📚 HR Book Club, Employee Development Plan, Political Friction - Nov 14, 2025

On today’s agenda:

📚 The HR book club

🧭 Political friction in the workplace

♿ Amazon’s Disability Dispute 

THE HR SPOTLIGHT

📚 The HR Book Club: Page-Turners for People Champions

Ready to swap your HR playbook for something that actually feeds your people-leader brain? Here’s a dose of inspiring reads and podcasts—handpicked for HR pros who care as much about empathy and culture as they do about KPIs.

Your curated HR book-club picks

Here are powerful and practical resources to level up your leadership, empathy, and future-of-work savviness:

📖 Read: 

• Radical Candor by Kim Scott – Learn how to care personally and challenge directly. Seriously, give better feedback without sounding like a robot.

• Dare to Lead by Brené Brown – Vulnerability, courage, and trust-building are the secret sauce of modern leadership.

• Workquake by Steve Cadigan – A timely guide for HR leaders navigating fluid careers, loyalty shifts, and evolving job markets. 

🎧 Listen: 

• Inside the 9 Future of Work Trends for 2025 (Gartner ThinkCast) – A great episode by Gartner exploring how AI, hybrid work, and emotional risk reshape HR strategy.

• Transform Your Workplace Podcast – Weekly episodes from global HR experts, covering communication, culture, and inclusive leadership. 

Whether you're looking to cultivate more empathy, coach with courage, or future-proof your HR playbook, these reads and listens offer real, actionable insights. Think of it as your HR Book Club Lite—no finger wagging, just meaningful growth.

In a highly automated, fast-moving world, HR leaders must get more human, not less.

⭐ See the Top 10 Most Recommended Books for HR Leaders »

📅 Age‑Lockout No More —  HR Magazine

• What’s unfolding: A recent report suggests HR must lead in creating age‑inclusive workplaces to accommodate longer, multi‑stage careers.

• Why it matters: HR can audit job designs, champion inter‑generational mentoring, and embed flexible career paths rather than just hiring younger stars.

• What’s unfolding: Research from Brightmine finds 64％ of U.S. employees have witnessed political disputes at work and 27% were distracted by them; 47％ of workplaces lack clear policies.

• Why it matters: Political conflict is a sneaky performance killer. It’s time to set “guardrails” — clear, values‑based frameworks for dialogue and behaviour — rather than hoping issues will fade.

• What’s unfolding: A report reveals U.S. workers’ trust in leadership is slipping: dips in “misaligned”, “disconnected”, “distrust” in senior management language are up +149％ from 2024‑25.

• Why it matters: HR leaders need to treat trust like a fragile asset — erosion accelerates quickly. Include transparency with decisions (especially layoffs/reorgs), consistent leadership messaging and real connection with remote or hybrid workers who feel left behind.

WEEKLY GOODY

COMPLIANCE CORNER

• What’s unfolding: Federal agencies are recalling furloughed workers and rescinding layoff notices now that the shutdown has ended.

• HR implications: HR leaders in affected agencies must rapidly coordinate return‑to‑work logistics, update payroll and communication plans, and brace for employee morale turbulence.

• What’s unfolding: Starting February 1, 2026, California employers must provide a new “Workplace Know Your Rights” written notice to all current and new employees, and thereafter annually.

• HR implications: If your organization operates in California, HR must ensure new template notices are incorporated into onboarding and annual review cycles — missing this could mean regulatory exposure.

• What’s unfolding: Amazon is facing a class‑action lawsuit alleging punitive attendance policies for workers with disabilities, forcing unpaid leave and potential terminations when they request accommodations.

• HR implications: Review how attendance and accommodation policies align with the ADA and state laws; when formal action is underway at a major employer, it signals heightened risk and precedent for other organisations.

BREAKROOM

QUICK POLL

📬 Missed Wednesday’s issue on ‘Year End Workforce Checkpoint’? Read it »