HR BESTIES - Workplace Trends in 2025

Episode Date: January 15, 2025

Happy New Year, Besties! We're so glad you're here to join us for another year of Business and Bullsh*t. Today’s agenda:  Bovine piss in the workplace Cringe corporate speak: back to work Hot topic: workplace trends in 2025 What's hot and happening in the workforce in the new year? Is AI a threat to our jobs? Leaders should embrace new technologies as a way to assist team members and automate everyday tasks Streamlining processes allows for teams to build connections AI is here to stay... leaders must stay competitive and ahead Hybrid, remote and back to the office Flexibility and adaptability for members in and out of the workplace will make a team stronger Employment law 2025: what to expect Addressing labor shortages and skill gaps Employee wellbeing Questions/Comments  Your To-Do List: Grab merch, submit Questions & Comments, and make sure that you’re the first to know about our In-Person Meetings (events!) at https://www.hrbesties.com. Follow your Besties across the socials and check out our resumes here: https://www.hrbesties.com/about.  Subscribe to the HR Besties Newsletter - https://hr-besties.beehiiv.com/subscribe We look forward to seeing you in our next meeting - don’t worry, we’ll have a hard stop! Yours in Business + Bullsh*t,  Leigh, Jamie & Ashley Follow Bestie Leigh! https://www.tiktok.com/@hrmanifesto https://www.instagram.com/hrmanifesto https://www.hrmanifesto.com Follow Bestie Ashley! https://www.tiktok.com/@managermethod  https://www.instagram.com/managermethod https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyherd/ https://managermethod.com Follow Bestie Jamie! https://www.millennialmisery.com/ Humorous Resources: Instagram • YouTube • Threads • Facebook • X Millennial Misery: Instagram • Threads • Facebook • X Horrendous HR: Instagram • Threads • Facebook Tune in to “HR Besties,” a business, work and management podcast hosted by Leigh Elena Henderson (HRManifesto), Ashley Herd (ManagerMethod) and Jamie Jackson (Humorous_Resources), where we navigate the labyrinth of corporate culture, from cringe corporate speak to toxic leadership. Whether you’re in Human Resources or not, corporate or small business, we offer sneak peeks into surviving work, hiring strategies, and making the employee experience better for all. Tune in for real talk on employee engagement, green flags in the workplace, and how to turn red flags into real change. Don't miss our chats about leadership, career coaching, and takes from work travel and watercooler gossip. Get new episodes every Wednesday and Friday, follow us on socials for the latest updates, and join us at our virtual happy hours to share your HR stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Piss. Piss, piss, piss. Right? Urine at work. You all been around a lot of urine at work? Can be a really pissy situation. Yeah, piss and shit. A lot of piss and shit. Yeah, a lot of piss and shit. But this is all about drug screening. Has anyone ever ran their drug screening program for their employer? Yes. It sucks. Most of the time, yes.

It sucks. It sucks so hard. I've advised on it. But anyway, it is terrible. It is absolutely terrible, Ashley, just FYI, because you have to, of course, adhere to whatever regulations, DOD, whatever you're dealing with, whatever the policy is. You have to do the randomizer. You have to get the people and all of that for the randoms.

You have to have that special bathroom. You have to have the supplier that comes in and administers. All of that, it takes so much planning to do drug screening at work. So when you do repetitive randoms, your workforce, of course, knows you're doing them. They all talk about it, whatever. This one time, I remember, we had the line of guys, it was all guys in this particular day, and they're going one by one into the bathroom and they're giving their sample. Someone has to be in there, not me, thank goodness. I'm sure they would have asked me though if someone didn't show up, all inappropriate.

But everyone's kind of taking their turn or whatever. And you have to monitor this whole situation, make sure it's the right person, checking IDs, all of this. You're doing all of this because some people know that their piss is gonna come back positive for suppling, right? I mean, so, you know, the people are kind of freaking out. It's, it's, right?

People are evading. People are disappearing out of nowhere. So this one time we do the testing and we get the results back pretty quickly. And the lab calls and they noticed something really, really interesting with one of the specimens and they were very concerned. And I'm like, okay, so what's going on? Well, this guy, he was negative for everything. Great. Which is fantastic, right? So he's negative for everything. Great. Which is fantastic, right?

So he's not on drugs. That's great. But we're very concerned because it wasn't human piss. This employee of yours is bovine. He used cow piss. He's part cow. Well, we don't employ cows. Well.

Right? We employed human beings. Well, we don't employ cows. Well, right? We employed human beings. So I was taken aback. And it's one of those moments where it's like, oh, good. Yeah, like he's incredible. I'm glad that it was all negative. Oh, but he's part cow. Oh, shit.

All right. So bovine piss is what he used. And I brought him in, we talked to him. And what he did was he would wear urine, a bag of urine, tape it on his leg every single day. Yeah, because you got to have it body temperature. You keep it warm. Now I'm just giving people the pro tips.

Yep, they check that. You have to have it body temperature, right? We're checking for that. We, they checked that. You have to have it body temperature, right? We're checking for that. We're checking for that. Yeah, because people walk in with fake piss all the time or they buy someone else's piss, right? And so, you know, he had it strapped to his leg, keeping it warm all the time. He thought of everything, right?

He paid like 30 bucks for it or something from, you know, a friend. But unfortunately, that friend let him down because he was just smelling cow piss from his farm. So I was like, hey, good news on your drug screen, good news and bad news actually. The good news is you were negative for everything. He's like, yep. The bad news is you are part bo-line. You are a cow and we do not employ cows here. So we're going to have to let you go, unfortunately. What the fuck? I want to know what drug he was taking, but he went through that great of a legs. Oh, I know, right? That's commitment. That's commitment. I mean, it really is. When you said $30, I was like, but I guess that seems, I mean, it seems

about right. I mean, it's a lot of effort. $30, I was like, but I guess that seems, I mean, it seems about right. I mean, it's a lot, a lot of effort. That's one where you're spending more time and energy than you are money. But I just looked up to Amazon and was like, can you buy bovine piss? Well, here's my question that I was like, what would you search? Because also, I mean, this is like, I own my own business, so I guess I'm not worried about what is it my internet search history. But in my mind, I was playing a game of like, what would I look up? And so I looked up urine test accessories, and you can't buy the urine as far as I've seen, but it's the complete kit of a bottle, a hidden leg strap, thermometer stickers, sample, sample, but the kids, he is not the only person to have

this idea. So I want to see the reviews. That's what I'm like now. It's funny though, that you can like, you know, the reviews are, you can see who wrote them. Oh my God, 478 reviews, which means they are selling thousands and thousands of these things. Yeah. Good point.

Damn. Well, there's also special drinks you can get that dilute your pee enough, too, that you can still pee, but it's supposedly diluted that it won't pop positive in a drug test? Like certain things won't. Yeah. I don't really know much about that, but I do know that there is such thing as that. I had to take it in high school working.

I don't think I had to take one for Kmart. I did for Winn-Dixie, the grocery store. And I didn't, hadn't had anything myself, but you know me being a fucking dork. I had just come back from like spring break and maybe gone to like reggae fest in Louisville, like, you know, whatever. And it was literally to the drug testing people.

I'm sure they flagged me. They're like triple checks. You're like, what if someone put drugs at my butt at the regular, like, right? You never know. We'll flag this one. Don't worry. We'll catch you. So I passed and I was able to have the privilege of working at the Winn-Dixie, which was fun. But I will say always, I get why people do this and they should not, but you always think the people that have this ingenuity, it's like the same stuff of like the ways that people will cheat at work or other ways in life.

It's like, take that. There's really productive stuff you can do with it. Well, it's like how companies will have like reverse hackers where they hire real hackers and they hire them for the company to be like, test us out, like help us get better. Like if you have to fire someone for failing a drug test, just think for just think, get creative for a second. Like, okay, so maybe they can't do this federally regulated profession, but is there something that they could do? They might be great in HR, to be honest with you, because they'll be able to suss out what people are doing.

So that is the people say, how can you get into HR? If you're thinking of scheming to get past a drug test and do that, just maybe stop the illicit drug use and maybe think of using it more productively. I'm just saying. Yeah. I'm also the pregnant employee, but he was a guy. You're going to be a daddy. Yeah. Yeah. You're actually like, huh? Yeah. It's like your urine test again. You were negative, but congratulations. You are pregnant, sir. You're going to be a daddy like you yourself. Damn. As Jamie says, people be people.

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Rules and restrictions may apply. Oh, well, I hope you enjoyed that little hot gossip. Moving on, welcome back besties. Happy 2025. Can you freaking believe it? Oh, gosh. Wow. Wow, wow, wow, wow. And we are so thankful that this meeting is back as

recurring on the calendars. Speaking of meetings, we have the agenda of your dreams for you today. Words that have never been spoken out were. The agenda of your dreams, oh my gosh. But we just had that little hot goss water color talk. Now we are going to transition into some cringe corporate speak that's going to be brought to us by Ashley today.

She's on the docket for it. And then we will transition into our hot topic of today. And that is all things workplace trends this year. Workplace trends in 2025, what's hot in HR in 2025, what's hot at work in 2025. So we'll share a few things that we're thinking about as we move here now into this new year. And then of course, as always, we'll finish our meeting with some questions and comments. Ashley, what cringe do you have for us today?

The cringe I have today are three words that you might have heard in the new year that make you cringe, and that is back to work. And why that's cringe is that oftentimes, like especially if you're literally back at work after the holidays, like you know you have to get into things, but like hearing those, it's just like, ugh. Have you all ever heard that in the workplace? Yes. Back to work.

Yes. Time to get back to work. I hear it when a boss is like, back to work. Oh, yeah. Exactly. What the fuck? Like, who are you? What?

Like, like I'm a robot. Yeah. Back to work. Guys always on. Always saying, work is work. Work is work. Leave it at home. Okay. Well then I'm not checking my email after hours. Thank you. Yeah. They want to have their cake and eat it too. Back to work. It is cringey. Do you all say that? Never. I probably have, truthfully. Definitely probably have. Yeah. Now I have used it when I'm trying to exit a conversation with someone I don't want to be in a conversation with well

I gotta get back to work kind of like that's such a lie, and then I just scroll on my phone for 30 minutes Yeah, so like recover from that conversation. You know but like phone calls. Yeah, there you go. Okay mom. I gotta get back to work Exactly, that's the uncringe everyone's like a lot of cringe. Sometimes there's a good, that is a good, you can use it as your excuse. There's a good cop to every bad cop situation. And using it in the stern way is not fun and just reinforces what people know. But yeah, you can always use it as an excuse. Oh, gotta get back to work. Oh, I like that. Yeah, that's a major egg. If you're that type of boss. Back to work, people. Well, especially if you're sitting there and doing that,

and then someone walks by and they're like, back to work. How about it? No. I'm not done with my gossip. Oh, gosh, well, how timely. Back to work, everybody, in 2025. And speaking of, what the hell is going on this year in the workplace? What are some trends? What

are some conversations, dialogues that we're going to be having here throughout the year on all things HR, workplace, work? There's a handful of them. Do you all have some things on your mind? What is hot in the workplace for 2025? Yeah. So while we were researching this article, of course, we put it in ChatGBT, but we also did some research and the number one that popped up on every single list was AI. ChatGBT is like, I'm the selfish. I know, right? ChatGBT is like, of course I'm going to say myself. But how are companies going to invest in?

How are companies going to use AI? We've talked about AI numerous times on the pod. So this was no surprise for me. Matter of fact, when we were at HR Tech in Las Vegas in September, while we walked around the conference floor, I can't tell you how many times various booths you heard it being announced, AI, embracing AI, AI, AI, and it's like, whoa. But AI is nothing new, right?

No. I mean, really, I mean, it's been around a very, very long time, but the conversation now is so interesting on, okay, how can we effectively utilize AI within the workplace, not just in our personal lives, right? To make our lives more efficient or easy or whatever. I think though the conversation is all around this concern of replacing certain skills, certain people, certain positions, right? Like that's, you hear that a lot. Do you think there's a threat of that? What's the real threat there? I hope so.

I don't want to fucking work. I think the conversations evolved a bit because I think for, ChatGPT came around at least popularly about two years, just over two years ago. It was first ChatGPT and AI has been in the picture. Now you have things like, like the copile. I mean, you have a ton of these different software platforms. And so I do think you had for a long time, these software platforms you could kind of use,

but it's like, what do you use it for? You put things into images and we would laugh because like the writing's all scrambled. Like you'd be like, no, I want it to look like Jamie. And it looks like a George Jefferson. And you're like, no, that's not it. And so there were gaps in it. So you could see a lot of those imperfections.

And then you had really weren't having a lot of these conversations in practice because like, I think a lot of leaders were like, don't use it. Don't use it for anything at work because everything's confidential. And then you have all these employees that are using it and are using it secretly and totally putting confidential things in there because no one's having the conversation to raise what these tools are, that all of them are using your information

based on in different ways. And so now I think the tools have gotten a lot more sophisticated. A lot of them now are built in more. And so there's definitely threats to certain roles where it's things that can be automated. But now you can be a bit more strategic where like my job when I was coming out of college, like I've got sales, I've talked about this like sales cold

calling. Like on one hand, you're always going to need people to try to have those conversations. But I would spend my day a little bit calling for people, a lot of things doing this research and you have now automated systems and ways you can do that. And so I do think now that as the tools become sophisticated, but a lot of it, what I think, especially in 2025 is, okay, what does this actually look like for every single role? And I think one of the things organizations can do and people can do at work is to think about your job and how can you do things? How can you do things more efficiently? Because there still are huge gaps in comfort levels, knowledge levels, and oftentimes, just like my kids

can teach me how to use basically every piece of technology more than I can, a lot of those more junior level employees or others may be using them already. And so having leaders that are open to the conversation, that's what I do think you're gonna have is people coming together a bit with more realistic ways to use it in the workplace. Yeah, and I really think, I mean, organizations, what they can do is they can lead this charge

and embrace it and incorporate these technologies within their workplace, right? And so that it's not this scary thing where, hey, your employees, like what you were saying, Ashley, your employees are going rogue, doing whatever over here, and people are doing what they feel is necessary or needed for their job. Bring it into the workplace.

Streamline processes. Automate as much as you can, because there's a couple things at play. One is the human error factor is significant. People do not realize just how sloppy, sometimes slow, sometimes you name it, like just humans, we're just literally human. And so we are constantly making mistakes. Those mistakes that are occurring every second in the workplace

are incredibly costly from a time perspective, from a money perspective. This is going to save you a lot as an organization. The other thing is that we, as a community, as society, we should be leaning more into human connection, building relationships, right? Shifting away from, you know, tactical as much as possible to more strategic work, right? But as an HR person, when so much of your job, I've had jobs where it's like 80, 90% admin, things that could have easily been automated. I could have used these tools 20 years ago, I'll tell you what, right? That's like all of my workday.

So when am I supposed to collaborate? What am I supposed to innovate or make anything better? When am I supposed to build relationships with my peers, right? So that we could have a team so that we can innovate an IDA together. So little of that happens in the majority of jobs because of a lot of tactical administrative work that has to get done because of whatever lack of systems or tools or policies or whatever you have in your organization. So that's where I see like the opportunity.

I really, really do. And anyone can be strategic at every single level, ops to the CEO, right? And so shifting some of that out, I think that some of that meaning the tactical work that can be automated by AI, if it's embraced by an organization, I think you'll see more collaborative workplaces. I really, really do. Even if people are remote and dispersed, it doesn't matter. They have that time in their day to be able to do that.

You'll see more innovation, right? You'll see more opportunity for an organization. So I'm like, if you fear it, please embrace it as an organization. Like it's here, it has been here. It's going to continue to grow and you want to stay competitive. Yeah. And I think those companies and those leaders that are willing to embrace it will have better buy-in from employees and they're already trending. So they're already going

to have a one-up in the future. So maybe in 2026, 27, when we're talking about this, it's the companies that adopted AI early that really are successful. From a practical level, I think people listening, like I know we have people in HR, leaders, employees that are just like to listen is thinking about, I say chat GPT a lot because it's an easy place to go. And it depends, like if you're a Microsoft person, you may use Co-Pilot. But if you go to ChatGPT and just ask, like as a leader, what can we do as an organization to get on the AI train?

Or maybe you wouldn't say that. They'd be like, well, take, there's a 345 departure from it. But to ask, what can we do? And then you can start getting specific. And you can do that and likely stay within your organizational policies, because it's not confidential. But it gives you the ideas.

Or as an employee that's looking to develop, what are things I can do to develop? What are 10 situations I might see in 2025 in my job that I should be prepared for? Oh, shit, I don't know what I'm going to do for seven. Okay, can you give me some role play exercises? There's so much you can do from a personal development standpoint. For example, totally transparently, one of my goals and hopefully our goals is growing HR Besties in 2025 because we have our podcast, we do this, you know, we're practitioners, so we're not professional media people, but we've had amazing community. We'd love to grow it even

more. So I put in there, look, what can we do for podcast strategy? It's nice because like a lot of things, some of it's validating. It also knows, it's like, well, you already have a website. You can have these things. These are things that you can do, get people to share. So if you're listening to this, feel free to share. We're back for 2025. But it gave like 25 very specific things. Even if I go through and I pull three of them out of it,

it's about saving time in your day and having the conversation. So I totally, I think as a practical takeaway is whatever your role is, there's ways that you can use it. And literally as you listen, pause, or while you listen, go to chat, chbt, don't stop. And, uh, but get some of those practical things and you can immediately start if development is one of your 20, 25 goals, check it off by mid January by starting to do these things.

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And if you're like me and think a TFSA stands for Total Fund Savings Adventure, maybe reach out to TD Direct Investing. And if you're like me and think a TFSA stands for total fund savings adventure, maybe reach out to TD Direct Investing. So I think another big one that we saw, and I think we really saw it at the end of 2024 with the big push of back to work, back to the office. So we're seeing a lot more hybrid work models where companies are now stating, you were remote since 2020, but we're bringing you back for two to three days a week, or maybe we're bringing you back full time. I know Amazon, I think AT&T were some big, big names that are bringing

employees back five days a week in office. I hate it. And well, tying it to also to back to work, what I don't care for and I think really, really hits people that have been working remotely that feel like they're working 24-7 already when they hear back to work, like back to the office as in back to work. And they're like, tell me you don't know what my life is like. But show me. But Lee, thoughts? Yeah, I mean this this one is big for me. And I think that this has already been a very crucial conversation, especially

online, on the socials, in the media, in our communities, and will continue to be, absolutely. Because return to work really signifies a change of how we've been working. With COVID, we had a substantial, substantial earth-shattering change in how so many of us work, our schedules, the days, all of that. And it showed so many of us that different models besides the nine to five, five days a week can be successful. So now that we know that, it's hard to just cookie cutter it back, right?

Like you can't unring a bell sort of thing. And I see such potential and I want this conversation and dialogue to continue on this because I truly believe there will come a day where, I mean, the schedule of nine to five, five days a week, it's going to turn inside out. I mean, it's just going to look wild. Everyone's all sorts of positions, jobs, whatever, we're going to just be all over the place, all over the board. So many people are going to move to more remote situations. But the key thing about besides the potential and the opportunity and just the shift of how we work, right, as a society, there's this other conversation happening about flexibility and adaptability

that's crucial. And the employers that understand that and embrace that, they're going to get the best talent flat out. They're going to have the best people working for them because they are establishing a culture of trust and diversity. They are recognizing that people are different, they work differently, they can be successful in different ways, and we are going to trust them to get the work done. And they are going to, in return, be loyal to us and do their best work because they

have flexibility. And we are being adaptable to that. And that, to me, that's, ah, like that is going to be just the, you know, the mark of a great organization versus a not so great organization. Right? I mean, and so that's going to continue, especially with Alpha and the generations coming here. They're going to want more and more and more and more flexibility. Yes. They really are. Because we have kids growing up right now that are seeing their parents work from home.

They've had their parents at home for years now, and they're going to want that for their children and their lives. Think about just the effect of that, right? So to me, those are the big conversations, the potential of just the shift and change of how we work schedule-wise and then that piece of flexibility and adaptability. Those are key and critical to success. And you can make that work for your organization. I don't care what industry you're in or what you do. I've seen it across the board.

If you're doing ops, then you're like, oh, well, Veeba can't be remote. They could have flex schedules. You could get more working mothers or single parents in there by doing part-time schedules. You say you could do all sorts of different things with your work schedules. It doesn't have to be the same damn shift work five days a week. You know what I mean? You can be creative and get more diversity of thought in your organization. Anyway, my soap box.

I really do think it's just really a power thing, right? I mean- Control. Yeah, control and power. I mean, there's a joke on the internet and I'm sure I've posted a meme or two about it, is these executives want to be back in the office so they can cheat on their wives because they hate their being at home. I love being at home.

I'm lucky right now. I am quote unquote hybrid. I maybe go into the office one day a week, but I don't get in trouble if I don't go in that one day. Sometimes my schedule doesn't allow for it. Sometimes my children have events or I have a repair person come to my house and it just doesn't work out. I am very fortunate to have that.

I don't know if I could ever go backwards now. I don't mind going into the office that one day a week. I do enjoy seeing work besties, but other than that, there's really no reason for me to go. So, I think Spotify came out and said, we trust our employees. They're not children. And things can be measured. Productivity can be measured. And obviously, yes, I know as someone who's worked in healthcare the measured. And obviously, yes, I know, as someone who's worked in health care the last 11 years of my career, I know that there are some positions that truly cannot.

But those that can, the flexibility in treating your employees like actual people that have lives outside of work, I think, is the utmost important. And you will just lose employees, good employees, to companies that are willing to give them that flexibility. And I mean, see how that bites you in the ass. You will hit a lot. But I think one of the things Jamie said is,

I don't get in trouble if I don't come into the office. And so I think one thing as well, and I try to bring this in a lot of what I do, which is bringing a perspective that employees don't talk about and employees don't talk about. And leaders don't talk about it. It's really, some of the most senior leaders in the organization have no idea

how afraid many of their employees are. Like there's their power dynamics at work. This does tend to happen a bit more, a lot more in America based on just our, we've talked about our differences in protections and rights and what work is as a society. But really, there's so many people that are afraid. I've reflected on this a lot, with snow days and things like that.

I can think of the times that there would be a snow day. I remember seeing posts from a friend who was a preschool teacher on Facebook. He was like, people should stop complaining about snow days. Appreciate the time with your kids. I didn't comment, but to myself, I thought, I get it, but you're off work. I'm still expected to be on work. I'm expected to be with my kids.

I'm putting pressure on myself in all areas. And so I am stressed from morning till night, because I feel like it's never freaking enough. Nobody else is necessarily thinking that. Like, constantly, my boss would be like, thanks for joining the call. I'd be like, oh god, they're going to be on me for having my background blurred, be like, thanks for joining the call. I'd be like, oh God, they're going to be on me for having my background blurred or whatever.

Thanks for joining the call. Oh, okay. There's such this fear. And so I think recognizing that having the trust and sure have the conversation with people, if your fear is that people aren't going to work, say that and say, honestly, this is my fear is how do I measure this and how do we know what people are doing? People will tell you. People will, when they feel like they can trust you and you're trying to give them benefits

and like be able to justify it to your own boss, people get that. And so I do hope having more practical conversations, but with that level of trust, because I do think it's power, control, and even at times fear of managers for looking bad to their own bosses. And so I think at top levels of organizations, as you can just recognize what's really happening in that, like the Spotify example, like fantastic, like communicating that is that thing. I'd love to see their recruiting figures and I'm sure there'll be a very expensive McKinsey study on what that looks like.

Yeah. No, it's definitely, I mean, a lot of a lot of control. And as you move up as a leader in an organization, if you can get a lot more political, and people have to prove value, they feel they do. They have to prove their value and their worth. And so their thought is maybe a traditional point of view on work. If someone's not physically there

and I'm not watching them as a leader, what is my job as a manager? So it's a push for managers and leaders out there to reevaluate how you lead, how you manage, what does it mean to be a strong leader and a good leader, and maybe shift your perceptions as well. But if you are sitting there and you're like, well, I love being in an office. So I want to be back to work. I love being around people. That is fantastic. The conversation isn't forcing, bear quotes, everyone to be remote. The conversation around this is allowing people to work the way they work best and what they need at that point in their lives,

what they themselves want because of who they uniquely are. That's the point. You know what I mean? So we want to value the differences, the desires, the wants, the needs of everybody, the way we try to do in our personal lives. We should be doing that in our professional lives as well. We should be committed as employers be doing that in our professional lives as well. We should be committed as employers to doing that. And that's when we're going to capture and retain the absolute best talent out there. I mean, if you go, like I haven't done this problem, but if you go to like a chat GPT and write like, what are things we can do and provide to employees if we're not, because

also you have like office space and that's a huge driver, frankly, full stop in a lot of these return to office. And there have been, we posted this on our stories a couple weeks ago, whichever one, that brought people back to the office that doesn't have space for them. And so I'm like, are people going to sit in laps? Working in the hallway? That's an HR nightmare. So if you are returning to work, maybe put a Chad GPT prompt of what are things, what

departments should we check on to make sure before we do? But more in line with our episode is putting a prompt of what are things we can do for team members? Because if you can do away with that office space, offering things like, I work from home, I miss going in, so I've gone to co-working spaces. Or I've started to go to an in-person exercise class because I missed seeing people. And so what are ways you can subsidize that? Because those things you do, like is your best employee going to stick with you because

you pay for their gym membership? Like probably not, but it's those things that add up and what that says about you as an organization is so much. And so as you think about looking for practical ideas, put those things in there and have those and you can have them often in ways and you can say, okay, help me present this to senior leadership in a way that will speak to what they care about. And you're always going to have to use your voice and your knowledge, but those things can help you to get things done. Love it.

Any other trends? I have a quick one. Yes. Which is employment law in 2025. A quick update. Is that quick? Yes. Tell us what is happening.

Whenever you have just one thing to be mindful of that you will see large shifts. It was, I think now three years ago that the non-compete ban came out and I see it because I have videos that came, maybe two years ago, but videos that came up of when I was talking about it then. I don't think it's going to happen. I'll tell you why, like legally, but not just me. Most people were saying this, but one thing you'll see in the U S in particular is shift when you see shifts in presidential administrations, especially between Democrats and Republicans. So like what to expect at a high level summary, you will see a lot less employment related likely legislation or executive orders than you saw in a democratic

administration under President Biden with new, I don't know what you say, returning President Trump? Like, I don't know, whatever. I'm sure it's like three words. But whenever you have that, again, I will never present things like this in a political slant, just FYI, is because these governmental agencies like the EEOC, the Department of Labor, the Federal Trade Commission, they are all very political.

And oftentimes like the FTC, the NLRB, which is the National Labor Relations Board, oftentimes there's five members. So the FTC, for example, had been three to two Democrats. And when you see like the non-compete ban, for example, that was by the FTC, which doesn't tend to be the biggest employment related agency,

but it's about to switch back to three to two Republicans. And the one that's going to be the chair is a Republican that voted against the non-compete ban. And so we've talked a lot at the end of last year about how the non-compete ban, the Department of Labor exempt salary was supposed to take effect. Both of those got struck down in federal court. So those are both being appealed. And so what you also might likely see

is as the new administration comes in, like basically the agencies through the Department of Justice saying like, just kidding, like hold off on the appeals. And so it's kind of complicated, like the legal stuff that's happening. But what you will tend to see is less of that required legislation.

Like I would be shocked to see another increase to the exempt salary in this administration. But that being said, you can read some of these things, like the non-compete ban, for example. Even the new incoming FTC chair has made comments saying like the FTC still, if we see things like non-competes that are super egregious, we'll still address those. And so this doesn't mean those things are prohibited, but just taking a look at those. But it is.

We talked about this. The new Department of Labor, at least at this point, appointee to be confirmed was surprising. She's a Republican, but she's one of the very few that supported the PRO Act, which is like a union, like pro-union legislation. That being said, you can very easily find articles that are like, well, she only really

publicly supported that when it was obvious that it wasn't going to pass. And so what that really looks like, people definitely have different opinions, but overall, you're probably likely to see less things happen. Under the NLRB, that's where you see people coming in and going through handbook language, where you can't have... Actually interestingly enough, the last thing I'll say is like SHRM, which the SHRM trial is still on in July and Lee and I have our hotel reservations for that. We're working to persuade Jamie. But SHRM, for example, how they have their whole theme is civility, like civility at

work and be civil in your conversations. Well, it is a bit ironic because the NLRB has taken the position that having like a handbook policy, for example, that requires people to be civil at work is illegal. Because that, and why that is, is because of like even in non-union environments, you can't restrain people section seven rights. You can like Google these things. I won't detail into it. But for people to discuss terms and conditions of employment, including ways that might be

a bit heated as long as they don't cross lines. So anyway, just looking, you can find some resources online, but overall, you are likely to see over the next four years, at least, less employment-related legislation. But that being said, you still have employees and you're trying to keep and retain people. So just like the non-compete, whether you're a non-compete or not, doing things to really keep the people that you have in your organization. But so that's what you can expect likely from employment law land in the US. No rise in minimum wage.

What you see now are states and cities. So like it is all over the place and you'll see this happening more. So you won't see things on like a federal level. And that's one of the problems is like it's hard to just keep up. And so people often say like, well, I should be able to work from anywhere. But like for employers, it's really hard to have people located geographically in different places and try to keep up with all of that. But so you will see increases to minimum wage increases some to minimum salary in the few

states that have it. I'd expect to see that more at non-compete things happening at the state level. So ways that you can do that often, we will give our little plug to our 650 is our, I'll say they've been a sponsor of HR Besties since practically day one. And so, but also other resources like newsletters that help on this because it's, it's an area that you got to get right. And it's like incredibly hard to keep straight. Mm hmm. Heary, heary. I'll just touch on maybe two more real quick here. We don't necessarily have to go into too much detail,

but one of them that I found interesting that actually popped up on a couple of articles while we were researching was addressing like labor shortages, specifically with contract employees and filling skills gaps, but lumped that into one. And then the last one I'll touch on is an emphasis on employee wellbeing, which I think is a load of shit. I think that's bullshit because you can't say in an article that you're going to see the return to work and then you're going to

focus on employees wellbeing. I think that's bullshit. But it's odd because it actually came up in more than one article when we were researching. So I found that awfully interesting that they're going to put an emphasis on promoting the EAP and having different resources within the EAP, which is Employee Assistance Program. It's ironic to me because a lot of the times we're not granting them the flexibility before we're making them return to work. Maybe now they can't do their online mental health appointment from the comfort of their own home. I think that's a full episode. I think that's a full episode. Well-being now. I know we've touched on EAP and all that. Yeah. I know that's a big one. Any other trends? I know there's a lot going on.

I will say my other thing is like contract employees and organizations that are doing the familiar path of maybe doing layoffs and so you do have people that are doing more with less. You got to figure out something's got to give. You're either going to lose your good people or you're going to not get work done. Like you can't, you literally can't do it all. But to the extent that you're bringing in contractors to do that, you just remember, not just in the U.S., but globally,

I've done a lot of this stuff globally. And globally, the misuse of contractors can be even more like penalized than in the U.S. But just know it may seem really easy and convenient for you to have a contractor. Not so much when years later, they're like, wait a second. You've been paying me as a contractor. I've been paying my employment taxes.

I haven't gotten these benefits that I should. And so the cost benefits to you of having contractors, just be very mindful. In HR, in particular, do a research and make sure that you're educating your teams. And if they're not listening to you, make sure that you're educating your teams. And if they're not listening to you, make sure you get it in writing because it's incredibly costly for misclassification suits.

Man, that's been an issue of my career, my entire career. That's always in the conversation, my God. Well, what is not going on in 2025? I mean, there's a lot, right? A lot of workplace trends, but a lot of progression, hopefully. And if you feel some contention, good, because with some contention and conflict comes progress, right? So not all's lost.

We'll see things grow and evolve here in the modern workplace. Shall we transition to some questions and comments to close us out? Yes. Any questions or comments? I have a quick comment. There are three places I am not going this year, above and beyond, the extra mile or out of my fucking way. That energy in 2025.

Don't you wish? Like if you're listening to this, I have to tell you, like we do our own things, we do our social media, but did you know Jamie in 2025 is offering a service where you can pay her to come to these meetings? Lee too. And they'll say the things that you'd always wanted to say. It's like cameo, but real life. They'll come to your meeting and say this so you won't get fired. I might. But you can at least see how your boss reacts. So they'll go through the whole application process, get hired. It'll take a little bit.

But how much would you pay to be at the end of a meeting and hear someone say that? I would spit out my drink for sure. I don't know if it's because I just turned 43, but my fucks, I don't have any much to give. As I've been saying, my give-a-damn is busted. And I've never gave a fuck, to be honest. My husband will tell you this, but here lately it's worse. I don't know what it is.

I will go into your workplace and say pretty much anytime. I would actually do that. I've done cameos for people like resignations or whatever. I don't do any more. I can keep up with that crap, but people ask me to do that a lot, especially in my comments or they DM me, like, can you come to my meeting? That costs extra. That's going to cost you a lot. You know what I mean? But you name the price. Hashtag seeking Finn sub. All right. That's all I want to- Ask Lee for her head and feet package. She'll say whatever you want. Exactly. First one's free. First one's free. Like I like that.

First one's always free. Gets you a hook there. But I will say this. It's 43. It'd be both of my ladies turned 43 in December. I've been 43 for nearly a year now. I had my annual physical in December and I talked at length. I sat and talked to my GP for 30 minutes, for 30 minutes about this.

And I mean, 43 is a real, like you read the articles and they're so true about the things that your body goes through at 43. So if you're younger than this, just skip ahead, just live in denial. Yeah, sorry. I know, right? So they look forward to. I wish someone had warned me though. If you're older than this, you'll be like, yeah, I remember.

I mean, not that I could have stopped aging, but... It was so sad. I sent a screenshot of my post-visit summary and it was savage. I've never felt more beat down in my life. It was basically like hopes to lose weight, trying, whatever. And see, you need to pay me to come get your doctor. Shit, I'll do that. I'll do it for free.

You're my friend. I like her. I did a follow-up video chat with her because that's so down and out. But anyway, a lot of hope going into 44 soon. Questions or comments, Ashley? Well, I was going to ask if you guys did a New Year's resolution. I think I shared with you all last year, I don't do resolutions. I really, really don't.

So it's New Year, same me. I'm back on my bullshit, my same bullshit. But to me, the year just keeps going. The time just keeps going. And so the thing with New Year's resolutions for me is that it creates this expectation you're supposed to be super busy and productive in January. And I think January should be a month of recovery from the previous year where you get your shit together and that your real action of work probably starts more in February or March. I think it's bullshit that we're made to work double, triple time at home and at work through October,

November, December. You know what I mean? And then what? Jump right back into it? Fuck that. No. Nope. Disagree. Rest. Rest, rest, recover. All of that. That should be January. I wish we could change our culture. I really, really do. So anyway, no, I don't have any resolutions, but I added some comments there. I just have a lot to accomplish. I have a shit ton of goals. I always have goals for the year, but I'm a badass bitch. So same year, same new year, same me, right?

Yeah. I'm the same. I don't do resolutions. I do set some goals for myself for the next year, but I've always said, I shouldn't need a new year to start something. So getting in shape or whatever it is, I don't want to make myself have this quote unquote clean slate and I should be able to start that at any time. I do. Do New Year's resolutions. Look, we're Sagittarius.

Good. Good. Everyone's, everyone's different, right? We're fire signs. We're like, fuck y'all. I've never known the zodiac signs. I'm a Pisces. I couldn't tell you one iota, what that means. Okay, I was hoping. Do you know what that means, Jamie?

Pisces? Your water sign. But what does that mean? Well, my dad's a Pisces. So, I mean, of course I know more information than I need to know about a Pisces. Anything notable? Great bonds. You share great bonds with people. Like you bond fast with people. Now we have the chat jupy to the signs now. Dammit. I know. Compassionate, creative, empathetic, gracious, imaginative, adaptable. I think these are all good things.

So we went skiing over the holidays. And this one, our last night, we went with another family and the last night we went to this restaurant where you take a snowcat, like a sleigh kind of thing. It's not like a sleigh, like a machine, but up the mountain. So you eat up the mountain, but you go in and they give you like slippers and stuff. But I didn't have my size in the room we'd start up, so I had to go to this other room. Like 95 seconds, I come back to the table where like my husband, kids are, family, whatever. And I'm like, oh my God, I met these people. Like this person does tours for the Australian Open. These people are from Kentucky and they go to, like this other guy was like, how the fuck

did you learn all of that in like a minute and a half? I'm like, I don't know, guess based. But I have physical goals. So I have bad news that I was running the marathon in March. I've had some knee issues. Part of this is related to my just like some little weight gain over year to year. And yeah, my hope, my hope has codified, and my doctors know my hope to lose weight.

And so I think I'm gonna adjust that to a half marathon and do a full marathon later in the year. And that's very unlike me because I'm very stubborn when it comes to these things. And I would like to a debilitating amount keep with it. And I'm proud of you. Thank you. And so you injure yourself.

Yes, and so I'm not, I was really like, I was very down about it, but that's fine. I'm going to accept things. But I have, like, I spent a lot of time over the holidays and things working on my tool kits for like running these follow-up sessions. And so for like organizations to run the training and then run these themselves, I mean, I literally was working on these and was so excited and I hope others will feel the same that it worked out at least. But so like just this year is my year,

like last year I launched a few new things with the business and so now it's all about refinement. And so I'm trying to take that on as my personal thing, like refine myself, do those things. I also want to read 50 books this year. But sometimes if I'm having like, if I'm behind on that goal, I'll read like a regular babysitter's club,

like not a super special and like that counts. That counts as a book. So, so. Oh, okay. Let me know if you need recommendations. I will need some recommendations. We'll pop those on. I want to start popping some more of those on HR Besties Stories as well.

And we will put some of those in our newsletter. So if you're not part of those HRBesties.com, you can see all the fun things. Follow like share all of that fun stuff, right? And another quick comment, if I may. If you have a lot of pressure on performing like ASAP right here at the beginning of the year, give yourself some grace. Like give yourself some grace, put up those boundaries. Like you do what you need to do to transition into the new year if that means something to you. You know what I mean? Do all you can.

Crap, recover, grow, all of that, whatever you need to do. And you have the whole year and hopefully many, many years to come to perform and excel and succeed. It doesn't all have to happen in fucking January. You know what I mean? Like the pressure. Oh my God. Oh. Truly. Well, on that mean? Like the pressure. Oh my God. Oh,

truly. Well, on that note, happy New Year. Welcome back besties. More meetings to come.