🛡️Employee Data Fundamentals, Ghost Growth, Holiday Time-Off Compliance - Nov 17, 2025

On today’s agenda:

🛡️ Employee data fundamentals

🤝 Your 2026 HR partner

🎄 Holiday time-off compliance

THE HR SPOTLIGHT

🛡️Employee Data Fundamentals: What HR Should and Shouldn’t Track

Let’s talk about data: the kind that comes with power, responsibilities — and yes, even a little HR awkwardness. Because collecting employee info? It’s not just about spreadsheets. It’s about trust.

🧩 The Dilemma: What Are We Really Collecting?

As of early 2025, 76％ of North American companies report using some form of employee monitoring. A recent survey shows younger employees don’t just expect transparency around digital privacy — they question it. Yet, according to analysts, many monitoring programs are punchy on what can be collected and low on why it should be. 

The risk? A slip from “helping performance” into “Big Brother at home office”: morale dips, trust erodes, your company brand takes a hit.

✅ How HR Can Lead Ethically

• Set the rule of “Need to Know”: Only collect data if you can clearly answer “why” and “how it benefits our people”.

• Consent is more than a checkbox. Build transparency: tell employees what, why, who, how long.

• Keep policies digestible and visible: A short one-pager beats a legal-sized PDF.

• Engage employees in the design: Surveys, focus groups, or even coffee chats make the difference between “being watched” and “being supported”.

In short: Collect smart. Communicate clearly. Respect privacy. Because when employee data is handled like trust capital, HR becomes the hero — not the heavy.

💡 See the 4 Data Fundamentals in People Management to Follow » 

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🫠 Culture Rot Creeps In — People Management

• What’s unfolding: A recent survey finds that 54％ of UK professionals say their workplace suffers from “culture rot” — the slow decay of values, weak rewards and declining alignment.

• Why it matters: For HR teams, this erosion means rising disengagement, hidden turnover and weakened employer brand. It’s time to revive core values, boost recognition and ensure culture isn’t just decoration.

🏁 Nike Cuts Wellness Week — HR Grapevine

• What’s unfolding: Nike has axed its annual five-day “Wellness Week” perk, telling staff that new operational demands require a “get back to winning” mindset.

• Why it matters: HR leaders should see this as a cautionary tale of cutting employee-care benefits during restructuring — morale and trust could take a hit. Reinforce wellbeing strategy and communicate transparently.

👻 Ghost Jobs Haunt the Market — HR Dive

• What’s unfolding: In the U.S., nearly one in three job listings never lead to hires — creating a “ghost job economy” where openings inflate but roles vanish.

• Why it matters: HR must watch the credibility damage this causes with candidates and internal talent. Better hiring transparency, accurate job postings and prompt communication can protect employer brand and candidate experience.

COMPLIANCE CORNER

• What’s unfolding: The state of California levied a large six-figure penalty on Costco Wholesale Corp for misclassifying 58 delivery drivers as independent contractors.

• HR implications: If your team uses external or gig‐type workers, HR must double-check classification accuracy now — missteps can mean costly fines, delayed audits and reputational risk for employers.

• What’s unfolding: Employers are warned about legal risk during the upcoming holiday season when handling time-off and leave requests — compliance errors are on the rise.

• HR implications: HR leaders should update and communicate time-off policies this month, ensure fairness in approvals, and track requests closely to avoid discrimination claims or state regulatory issues.

• What’s unfolding: Bank of America issued a report signalling that wages are growing slower than inflation, putting pressure on worker pay and economic stability.

• HR implications: HR must reassess pay competitiveness and inflation‐impacts now — stagnant pay can lead to retention issues, morale dips and talent flight unless addressed proactively.

HR TECH WATCH

🌐 A Review of Humand: One-App HR Powerhouse

Why we selected it: Humand is a modern all-in-one HR platform used by thousands globally; it blends internal communications, talent-development and HR-process management in one sleek interface.  

HRAddict rating: ★★★★☆ 4.5
Humand is great for companies aiming to improve employee connection, training, and internal communication without juggling multiple tools.

This is an independent review using aggregated insights and publicly available data.

BREAKROOM

📬 Missed Friday’s issue on ‘HR Book Club’? Read it »