The Privilege of a Day Off: Unpacking Black Friday

Until 6 years ago I had never worked for an organization that scheduled to be closed for business on the Day after Thanksgiving. In addition, over the course of time, I worked for a fair number of companies that were open on Thanksgiving Day. At one organization the paid holidays were bundled into the general PTO bank so if, for example, a holiday feel on a regularly scheduled workday (i.e. M – F) and I wanted to take the day off for Thanksgiving or Christmas Day or Memorial Day (etc.), I needed to use a PTO day.  I generally didn’t waste a PTO day on Black Friday.

But as we sit here in 2023, it seems the vast majority of employees not only expect to have the Day after Thanksgiving as a paid holiday, they’ve also turned it into a whole week away from the office. (I myself started using the phrase “let’s follow up the week after Thanksgiving” about 3 weeks ago).

Interestingly enough, contrary to popular belief, the term Black Friday (which is often ascribed to the concept that this big shopping day moves retailers from the “red” to the “black”), actually has its origins in the workplace. In the 1950’s, manufacturing employers started referring to the Friday after Thanksgiving as Black Friday (“marked by disaster or misfortune”) because so many employees called in sick. (Exhausted from a family gathering? Tired from traveling to grandma’s house? Hungover? Merely extending their holiday weekend?)  

So who is really “off?” on Black Friday? It certainly appears as though everyone in my LinkedIn, Threads and Facebook feeds has shut it down for the week, but lots of folks are still grinding it out this week. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) tracks holiday policies and while the most recent data indicates that approximately 43% of US employees get a paid day off on the Day after Thanksgiving there are, of course, vast differences across industries. (ssshhh; another dirty little secret: 28 million Americans don’t get any paid holidays or paid time off).

Would it surprise you to know that only 21% of workers on private service industry jobs get the day off? Off course it wouldn’t; after all those who are lucky enough to not have to work on Black Friday want to galivant around town and shop, dine and make merry. (And need retail clerks, restaurant servers and movie theater staff to help them do just that).  Similarly, of course, hospitals and nursing homes never close and most manufacturing sites or production facilities run 24/7/365 (it’s far too costly to “shut down the line” and start it up again).

So if, in fact, you have a paid holiday provided by your employer this Friday, consider yourself lucky; it is a privilege.

Now we just need to work on bringing the Day of Goodwill/Boxing Day tradition to the US.

*****.

Full of Sound and Fury: The AI Hype Machine at #HRTechConf

Next week (hurray) I’m heading out to the HR Technology Conference & Exposition – one of my favorite annual events. I love the sessions, the demos, the Pitchfest, the Start-Up Pavilion, the Happy Hours, the “let’s catch up over lunch” meetings, and the parties. So many parties.

My favorite sort of content? I love hearing case studies from HR teams who have implemented work tech that has created efficiencies, enhanced productivity, provided insight to leaders to enhance decision making, and improved the employee (and HR!) experience.

This year, of course, there will be lots of chatter about AI as every other session appears to have “AI” in the title. Not that we haven’t been subjected to these conversations for a number of years. But in 2023, thanks to the ubiquitous use of generative AI tools by both HS students writing term papers and Mawmaw putting together posts for her “Sweet Southern Cookin” substack, the floodgates have opened.

I enjoy it. I do. But the reality is that for WAY more HR teams than not, worrying about AI when updating their work technology is pretty much bringing up the final spot (if at all) on their “wish list.”  When embarking on a journey of optimizing their HR technology (and all the related processes and workflows), the sexy vision of implementing a conversational chat bot (that’s been fed lots of data and prompt engineered) is, for the majority of HR practitioners, a pipe dream.

Mid-sized HR teams (or solo HR practitioners!) need and want their HR technology and platforms to effectively manage some pretty basic things….and the vendors and pundits more often than not SEVERLEY underestimate what those things are! 

What is still going on in LOTS of HR Departments?

  • Completion of forms (often by hand) that then must be printed, signed, and FAXED (yes; faxed) back to the requesting party (often government, job placement agencies/entities, or health care providers). Remember during the early days of the pandemic how every HR person we knew had to make sure a designated person could still go to the office to pick up the mail and check the fax machine? This is why.
  • Employees reporting hours worked via email, SMS, or phone call to a landline (sitting on the desk of Pam in Payroll). These are often non-exempt employees who are working in the field and reporting throughout the day to multiple job sites. They don’t have company-provided cell phones or tablets or laptops and, quite often, don’t even have a company e-mail. Geo Tagging? Sure; if they can log in (see next bullet point…)
  • Lots of time helping non-tech savvy applicants, new hires and employees navigate digital portals because:
  • They don’t have a personal email address so they either make one up or use their cousin’s email address to complete their “Onboarding” and then, of course, don’t receive any of the system-generated emails.
    • They don’t have smart phones so the happy clappy exhortation from Sally Sue in HR to just “download the app – it’s so easy (!!!)” is useless.
    • Even if they DO have both a personal email address and a smart phone, they cannot remember passwords or have lost access and therefore end up creating NEW email addresses for each new system (HRIS; medical carrier; EAP; 3rd party LOA Administrator) with which they are forced to register as they live their “employee experience.”
  • Logging into, downloading, reviewing, processing changes, updating, and approving payment in MULTIPLE platforms for MULTIPLE entities (each benefit carrier – medical, dental, vision, 401k, Life/AD&D, etc. worker’s comp, etc.) on a monthly (at a minimum) basis. Hours and hours of HR administrative time working with carriers and brokers and platforms large and small.

So yeah – there’s cool AI stuff for HR. Micro-learning for employees with content created thanks to AI? Nifty. Talent intelligence products for hiring, development, internal mobility? Awesome. Customized and JIT employee communication 24/7 via a chatbot? Spectacular.

But I’m willing to bet that when we’re gathering for the #HRTechConf in 2033, Sally Sue in HR at SMB, Inc. will still be battling with the basics to keep the proverbial trains running on time.

And dreaming of the days when the robots really WILL take over and release her from the drudgery.

*****

Dying on the Vine: Casualties of Work from Home

work from home

Over the years, while working for some (certainly not all) of the companies in which I’ve plied my HR trade, I enjoyed the luxury of being serviced by a plant technician.  

These people, some of whom handled the same customers for YEARS, would make weekly visits to our headquarters office, visit each department, and nurture the plants. They would water, fertilize, clip dead leaves, rotate towards the sun/away from the sun, move to a cooler and shadow-filled corner as required.  They would replace the stand or containers as necessary and occasionally whisk a plant away to re-pot. Or, barring that, replace the plant entirely.

This was a good thing for the plants entrusted to my care)some of them almost tree size!)  because, quite frankly, I was inept at any semblance of plant maintenance.  One day a technician chided me:

Tech: “Miss Robin – did you just water this plant this morning?”

Me: Well.  Sort of. I poured some old coffee in there. Isn’t coffee good for it? My grandma swore by putting coffee grounds in the potting soil.

Tech: “Please don’t do that anymore. Let me take care of it when I’m here.”

The beauty of this whole scenario was, of course, that plants would survive while ostensibly “in my care.”  I got quite used to it and, due to my lack of a green thumb, made sure to enjoy the lush calming effect of greenery while in the office since, as one can imagine, there is not a single living plant in my house.

But with the decline of “in-office” workers, here is yet another industry impacted. Also seeing a decline in business, I’m sure, are the coffee service folks who would come each week and fill up our supply, swap out pots, swipe down the burners (with burnt on spills), and replace faulty air pods.  Or the first-aid and safety service crews that would show up every few weeks to re-up the first aid kits around the building and replace mats. And the bottled water delivery driver who would haul in and replace the 5-gallon jugs in the rented water dispensers.

All those service industries, withering away, just because employees don’t want to return to the office.

Maybe, rather than hyping up the “energy, collaboration, and connections happening” (per Spokesperson Rob Munoz of Amazon), the corporate folks could remind people about the benefits of working in a lush tropical jungle (with ease). Plants, after all, are said to boost morale and productivity while also reducing stress and fatigue.

Go green.

The Two-Week Notice is Total BS

two-week notice

It’s time to address an annoying, longstanding, and frankly outdated tradition: the two-week notice. A business practice that is as obsolete as fax machines and paper resumes.

Once upon a time, in an era lost to the mists of time, somebody thought: “Hey, employees need to give companies a heads up before they peace out” and thus, the two-week notice was born.  In theory, this notice period provides employers with time to find a replacement, redistribute tasks, and ensure no disruption in services. But I can guarantee you there are very few replacements being found and hired within two weeks.

There’s also, of course, a brazen power dynamic at play. Many companies don’t think twice before laying off employees, often giving them no notice at all. If businesses can terminate one’s employment without a buffer, why is it expected that workers provide a cushion? What, in this practice, indicates any form of mutuality or reciprocity?

Guess what? People will always be leaving you…

Often, the departure of an employee begins long before the resignation letter hits their manager’s desk. The subtle signs are there – a decrease in enthusiasm, fewer innovative ideas, or even just a change in demeanor. And when the notice finally comes, it’s a mere formality.

Yet we hang on to this two-week notice ritual, seemingly coded into our professional DNA and require employees to render a two-week notice in order to remain eligible for rehire or receive payout of their PTO or vacation balance ** (** depending upon state laws of course).  And for years, workers have obediently followed this “etiquette” even though this antiquated tradition often feels more like a trap than a courtesy.

But how much valuable “transitioning” really happens in those two weeks? Most times, the soon-to-depart employee is already dreaming about their next gig or planning their victory lap around the office. In many instances, once an employee submits their notice, they’ve been mentally checked out for months. The passion and the fire? Fizzled out even if they’re still physically present.

On the flip side, employers might hold onto departing employees for the full two weeks, but even they aren’t really invested in optimizing this time. To make it even worse (thanks to the-powers-that-be!) some departing employees experience an awkward phase-out; they’re given meaningless tasks to perform and are excluded from meetings and discussions.

So what’s the point? I say it’s time to rip of the band-aid and upgrade this entire practice:  

  • Let Them Talk Before They Walk: Encourage a culture where employees feel they can chat about career growth, burnout, or just wanting a change without getting the side-eye – or worse – from their managers. If employees feel they can voice their concerns, aspirations, or plans without negative repercussions, managers won’t be blindsided by departures.
  • Tailored Transitions: Some folks need more than two weeks, others far less. Maybe, just maybe, we can customize the transition based on actual needs rather than an arbitrary number pulled from the employment ether.
  • Immediate handover: Once an employee decides to leave, have them immediately hand over their tasks and responsibilities. A comprehensive handover document, a one-on-one chat with a successor, and BAM (!)…the major stuff is covered.
  • Keep It Real, Both Ways: If companies can ghost their candidates and employees without a second thought, why the heck are employees expected to roll out the red carpet before making an exit?
  • Lose the Awkward Goodbye: The period after the resignation shouldn’t feel like breaking up with a high school sweetheart. Instead of the weird cold shoulder, celebrate the employee’s contributions and recognize the team for adapting and evolving. Encourage a culture where people can move forward, knowing they have the support and goodwill of those they’re leaving behind.

The workplace (and HR) is ever-evolving and many of our “standard practices” need to exit the building…including the archaic ceremonial practice of the two-week notice.

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