If you’ve been trapped in your workplace unable to leave, eating Doritos from the vending machine for dinner and sleeping under your desk, should you be paid for that time?

Your handbook should help people make decisions. Not just disciplinary decisions. The handbook should draw bright lines where possible, and give guidance for situations that are unclear. Your handbook should give guidance on the unspoken habits your organization runs on.

Maybe you made a mistake. Maybe you weren't quite ready. Maybe you had a lot going on. I know it feels awful, but I promise, no one thinks you’re a failure. Believe it or not, someone probably took great care in what happened to you. Because they know it wasn't all your fault. They wanted this to be as easy for you as possible.

When you’re the one who makes sure that everything is done by the book, there’s no one left to manage your exit correctly. That often means that you’re more likely than anyone to be underpaid or have your exit mishandled. 

That's what leadership looks like: Putting aside your own experiences and recognizing when it isn't about you. Because, as we explained in that meeting, bias has no place in the workplace.

What all of these point solutions are missing: Human Resources and People Operations are complex jobs that require a nuanced understanding of a variety of different subjects. The AI opportunities aren’t in replacing the humans in Human Resources. They’re enhancing human judgement. 

People Ops doesn’t have to be in-house. It doesn’t have to be full time. It doesn’t even have to “feel” like HR. But it does have to be done right.

If you're thinking, "But wait, that sounds like my company..."  That's the point.  These situations come up in all kinds of companies. They're as common as meetings that could have been emails. 

You don’t need to live like this help is available. 🛟 Hiring an outside HR compliance consultant can help you identify the gaps in your co