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- Forgiveness-Feedback Loop, Cooling Conflicts, Rippling Review - Jul 7, 2025
Forgiveness-Feedback Loop, Cooling Conflicts, Rippling Review - Jul 7, 2025
Forgive, feedback, repeat. Ideas for your next team building, a Rippling good platform review—and more.
Hi, HR Pros! 🌟 It’s Global Forgiveness Day — a time to reflect, reset, and maybe even forgive that coworker who “replied all” again. Let’s talk feedback, kindness, and building a more human workplace.
On today’s agenda:
💞 The forgiveness-feedback loop
😱 Amazon bots outnumber humans
⚔️ Record workplace conflict
🌀 A review of Rippling
![]() | WEEKLY GOODY |
THE HR SPOTLIGHT
💞 Forgiveness and Feedback: How to Build a Kinder Workplace

In honor of Global Forgiveness Day, it’s time to talk about something we rarely put in HR toolkits—forgiveness. It’s not just for personal growth or awkward family dinners. In the current emotionally charged, hybrid, post-pandemic world, fostering forgiveness at work can build psychological safety, reduce turnover, and unlock the door to truly constructive feedback. ✨
😬 The situation: Feedback without forgiveness falls flat…
Tension is high. Many teams are still rebuilding trust after years of uncertainty. A recent study noted that workplace conflict can cause businesses to lose up to $359B a year from lost productivity (WifiTalents).
To make matters worse, according to the same report, 56% of employees feel such conflicts are not managed properly, which creates stress. Poor management of workplace conflict also makes employees feel uncomfortable about giving honest feedback. Fear of judgment. Lack of trust. And yep—no room for forgiveness when things go wrong.
🛠️ What HR can do: Build a feedback culture that forgive. Help your teams reset and repair with:
🙌 “Failure forgiveness” policies for teams that experiment and learn
🗺️ Conflict-mapping tools to unpack recurring tensions
💬 Peer feedback prompts that start with empathy
🎓 Leadership training to employ emotionally intelligent debriefs and practice effective ways to give feedback
Encouraging forgiveness doesn’t mean avoiding accountability—it means making space for learning, not just blame. And that, HR pros, is how trust grows. 🌱
TODAY’S CULTURE CUE
🛠️ Map the Conflict, Not Just the People: Create a simple conflict map: who’s involved, triggers, impact, and unmet needs. This will separate behavior from bias—fast and fair. Resolve conflicts effectively »
TOGETHER WITH MORNING BREW
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It’s 100% free and takes less than 15 seconds to sign up, so try it today and see how Morning Brew is transforming business media for the better.
THE HR PULSE
😱 Amazon Bots Set to Outnumber Humans - HR Grapevine
What’s Unfolding: Amazon now has over 1M robots in its warehouses—nearly matching its estimated 1.56M human workforce—and robotics support around 75% of global deliveries, taking on repetitive tasks and boosting efficiency .
Why It Matters: For HR, this signals a seismic shift—automation is here to stay. Focus on reskilling warehouse staff into tech roles and redesigning job descriptions. Proactive workforce planning is key.
🏛️ Feds Stay Steady Despite Cuts - MSN
What’s Unfolding: Even with efforts to shrink the government workforce (down ~23k since Sept), the federal payroll currently maintains around 2.3M employees.
Why It Matters: Public-sector HR leaders should prepare for mandated buyouts, hiring freezes, and potential role consolidations. Communicate transparently, support transitions, and upskill remaining staff.
🌞 Dubai Ditches 5‑Day Heat Blues - Time Out
What’s Unfolding: Dubai’s public sector launched a four‑day summer workweek (plus shorter hours) from July 1 to Sept 12, aiming to improve work-life balance during the hot months.
Why It Matters: HR teams should explore seasonal flex options or compressed schedules—especially in hot climates—to reduce burnout and enhance retention. Pilot programs sell the idea best.
RESOURCE ROUNDUP
![]() | Manatal |
![]() | AIHR |
![]() | SHRM |
COMPLIANCE CORNER
🧓 Supreme Court Shrinks ADA for Retirees - HR Morning
What’s Unfolding: The Supreme Court ruled retirees can’t sue under the ADA for post-employment benefit changes unless they were still employed or seeking employment when discrimination occurred.
HR Implications: HR should update benefit policies promptly, noting that new retiree claims under ADA are limited—but review design to prevent state law exposure.
🕹️ Amazon’s Automation Hits Disabled Staff - HR Grapevine
What’s Unfolding: Over 200 disabled Amazon employees allege automated systems block accommodation requests, delete Slack posts, and stifle disability-related organizing.
HR Implications: HR must audit automated workflows, insert human checks into accommodation processes, and ensure ADA compliance in AI-driven systems.
🧁 Undocumented Workers at Cheesecake Factory - HR Dive
What’s Unfolding: Undocumented workers allege the Cheesecake Factory in Pennsylvania recruited them with fake documents, forced unpaid overtime, denied breaks, and threatened deportation.
HR Implications: Ensure compliance with I-9 documentation rules, guard against discrimination risks, and train managers on lawful employment verification.
TREND WATCH
⚔️ Workplace Conflict at Record High Levels

Digesting the data: A recent HR Acuity study—covering 8.7M employees—finds workplace complaints hit a record 14.7 per 1,000 employees in 2024, fueled by spikes in discrimination, accommodation requests, mental‑health concerns, and unprofessional behavior. Companies often investigate ad hoc—only 57% use systematic processes, while 68% fail to track or analyze case details, letting root causes fester.
Return-to-office mandates have triggered a surge in accommodation claims as employees ask for more flexibility—especially around invisible disabilities. Mental health, job-performance, and behavior issues also rose sharply.
Outlook for HR: For HR pros, this trend rings the alarm bell: complaints are rising, and inconsistency will be your kryptonite. Expect pressure mounting—from regulators and your workforce—for formalized, transparent, proactive ER processes. To uphold psychological safety, you need clear policies, consistent investigative methods, and data tracking that identifies not just what—but why.
HR leaders who act decisively will build compliant, respectful, and resilient workplaces—turning complaint trends into opportunities for real transformation.
👉 Read the full piece and unravel the numbers yourself »
UPCOMING EVENTS
![]() | July 15-16, Virtual - HCI |
![]() | July 22-25, Virtual/In-Person (California, USA) - NAHCR |
![]() | On-Demand Webinar - HRT |
HR TECH WATCH
🌀 A Review of Rippling: HR’s One‑Stop Productivity Hub

Why we selected it: An all-in-one HR, payroll, IT, and spend platform with global reach—Rippling is highly rated on multiple review platforms. Popular for its seamless automation and unified data.
Key features:
Employee Graph platform – unified employee data across HR, payroll, IT & finance
Global Payroll & EOR – pay employees/contractors in 185+ countries, with compliance included
IT & device management – auto-provision hardware/apps and manage identities securely
Learning & scheduling workflows – SCORM uploads, training windows and clock-in locks for untrained shifts
Pros:
| Cons:
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HRAddict rating: ★★★★☆ 4.8
Rippling nails unified HR, payroll, IT and global compliance in one sleek platform—powerful and efficient for growing teams.
This is an independent review using aggregated insights and publicly available data.
BREAKROOM

SMART READS
🗓️ 4-day Workweeks: The Pros & Cons
🎧 Remote Team Communication: Tips for Managers
🎉 Boost Engagement with these Fun Meeting Ideas
QUICK POLL
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