enough you mandate that I have to be in the office, and deal with gas prices, traffic, but then to mock me for being comfortable in MY OWN HOME? Sorry, there are plenty of remote jobs out there,” tweeted @chaoticgoodpal1.

Oxford Properties—which manages the property and does not employ the workers who use their offices—quickly apologized after the original tweet went viral. “Unfortunately, in an attempt to be lighthearted the signage came off as uncaring, which was never our intention. The signage clearly missed the mark and was removed last week as a result,” the media team at Oxford Communications said in a statement to blogTO, a Toronto news outlet. “The campaign should have not made it into production and we sincerely apologize to any customers, colleagues and members of the public that were offended.”

Of course, there’s no forgiveness on Twitter, where one user quipped the apology read as “we apologize if you’re offended.”

Wait, I can do that better, what if it’s like…On HR Brew’s LinkedIn group, HR Brew readers shared their ideal RTO campaigns.

“Hand out free sweatpants for the first day back or have a casual dress day to soften the blow,” Gloria Mosley, Outbound sales development representative at Culture Amp, suggested.

Michael Todd, a software product manager at SumTotal Solutions said to emphasize the benefits of in-person for productivity.

“[There are] more ways to have informal chats and build friendships. [You can have] quick visits to other desks rather than hoping they respond to a ping, [there are] whiteboards to doodle and brainstorm on in small groups!” Todd wrote.

Yes, YOU, there in the back: This RTO welcome was a swing and a miss—and seems not to have been orchestrated by HR. How can HR design campaigns that excite employees about returning to work? Join the discussion right here on HR Brew’s LinkedIn page, or reply to this email with your thoughts.—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.

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: An overwhelming majority of working women say they deserve a raise. According to a new survey from Harris Poll and Glassdoor, 85% of “employed women believe they deserve a pay increase and 63% believe the Great Resignation gives them more leverage to negotiate their pay.” (Glassdoor)

Quote: “There’s not much point in returning to the office if we’re just going back to the old boys’ club…what a relief not to have to go in day after day, week after week, and fail at making friends and having fun.”—Keren Gifford, a 37-year-old IT worker who explained why she’s excited to never return to an office to the New York Times

Read: Research from Gartner suggests there are four types of managers, and one of them is more effective than the others. (CNBC)

Attract and retain talent: Get a handle on what’s important to both candidates and current employees with help from Qualtrics. Their playbook breaks down the 5 KPIs and 25 drivers that top HR teams use to create a world-class employee experience. Get the playbook here.*

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

• We’re only beginning to understand the needs of workers with long Covid
• #ShowUsYourLeave: Pressure grows on companies to be transparent about their paid family leave plans
• Don’t mind the (career) gap