This is a weekly roundup of the latest in HR News.
Many who read the latest headlines in HR news will have mixed emotions. On the one hand, Grubhub’s layoffs and data about how quitting can be contagious concerns HR professionals. A story out of France about a vengeful employee allegedly murdering people in Human Resources is tragic and sad. On the other hand, word about the success of four-day workweeks in some corners and IKEA reskilling its staff may inspire and motivate.
Grubhub Layoffs
Grubhub, the food delivery service, announced it would be laying off 15% of its workforce or about 400 people, according to CNBC and other outlets. The company will provide about 16 weeks of severance to those impacted by the layoffs, according to these reports. But it would not share which workers would face redundancy.
Small Businesses Lead on Four-Day Workweeks
Gusto, a payroll service company, released a survey that caught the attention of Bloomberg because it showed that one-fourth of small businesses are either having or considering four-day workweeks. Many leaders in the United States have been reluctant to embrace this kind of flexibility and there has been pushback on remote work, which has meant that most had little hope for the four-day workweek going mainstream. But Gusto makes the argument that small businesses, many of which are experiencing a labor shortage, can use this to attract recruits:
“SMBs that give employees more autonomy over their workdays reported higher performance, access to higher-quality talent, more positive company cultures, and less employee burnout than those who offered little to no flexibility.
Remote companies offering a lot of flexibility for working hours are 20% more likely to say remote work has boosted their performance – compared to companies with no flexibility.
Hybrid companies offering a lot of flexibility are 32% more likely to say hybrid work has improved their performance, compared to those with no flexibility.”
IKEA Reskills Workforce
Pay attention to this news from IKEA about reskilling staff. This is an important news story because it marks one of the first times a big company has gained attention for addressing the changes AI is sure to bring. IKEA recognizes that its call center staff will likely be replaced by bots that can answer typical customer service questions. Therefore, IKEA is training employees in that department to become interior design consultants to help customers tap into the company’s burgeoning home improvement business, according to Reuters. It’s all about keeping humans relevant and employed in the age of the robots!
Is Quitting Contagious?
Just about everyone has been at a company, where it seemed like turnover was rampant. Now, there is evidence that when people quit, others often follow. The Wall Street Journal reports on a study by the Academy of Management, which revealed that those who remain at an organization after either attrition or layoffs, often follow their former colleagues by leaving.
This is worth a read, however, because of the nuances that the researchers uncovered. The Wall Street Journal explained it like so:
“Take layoffs as an example. The authors found high-performing employees—employees whose performance reviews ranked in the top 40%—were often much more affected by layoffs than low-performing employees, those in the bottom 40%.
The attrition rate for high-performing employees increased by about a third to about 2% from 1.5% within six months of the layoff announcement. The attrition rate for low-performing employees, though, rose only modestly within six months of the layoff announcement, to about 2.15% from 2.01%.”
This is the kind of information that can help HR prepare for what’s coming next with employees after layoffs. While patterns do not always hold, they can give HR an idea of what to expect in the aftermath.
French HR Murder Case
Sometimes people hear about the security around when HR professionals are laying off or firing someone and think it’s an exaggerated reaction. However, the case of the media-dubbed “HR murders” makes security seem necessary, even years later.
Gabriel Fortin, 48, allegedly targeted three women in France who he blamed for ruining his career, according to BBC. He is now standing trial for these murders, which took place in 2021. He allegedly tracked down the woman who led his dismissal after an unsuccessful trial period, another in benefits, and another who worked in the job center, where his unemployment benefits eventually ran out. The trial began this week.
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