- HR Brain Pickings
- Posts
- 🤫 the secret life of hushed hybrid
🤫 the secret life of hushed hybrid
when managers quietly bend RTO rules to keep their teams happy
In partnership with
Howdy HR friends👋
First of all, apologies we had some formatting gremlins in the system yesterday. Doh!
They should be all sorted now but if you find any of the text hard to read, please just reply to this email and we’ll sort it.
Anyways, on to today’s edition!
🧠Today’s HR brain boosting topic is hushed hybrid (if anyone asks, you didn’t hear it from us)!
In Today’s Edition
🤫 The Hushed Hybrid Reality
🛋️ The Break Room: Are You Part of the 70% Breaking RTO Rules? (Let's Talk)
📚 Human Readsources: Employees hesitant to discuss issues with supervisors, Trader Joe's illegally banned union pins/insignia, Bank demands more office time, staff resign.
🤔 Ever notice how those strict RTO policies don't quite match what's happening day to day?
Let's talk about HR's worst-kept secret: managers are quietly bending the rules to keep their best people happy.
In fact, 70% of leaders are now overriding official policies, creating a growing disconnect between corporate mandates and reality.
How prevalent is hushed hybrid and what can you do to address it in your company. Let's dive in!
AD
Holiday gifts your team will actually love
No shipping addresses needed
140+ countries supported
Recipients can swap gifts and choose sizes
The Hushed Hybrid Reality
Let's be real - we're all watching this play out in real-time. That shiny new RTO policy your C-suite spent months crafting?
It's probably being quietly bent by managers trying to keep their top talent happy. And they're not alone - 70% of managers are now secretly overriding official return-to-office mandates, creating a shadow flexibility system that's becoming HR's biggest headache.
While keeping employees happy sounds great (and that 87% boost in team morale is tempting), these unofficial arrangements are creating a mess of compliance issues and potential discrimination claims. We're seeing two-tier workforces emerge, where some teams get flexibility while others don't, all based on their manager's willingness to bend the rules.
Not exactly the fair and transparent culture we're trying to build, right?
As HR pros, we need to get ahead of this trend before it spirals. That means having honest conversations with leadership about whether current policies actually match reality, implementing formal flexibility request processes, and ensuring consistent enforcement across teams.
Because let's face it - pretending this isn't happening won't make it go away, it'll just make our jobs harder in the long run.
🔗 Relevant links
👀 TLDR
Managers are secretly overriding RTO policies to keep talent happy. Time to bridge the gap between policy and reality with formal flexibility processes before this unofficial hybrid situation gets out of hand.
⚡ Takeaway and Try
- 🗣 ️ Schedule a candid 1:1 with your most trusted manager this week and off the record ask "Be honest - are you making any unofficial WFH exceptions for your team?"
- 📊 Do a quick pulse check by comparing badge swipes/office attendance/reception sign in book data with your official hybrid policy to spot potential gaps
- 🤝 Draft a simple flexibility request form that managers can actually use (instead of making under-the-table deals)
- 📱 Start a private Slack channel with your HR team to share real stories of how hybrid is actually playing out across departments
- 📋 Create a "no judgment" anonymous survey asking employees if their current working arrangements match official policy
☕ The Break Room: What's Your Take?
What's your stance on managers quietly bending RTO policies? |
📚 Human Readsources
🏢 Workers Hesitant to Share Personal Issues with Bosses (HCA Mag) - Employees hesitant to discuss personal issues with supervisors, despite management confidence.
⚖️ Trader Joe's Illegally Banned Union Pins, Judge Rules (HR Dive) - Trader Joe's illegally banned union pins at store, judge rules.
📊 Starling Bank Staff Quit Over Office Return Rules (Personnel Today) - Starling Bank staff quit after stricter office attendance rules imposed.
HR Events
Thank you for reading to the end and we hope today’s edition sparked some new ideas!
We know you’re super busy and really appreciate the little corner of your inbox you let us into 3 times a week. 😀
On a scale of 1 to HR, how much do you like this edition? |
Reply