Christmas Special - Bourbon Will Save The Day

Ever had one of those days when the HR role feels more like a rollercoaster ride than a job? Strap in as we take you on a wild ride through the intense world of Human Resources. We kick off with the tricky terrain of salaries, bonuses and the surprisingly prevalent workplace jealousy. Drawing from our own experiences (believe us, we have plenty to share), we chat about coping strategies, the emotional toll, and the unfortunate truth that HR isn’t always the most lucrative field - no matter how many secret salary documents we stumble upon!

But we’re just getting started. Hang on as we zoom into the generational gap, fired up by a viral TikTok video and some eye-opening stats about our friends from Gen Z. When 74% of managers report struggling to manage them, we have to ask, what gives? Tune in as we examine the pandemic’s effect on their social cues, ponder the parenting factors, and even share a chuckle about generational quirks. Wrapping up our wild ride, we share our own HR "WTF" moments (hand us the bourbon!), and lighten the mood with our annual Christmas song because let's face it, the HR life may be tough, but it sure isn't dull. Buckle up, this is one HR journey you won't want to miss.

Chapters

• 0:02 Challenges and Frustrations in HR
• 13:22 Challenges of Working With Gen Z
• 24:18 Surviving HR WTF Moments

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Had you actually read the email, you would know that the podcast you are about to listen to could contain explicit language and offensive content. These HR experts' views are not representative of their past, present or future employers. If you have ever heard my manager is unfair to me. I need you to reset my HR portal password, or can I ride up my employee for crying too much? Welcome to our little safe zone. Welcome to JDD HR.

Speaker 3: 1:05

So welcome to JDD HR, the podcast by two HR professionals who want to help you get through to work day by saying everything you're thinking, but say it out loud. I'm Warren and Feathers is back. Yes, feathers is back.

Speaker 2: 1:19

I don't know, where I've been, but I've been somewhere.

Speaker 3: 1:24

Okay, the pokey, we weren't going to say anything. No, no, that's a joke, but anyhow, or maybe it's not- We'll talk about my EEOC case later.

Speaker 2: 1:37

I'm just kidding.

Speaker 3: 1:40

Yeah, watch your news feed.

Speaker 3: 1:44

Yeah, follow me on Twitter so speaking of which you can follow us on social media. I'm not on Twitter anymore. I was a JDD HR account but I'm not there. But you can follow us on Instagram. That's where I'm at most of the time and maybe we'll expand our other social media things, but Instagram is where I'm at.

Speaker 3: 2:03

Want to thank Hallie, the original JDD HR rock star, and Bill, our second contributor to our Patreon account. I have not been on Patreon, so if you've added on to Patreon recently, thank you, but I haven't checked it in a little bit. So thank you to our Patreon supporters. You keep us going and make it a little easier pill to swallow when software subscription charges come in, like the software recording that came in last night that we're recording on today. So that definitely helps. So also, please leave us a review on your favorite podcast player. It's amazing Feathers. We've got the number one podcast player in the world is Apple and it makes sense, but we only have like 20 some odd reviews. But on Spotify, which is like three or four depending on which chart you look at, we've got now that you can't write a review, but we've got like, I think, 40 or so five star review, five star ratings on Spotify. So thank you all you Spotify folks and if you happen to be a that's all you.

Speaker 3: 3:07

If you happen to be a Google Play podcast listener that is going away, you can. They say you can continue on YouTube music. We'll see about that, but there's all sorts of other opportunities for you to listen to us. I know that Google plays like number five on the list of podcast players of people use the listen to us. So I use Pocket Cast. I love it, but don't get any money from them yet.

Speaker 3: 3:32

So, anyways, I've got three stories today and you know what time it is. It's that most wonderful time of the year when we do our Christmas song. And before we get to the Christmas song, I'm going to say I was going a completely different direction for months and months and then this just popped in my head and in and I finished it in like in two days after this one popped in my head. So I like it a lot better. But anyways, uh, I wanted to talk about the hardest things about being in HR, since we are J to show in. So many of the shows lately haven't been to J did at all. They're like you know.

Speaker 2: 4:12

uh, I don't know, get off message. We're going to get back on message. Get back on exactly.

Speaker 3: 4:17

We fucking hate people.

Speaker 2: 4:19

Dear job, don't be an asshole. There we go, yeah.

Speaker 3: 4:23

All the above. Well, I I had a talk with a HR friend of mine and they they were not a happy camper because they just had to process a batch of bonuses for a department in their company that botches things up all the time. They're famous for passing the buck and then apparently blaming HR when things don't go well. But the HR team had to process these bonuses and HR hasn't received a bonus in quite some time. This person told me they think that the new manager of that department is using the bonuses to buy the team into liking them, and this person has been at their job for over 10 years and is now thinking of making a move away just because of this. And when talking to them, their voice was literally shaking, literally shaking. They were so angry. You know how people's voice gets when they're they're just on the cusp of losing it, that's. That's how pissed off they were and it was.

Speaker 3: 5:34

And you know, I haven't had that exact experience in my life, but I can definitely know where they're coming from with that. But you know, that's one of the things about being in HR we get exposure to a lot of sensitive information salaries, bonuses, things along those lines and through the course of my career I've worked at places like CPA firms, law firms, engineering firms, things like that, and I see these people salaries and you know, do I get jealous? No, not really, because I'm not an engineer, cpa or lawyer and I had the opportunity to go to school and learn one of those skills and become higher paid. So I do look at that information as data. I try not to get pulled into the I don't know the oh, that person doesn't do shit. Why do they? You know this. This entry level engineer is making, you know, puku dollars. And here I am with 25 years of my experience because, honestly, hr has a different value in the mind place than people who produce. And until you get to one of those big big companies that has thousands of employees in a CRO that's making big, big, big bucks, it's, it's HR is not where you go to get paid, but you know that. That's one thing that I've just been able to deal very well within my career.

Speaker 3: 7:02

But my company we're currently in we're currently in the middle of the fourth quarter of our review season. The fourth quarter is review time for everybody, and this happened to me at a prior company once upon a time and as HR, one of our jobs were to the HR generalists or business partner, whatever you want to say for that group, would read all the reviews for their group just to make sure there's nothing you know. Read no red flags or anything stupid written on a review or anything like that. And once upon a time I read a review of an employee and if I were to say this employee was inferior, that would be extremely generous. They, they, they took up space very well. That's what I could compliment them on. You took up space very well over the past quarter of this year.

Speaker 2: 7:53

We do not have to correct you for wearing deodorant or not.

Speaker 3: 7:58

We're putting a good spin on this shit sandwich here. But but this person they effed up so many different things. We had to correct their problems and what everything they did seems to make everybody's job more difficult. I really don't know what value they ever brought to the company. And they were.

Speaker 3: 8:19

This person was one of those people that would CC the whole world, including and I know this first hand because I was both the recipient of being CC'd and I was the subject of it. But if something goes wrong, they CC the entire world on it, including HR. And you know, like I said, I've been the reported, a mistake maker and I've been the CC person with it. And, like I said, if they just disappeared off the face of the earth, I wouldn't have known what Change to expect. But anyways, going to getting a sidetrack there, I read their review. There they were in my, one of my divisions. I had to read the review for and all four.

Speaker 3: 8:59

When it's review time, that's the time to pat yourself on the back, as long as you're in the realm of reality with that and and it's a good time for that. But this was a fairy tale that Walt Disney couldn't have come up with and I some of the things in the review. I could actually pull up facts and say, no, you're wrong, false, false, false. But to make it worse, they had to nerve in their review to say they deserve a huge raise. I forget what percentage they were asking for, but it was a huge percentage. I was like, yeah, right, because of all the extra work they do and all the things they do, like no, I don't know what that is. And their manager, who I to this day I still think very, very highly of, said went along with the whole thing. Should.

Speaker 3: 9:47

The manager she just drank the Kool-Aid in Mass and Like said that was a new manager, had a reputation for being a no-nonsense manager, a good manager, and that would just. That just made me sick to see someone like that. It's like that's when. That's only time. I think having access to sensitive, quote-unquote HR information has really ticked me off To a certain degree. And why should it pick me off? I don't know the. The person was useless and what's a matter if they get more money or bigger raise. I think they shouldn't have really had a job. But anyway, yeah, have you had any experiences where you've the, the sensitive HR information you're interested to sort of Burn your biscuits.

Speaker 2: 10:34

Simple answer is yes, that's the only time I can think of.

Speaker 2: 10:41

It's. I always find it fascinating when you have access to that kind of information, when it's like budget season or like we're talking about, like promotions or merit increases or equity, and you be across the board and while, yes, we can encourage Holistically from my experience, and not decision-makers we can influence, but we, we don't have the final say. So, yeah, sometimes really pisses me off. But what's your point earlier? I mean, clearly we chose this profession, but we chose this profession Because we hate people. How?

Speaker 1: 11:25

my people person yeah, yeah now.

Speaker 2: 11:28

So no, I mean, I mean you've you said it very well. I mean we I tried to understand this data points as well, but it's really tough when you see Things, you just shake your head like I can't understand why this person is either making X or getting X or being promoted to, why, yeah, it can be a pain in the ass sometimes.

Speaker 3: 11:47

Yeah, yeah, and maybe there's more to the story. I don't know, but the story that I do know or have known in the past and things like that it's just said no, no, everything's wrong with this situation. Well, speaking of, everything is wrong with the situation, this came from the source I found it on was Dextro dxtrocom, a story on November 24th by Michael William. So there was a tiktoker and I don't know I doubt you've seen the video, but he works, worked past tense at home depot and I'm not going to use his handles. Probably everybody's seen this, all right, but he made a clip about his customers wanting to beg, begging him to buy this grand duchess Christmas tree display, and if you haven't seen the grand duchess Christmas tree display, it's a beautiful tree and it it went viral on tiktok and you can't find it anywhere now.

Speaker 3: 12:50

And this guy did a video wearing what appears to be his home depot smock and While possibly being in in home depot, he didn't talk, it was just words going across his smug face about it. But the text read the next person that calls asking for the grand duchess Christmas tree, he's going to get a crowbar to their kneecaps and so guess what? That did not set too well with the home depot management. Uh, so he was get this. He was fired and then he did. His next video was a video of him doing he called it the walk of shame and he was showing his termination paperwork as he's being led out the front door. But that video he said he was going to continue making videos spiting the store and that customers don't need to buy everything a white girl on tiktok told you to buy. So you know In his name is his real name is on here, so everybody knows who he is.

Speaker 3: 13:51

So it's not like he's going to go to Lowe's across the street and I'm like, fuck you, we're not hiring you. You're going to do the same thing here. And what the hell are you doing, visibly making tiktok videos while you're at work? I mean, there's no, no two ways about that. But Insighting violence or threatening to hurt your customers is Is not a good way to keep your employment. And but he got a lot of people like Encouraging which it's social media. You know, hey, I'm gonna, you know, stick my tongue in a toaster and I want to watch and everybody's good. Yeah, yeah, go for it. You know, whatever stupid thing people are doing and but I'm a firm believer in Darwinism.

Speaker 2: 14:31

Let him do it.

Speaker 3: 14:34

But yeah, I wonder what's gonna happen to this guy, where he's gonna be next. So he's not. I don't. I hope people are doing social media checks at least properly do them. You don't want your manager's doing a social media check on their potential employees is that's very bad. But having a HR person or someone a recruiter doing Social media check on these people and this guy's made himself virtually unhirable, I think, with his, his actions, but we shall see. But some people are more forgiving than I am as well. So the last story of the day I found it today.

Speaker 3: 15:14

David Miclus, who was a guest on the show once upon a time, put this on LinkedIn and I followed the link. It was actually published in May, may 15th, and it was from resume builder. Resume builder. Resume builder finds that three and four managers find it difficult to work with Gen Z. So we are. This segment once again is let's shit on Gen Z, because that's what this whole article is about it. So resume builder surveyed 1344 managers and business leaders and found 74 percent Believe that Gen Z is more difficult to work with than other generations.

Speaker 3: 15:54

49% say it's difficult to work with Gen Z all or most of the time. The top reasons they feel that Gen Z is difficult to work with is they lack the technological skills, effort and motivation. 65% say they more commonly need to fire Gen Z years than employees of other generations. 12% have fired a Gen Z year in less than one week of their start date. And One of the top reasons for firing Gen Z year because they're too easily offended. You don't have that safe space for them.

Speaker 3: 16:29

Adam Garfield, who is the marketing director at Haribo I shall love their gummy bears. Compared to other generations, he says. I find Gen Z to be highly innovative and adaptable. They're not afraid to challenge status quo and bring new ideas to the table. They also value authenticity, transparency and expect companies to be socially responsible and ethical. However, one area where I believe Gen Z could improve in the workplace is their communication skills. While they're proficient with using digital communication tools, they may lack some of the interpersonal skills required for face-to-face interactions. Gen Z years could benefit from developing their communication skills to build stronger relationships with colleagues and clients.

Speaker 3: 17:14

Let's say more. More stats from the their survey 34% say they prefer to work with Millennials. 30% prefer to work with Gen X, which that surprised me, as I'm thinking most of the people in the management world right now, or either your older Millennials or Xers, but the poor boomers only 4% would prefer to work with boomers and those are probably boomers themselves. Four Millennials managers think that Millennials are the Most productive and I'll have the best technological skills, which, overall, I can't disagree with. And then, right behind them were Gen Xers. They feel they are the most honest 46% and most productive. 42% felt they were most productive. And yeah, gen Xers were honest. We're gonna tell you fuck down, we don't. We don't have those filters or safe spaces.

Speaker 3: 18:07

But my whole point in this, this article, is you know Gen Z? They and you know what. Before I get too far, I think it's people like Maybe not me specifically, but the Xers who are the parents of these Z's that are causing problems. They all got their participation awards and they all got sold. You know you.

Speaker 3: 18:30

You struck out because umpire was bad. No, you struck out because you suck at baseball. They were never told hey, maybe baseball isn't the right sport for you. Have you ever tried? Thought of chess or Something like that? Nobody would tell them no and set boundaries for them. So they had these. They've never been given realistic expectations and now they're.

Speaker 3: 18:51

And add to that Covid, where they were doing their assignments and turning things in online and didn't have to interact with people and Didn't really develop those social skills at those key years. You know, think you're, you're in high school or early college and you're not having the interaction with other people your age. I, you know, I don't want to truly give them a scapegoat, saying it's Covid, but the covid's gonna play a part in it the pandemic and being isolated during those, those key years. And, like I said, they're now entering the job market and that's just crazy. You know, when you do someone's I9 I still do all of our employees I9's and and sing these people with their birth years and they're like, oh my god, I was married and had kids before you. My kids are older than you. It's, it's really, really crazy. So, yeah, that. That concludes this episode of shitting on Gen Z, unless you got some bad.

Speaker 2: 19:53

No, I just have to probably agree with every most things I'm hearing.

Speaker 3: 19:58

Yeah, and it's sad because you would think like my next generation I.

Speaker 3: 20:04

I, as an excerpt, can agree that millennials, they're pretty damn good at virtually everything. They, they, they do work hard overall. You know it's pain with this broad brush that they work hard overall. They know their technology, they, they have the interpersonal skills. I think they're, they're, you know, not too far off of Xers, but then you go to the Z. It was like what the fuck happened. So, anyways, so at long last we are prepared. Get yourselves prepared for the 2023 Christmas song by Jaded HR. All right, if you, if you're new to the show and you haven't listened to look around November, december, each year, in the back episodes of episodes, we either have a song or a story. I did, I did, I did. It was the night before Christmas once upon a time. But the others are songs and we'd like to put a nice little HR spin on your favorite Christmas song.

Speaker 2: 21:06

So so before we get into it, let's just point out one thing Merry Christmas Cause. The rest of that political crap bullshit I hate.

Speaker 1: 21:15

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 21:15

I'm like. I'm like a true Jaded person.

Speaker 3: 21:19

Like you know and you know, if you're you're not, I have a new one, oh hold on, hold on.

Speaker 2: 21:24

I have a new one. This is something that I brand new, that I heard for the first time. I was now a wish a happy fall holiday and not happy Thanksgiving holiday.

Speaker 3: 21:39

Okay.

Speaker 2: 21:41

You know, I had nothing. I was like did I just get wished a happy fall holiday? I did. Okay, I had to text people and be like is this the thing? Did I miss this? Is this my? Am I not supposed to say Thanksgiving anymore? Like I know some Native Americans and they don't care.

Speaker 3: 21:59

The Native American that I think you're thinking about doesn't give a rad test about much.

Speaker 2: 22:03

No, I mean, I know, I know a couple of them and they're, they're all like um, okay.

Speaker 1: 22:09

Thanks yeah.

Speaker 2: 22:11

Like whatever we at corn do, like you know it's.

Speaker 3: 22:14

You know, as I will speak as a non-Christian person, if someone says Merry Christmas to you, I'll just say thank you, I don't, you know, you didn't hurt my. You're wishing me well, you're giving me good vibes, whatever it is, I would just say oh, thank you. Move on, you too, whatever. You don't need to make a oh my God, you know, that's not my culture, that's not my upbringing, that's not my whatever. You're imposing your belief system on me.

Speaker 2: 22:47

What was the? What was the line in? I was always thinking about stripes like call me psycho. Lighten up. Francis. I lighten up Francis, like get the fuck over it.

Speaker 3: 22:57

Yeah, stripes. You know, I've rewatched that movie not that long ago and it just I didn't laugh as much as I thought I would be. It was I don't know. It's you're becoming older and unjaded you just like I can watch airplane and I've watched oh, I watched the Christmas vacation or the vacation marathon, all of them on Thanksgiving Day. I can laugh at those.

Speaker 2: 23:25

So airplanes, great. What's up? I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.

Speaker 1: 23:28

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 23:29

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 23:31

Yeah. All right, that's what they do. Let's, let's butcher the shit out of this.

Speaker 3: 23:35

OK, I never came up with the title of this, so I'll just call it a Jingle Bells parody. So who knows how many takes it's going to take us to get through this thing?

Speaker 2: 23:48

So we have three. I'm looking at, but it's bourbon, so Jack Daniels, ok, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3: 23:56

OK, ready, yeah. One, two, three Dashing through the halls trying to get away, dodging sales calls, getting through the day with my eyes rolling at employees not so bright, oh, but I can only dream of getting home tonight. Oh, what the hell, what the hell. Seems all I ever say, struggling not to be so snob. But bourbon will say the day hey, what the hell, what the hell seems all I ever say Struggling not to be so snob, but bourbon will say the day. If I'm asked again, where's my W to?

Speaker 3: 24:40

I'll just have to grin Bend over, I'll show you. You ask this every year. Will you ever learn what the fuck is wrong with you? You make my stomach turn. Oh, what the hell, what the hell seems all I ever say, struggling not to be so snob. But bourbon will say the day hey, what the hell, what the hell is all I ever say Struggling not to be so snob but bourbon stays today.

Speaker 3: 25:10

Jimmy has to go Is all I have to say. He really has to know you can't behave that way this year. His little trick after a drink or two he whipped out his little dick and started chasing Sue.

Speaker 1: 25:27

Oh, what, the hell, what the hell seems all I ever say.

Speaker 3: 25:32

Struggling not to be so snob. But bourbon will say the day hey what?

Speaker 1: 25:36

the hell, what the hell seems, all I ever say.

Speaker 3: 25:40

Struggling not to be so snob. But bourbon will say the day.

Speaker 2: 25:46

That's great, that's great.

Speaker 3: 25:49

Yeah, as I mentioned earlier, I was going a whole nother route and I don't know something. So no change course, so hopefully one take.

Speaker 2: 26:00

We nailed it. We nailed it. One take. We're not going to put the lyrics in the show notes.

Speaker 3: 26:06

Copyright 2023 JTHR. So hopefully that made your day a little bit better. Our best practice be, when you, when you get a little down and out, when you are exposed to sensitive HR data, just think what the hell, what the hell.

Speaker 2: 26:26

And have a bourbon. I'm probably going to have a bourbon after this.

Speaker 3: 26:30

Well, thanks once again. Please be sure to leave a review. Share with your friends. We'll let the whole world know about. Know about us, as always. Oh, like I say, the intro and outro music is the underscore orchestra, double to double, and the voice artists doing the intro is Andrew Culpa, and now I can say, as always, I'm Warren.

Speaker 2: 26:50

And this is feathers.

Speaker 3: 26:52

And we're helping you survive. Hr won. What the fuck moment at a time.