HR’s stuck

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This week: HR is caught in a losing game—blamed by execs, distrusted by employees, and left holding the bag for broken workplace promises. Meanwhile, CEOs are still clinging to the RTO fantasy, thinking butts in seats = productivity. Spoiler: It doesn’t.

HR’s identity crisis: Stuck between the c-suite and the workforce

HR leaders are caught in the crossfire.

One minute, they’re rolling out ambitious DEI programs. The next, they’re watching those same initiatives quietly disappear. One day, they’re championing flexibility; the next, they’re delivering return-to-office mandates that no one wants. Now, with AI automating more tasks and companies questioning the value of HR, people leaders are in a reckoning of their own.

No one feels bad for HR—but maybe they should

HR has always been the department that no one really trusts. Employees see it as an extension of management. The C-suite sees it as a bureaucratic cost center. And when things go wrong—be it mass layoffs, DEI cutbacks, or employee backlash—HR is often left cleaning up the mess.

Even now, as companies rethink the bold workplace commitments they made post-#MeToo and Black Lives Matter, HR is left scrambling to manage the fallout.

“CEOs made these promises. Now they’re quietly walking them back, and HR is left holding the bag,” says Peter Capelli, professor of management at Wharton.

The pandemic created an impossible standard

The pandemic forced HR to take on everything:

✅ Keeping employees safe

✅ Managing vaccine mandates

✅ Supporting mental health

✅ Overseeing remote work policies

✅ Navigating a complete cultural shift in how we work

For a moment, HR seemed indispensable. Now? Leaders are pulling back. And in the rush to cut costs and “get back to normal,” HR teams are being asked to do more with even less—without a clear mandate on what their role should be.

AI, burnout, and the future of HR

As AI begins automating core HR tasks, from recruiting to performance management, the real question is: What’s left for HR to do?

Some argue that HR’s focus should shift from administration to strategy—prioritizing job quality, employee well-being, and culture. But here’s the problem: HR doesn’t actually control many of the things that drive workplace happiness.

• HR doesn’t set salaries—executives do.

• HR doesn’t determine job autonomy—managers do.

• HR doesn’t decide hiring freezes and layoffs—investors do.

So when employees are stressed, overworked, and unhappy, is HR the right team to fix it? Or is HR just the middleman in a broken system?

Time for a reset

HR is at a crossroads. It can either continue being the “punching bag” of the workplace or redefine its role in a way that actually works.

That means shifting away from shiny perks and mindfulness apps that do nothing and focusing on the structural issues that actually improve work—things like job flexibility, fair pay, and better management.

Because right now, HR is trying to be everything. And in the process, it’s becoming nothing.

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The great RTO illusion: Why 'butts in seats' won’t save productivity

Corporate leaders are pushing hard on return-to-office (RTO) mandates, convinced that packed offices = better business. But forcing people back won’t fix disengagement, burnout, or broken work environments.

McKinsey’s latest research confirms it: location isn’t the problem. Employees aren’t struggling because they’re remote—they’re struggling because work itself isn’t working.

The real problem? Work is broken.

• Employees are checked out. 8 in 10 feel disconnected due to low pay, poor work-life balance, and lack of career growth.

• RTO is a privilege now. High earners in tech and finance get hybrid options. Lower-wage workers? Forced back in.

• Working moms are stuck. 60% of women (35–44) want remote jobs, but those roles are disappearing fast.

• Isolation hurts productivity. 40% of workers say loneliness at work is making them less effective.

Meanwhile, Citi is investing $1.2B in better workspaces—not forcing attendance—because they know flexibility is a competitive advantage.

What actually works?

✅ Career growth: Employees don’t just want a job—they want a future. Invest in mentorship, skills development, and clear promotion pathways.

✅ Purposeful collaboration: Simply packing offices won’t spark innovation. Companies need structured teamwork and project-based collaboration models.

✅ Better work, not more control: People don’t need coffee bars or catered lunches—they need trust, autonomy, and fair pay.

Forcing RTO without fixing deeper issues is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. The smartest companies aren’t looking backward—they’re building a workplace that actually works.

What we’re reading

HR DIVE: Half of workers with chronic health conditions say they are afraid to take time off.

The HR Digest: AI in HR is transforming, not replacing.