Hey Besties ~
I hope you had a great weekend, because this week… whew. The world of work is giving us a lot to talk about.
It’s less “polished LinkedIn post” and more “group chat after midnight” — blunt truths, unexpected turns, and a few plot twists that make you stop and ask, “Okay… so what does this mean for me, my team, and my future?”
That’s what we’re doing here. Not just scanning the headlines for the sake of knowing them — but breaking them down so you can:
Hire smarter — even when budgets are tight.
Lead stronger — when your people are looking for direction.
Navigate complexity with clarity — because this is no time for guesswork.
This briefing is made possible by The Marketing Millennials. a community I actually think you’ll love. They get what it means to be a leader right now, and they’re on the same mission we are: helping you cut through noise and make moves that matter.
If you do one thing after reading this email, make it this: click their link. That’s it. No form, no pitch, no “but wait, there’s more.” Just one click to support the people who help me keep this coming to you every week.
Thanks in advance 💜
Now, let’s dig into what’s going on in the world of work and more importantly, how we actually lead through it.
Hiring highs are over. Strategy is in.
The July jobs report showed only 73,000 new jobs added, mostly in healthcare. Outside of 2020’s chaos, this is the weakest job growth since 2008. And BP? They just upped layoffs to 6,200 corporate roles. That’s 15% of their office workforce.
Why it matters: The “hire now, figure it out later” era is over. Every headcount request is going to be an uphill sell to finance.
Tips for HR & people leaders:
Treat workforce planning like portfolio management. Show how each hire delivers ROI.
Build a talent pipeline before you need it. This should be a year round endeavor!
Partner with finance early. Bring them into workforce planning conversations now, not after the req is written.
Pay is flat, patience is thinner.
Salary budgets for 2026 are expected to hold steady at 3.5% the same as this year. On paper, that’s “not bad” compared to pre-pandemic averages. But when you factor in inflation, rising housing costs, and the fact that over 50% of employees are living paycheck-to-paycheck, it’s clear that “flat” feels more like “falling behind.”
And it’s not just about the math. One in three employees believes their pay doesn’t reflect their performance. That’s a perception problem!! And you know right now and in this market, perception drives retention.
Flat budgets mean leaders can’t rely on salary bumps alone to keep people motivated. Without a clear explanation of why pay decisions are made, you risk disengagement, quiet quitting, and attrition. Especially among your highest performers, who will be the first to take recruiter calls.
Why it matters: Pay frustration doesn’t just drive turnover. It erodes trust in leadership.
Tips for HR & people leaders:
Use compensation benchmarking tools like Salary.com to defend decisions with data.
Communicate the why behind pay decisions in plain language.
Add low-cost, high-impact benefits: financial literacy workshops, emergency savings matches, or earned wage access.
Gen Z is eyeing “AI-proof” trades.
Here is something that is interesting! A Harris Poll found that only 38% of Gen Z views skilled trades. Think electricians, welders, mechanics, machinists as “top” careers. That number jumps to 42% when you introduce a new variable: the idea that AI might replace corporate jobs.
For many young workers, the college-to-office pipeline has been the assumed path. But they’re watching entry-level corporate roles get automated, outsourced, or eliminated before they even hit the job market. The message they’re taking in? The “safe” desk job might not be so safe.
Trades, on the other hand, offer something AI can’t replicate at least not in the foreseeable future tangible, hands-on work that requires physical presence and specialized skill. And those jobs aren’t just “blue collar” anymore. Skilled trades today often involve advanced tech, robotics, and problem-solving that appeal to Gen Z’s digital-native brains. I love to see it.
Why it matters: AI-proof roles are a powerful recruitment hook, especially for industries struggling with skilled labor shortages.
Tips for HR & people leaders:
Market trade careers as future-proof with strong career growth.
Build partnerships with trade schools and apprenticeship programs (check out Apprenticeship.gov).
Showcase real employee stories on video — younger jobseekers trust peer experiences more than corporate copy.
Marketing ideas for marketers who hate boring
The best marketing ideas come from marketers who live it. That’s what The Marketing Millennials delivers: real insights, fresh takes, and no fluff. Written by Daniel Murray, a marketer who knows what works, this newsletter cuts through the noise so you can stop guessing and start winning. Subscribe and level up your marketing game.
The AI Catfish Candidate Is Here
Gartner says that by 2028, one in four candidate profiles will be fake. Not “my GPA was a 3.8 but I’m rounding up” fake. We’re talking full-blown, underground-economy-of-deception fake.
Here’s the greatest hits so far:
Deepfake video interviews where AI-generated faces and voices smile, nod, and answer your questions in real time like they’ve actually met you before.
AI-written resumes and cover letters so perfectly tailored to your job posting they could win “Most Likely to Bypass Your ATS” in the yearbook.
Identity swaps where a super-qualified “friend” nails the interview and then hands the actual job to someone else like it’s a relay baton.
Why is this happening? Because generative AI has officially gone from “fun party trick” to “cheap, accessible, disturbingly convincing fraud toolkit.” And the kicker? The same tech we brought in to speed up hiring is now helping candidates get better at lying to us.
So here we are. Recruiters trying to fill jobs faster while also playing a never-ending game of Guess Who? with people who may or may not even exist.
The fix? Layer your verification like your HR-approved lasagna. Add live, unscripted questions. Throw in identity checks that aren’t just “click here to confirm you’re human.” And for the love of hiring, keep actual humans in the loop to catch the weird pauses, awkward deflections, and too-perfect answers that AI still hasn’t mastered.
The EU Just Put Your AI Hiring Tools on the Naughty List
As of August 2, the EU AI Act officially stamped AI in hiring as “high risk.” Translation: your shiny recruiting tech is now in the same category as dangerous machinery and biohazards. And yes, that means strict disclosure, detailed documentation, and the kind of oversight that makes HR compliance nerds giddy.
Even if you are in the U.S., don’t get too comfortable. If your vendor is based in the EU, or just likes to sell in that market, these rules will find their way into your life faster than an “urgent” calendar invite on a Friday afternoon.
Here’s how to not get caught off guard:
Ask your ATS or recruitment tech vendor what their compliance plan is. If they hesitate, that is YOUR compliance plan. And it does not look good.
Keep a human in the loop for AI-assisted hiring decisions. Robots can shortlist, but humans should still make the call on who actually gets in the door.
Start building your disclosure process now so you are ready to tell candidates, “Yes, a robot helped us decide, but a human still runs the place.”
This is not the moment to be “we’ll deal with it later.” Later is when the fines show up.
Radical Corporate Candor
AT&T’s CEO didn’t sugarcoat it: no more promotions based solely on tenure, no guaranteed job security, and no default remote work. The message was clear — adapt or leave.
It’s the kind of internal memo that used to be whispered about behind closed doors, but now it’s hitting inboxes and making headlines. And AT&T isn’t the only one. More leaders are “saying the quiet part out loud” — openly dismantling the idea of corporate loyalty as a two-way street.
Why it matters: Transparency can be a competitive advantage, but there’s a line between clarity and coldness. Stripping out empathy risks sending the message that employees are disposable, which can tank engagement and accelerate attrition. Especially among high performers who have other options.
Tips for HR & people leaders:
Pair truth with a path forward: If you’re resetting expectations, also lay out the opportunities and skills that will be rewarded.
Coach managers on delivery: Not every leader is equipped to deliver blunt news in a way that builds trust. Get a comms person or invest in communication training.
Link to values: Tie hard decisions back to the company’s stated purpose and mission to keep them from feeling purely transactional.
Monitor morale: Use pulse surveys or tools like Culture Amp or Lattice to measure engagement before and after big announcements.
Don’t just close doors — open new ones: If remote work flexibility is being cut, offer alternative perks like commuter benefits, flexible hours, or upskilling opportunities.
Same Song. Second Verse.
Right now DEI is catching more heat than a manager who “accidentally” schedules a 4 p.m. Friday meeting. The EEOC is shifting more conservative, which means every diversity program is being examined like it’s a suspect package.
And lawsuits? They’re coming for DEI initiatives by calling them “reverse discrimination.” Translation: programs designed to level the playing field are now being accused of tilting it the other way.
If DEI is part of your world, this is the moment to:
Get clear on your business case for inclusion. If the answer starts and ends with “because it’s right,” it won’t hold in court.
Audit your language so it focuses on fairness and opportunity for all.
Keep your documentation tight because receipts are what keep programs alive when the spotlight turns harsh.
The landscape is shifting but the need for DEI hasn’t. You just have to play smarter.
Women’s well-being is slipping.
Nearly half of working women report their overall well-being is worsening — with financial stress, caregiving, and health issues leading the way.
Tips for HR & people leaders:
Offer flexible scheduling and normalize using it at all levels.
Provide caregiver benefits and ensure leaders model taking leave.
Evaluate your health benefits for gaps in women-specific care.
Ageism: still the bias people joke about.
A ResumeNow survey found that 90% of workers over 50 have experienced some form of age discrimination. We’re not just talking about being left out of after-work happy hours. We’re talking lower pay for the same work, being passed over for promotions, and in some cases, being nudged toward the door.
What’s worse? Age bias often gets a cultural pass. Comments like “OK boomer” or tech jokes about “dinosaurs” would never fly if they were targeting other protected characteristics. Yet they often go unchallenged in workplace banter.
And now, with AI playing a bigger role in hiring, there’s a real risk of algorithmic bias quietly filtering out older candidates, even if it’s unintentional, unless companies are testing and monitoring for it.
Why it matters: Beyond the legal risk, ignoring age inclusion is a talent waste. Older workers bring decades of experience, industry insight, and mentoring value that can close skill gaps and strengthen teams. In a tight labor market, sidelining them is both short-sighted and costly.
Tips for HR & people leaders:
Audit job postings for ageist language: Phrases like “digital native” or “high energy” can be subtle red flags.
Test AI hiring tools for age bias: If you use automated screening, run audits with diverse age profiles to see if outcomes skew younger.
Create reverse mentoring programs: Pair younger employees with seasoned staff to exchange skills from tech tools to leadership lessons.
Highlight age diversity in employer branding: Feature employees across age groups in your careers page, social media, and recruitment campaigns.
Offer phased retirement or project-based roles: Retain institutional knowledge while offering flexibility.
Bright spot: childcare wins.
Sauder Manufacturing launched a childcare subsidy for plant workers. For them it was a small cost. But the impact has been huge. Sauder Manufacturing didn’t make a splashy corporate announcement. They simply launched a childcare subsidy for their 150 plant employees.
We’re talking reduced absenteeism, higher retention, and employees who don’t have to choose between keeping their job and finding someone to watch their kids. The benefit didn’t just help parents. It built trust across the workforce, signaling that leadership is listening and willing to solve real problems.
Tips for HR & people leaders:
Survey employees about their biggest non-work stressors. You may find a single fix that changes everything.
Start small: pilot programs can prove the business case before scaling.
When promoting roles, highlight benefits like this front and center. It’s a differentiator.
If budgets are tight, explore partnerships with local childcare providers for discounted rates instead of direct subsidies.
The bottom line:
This week has been full of blunt truths from cooling job markets to flat pay. AI tightening the rules, and leaders openly rewriting the social contract at work.
But buried in those headlines are bright spots like Sauder Manufacturing’s childcare win. Reminders that real change doesn’t always come from billion-dollar budgets or sweeping policies. Sometimes, it’s one targeted decision that makes your people feel seen, supported, and worth keeping.
That’s the work worth fighting for.
Leaders who stay close to their people, anticipate needs before they’re forced to act, and balance strategic decisions with human impact will be the ones their teams choose to follow no matter what the market does.
💼 Want to work together?
I help HR leaders, executives, and teams connect the dots between workplace trends, compliance, and culture. That way you can hire smarter, lead stronger, and future-proof your strategy.
Start here → jackyeclayton.com
xoxo 💜
Jackye