🤖 How Smart Tech Is Fixing Broken PTO

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Good Morning! ☀️ 

With Q2 now underway, it’s the perfect time for us as HR leaders to reflect and reset.

The most forward-thinking HR teams are moving beyond static policies toward more dynamic, people-first strategies—and it’s making a real impact.

In this edition, we explore what that shift can look like in action: from turning top candidates into referral engines, to unpacking why Gen Z is increasingly turning to FMLA. Let’s dive in!

⬇️ Upcoming in this issue

• 👀 The Secret Recruiting Weapon You’re Probably Ignoring

• 🌴 Rethinking Time Off: How Smart Tech Is Fixing Broken PTO

• 🤔 Is Gen Z Using FMLA to Signal a Broken Work Culture?

• 💼 New Data | Managers: The Most Powerful Tool to Improve Employee Experience

📰 Latest in HR News

• ☕️ Starbucks gives baristas a time limit for crafting orders

• 🏢 Dell sheds 25,000 roles amid sweeping workforce overhaul

• 🏳️‍🌈 World of HR: 77% of employers in Japan say they’re sticking with DEI

• 🙅 Walmart faces backlash over dismissal of worker labelled as being transgender

👀 The Secret Recruiting Weapon You’re Probably Ignoring

Read the full 720-word article here

There’s a hidden recruiting edge you may be sleeping on—and it’s already inside your business.

When candidates trust your brand, they become natural advocates. And that’s where the goldmine is: referrals. Done right, referrals can transform your staffing strategy into a scalable, self-sustaining engine.

Key Insights

• 🎯 Referrals thrive when they’re built into the culture.
  Introduce the idea early, reward every submission, and explain how referrals help everyone win.

• 💡 Simple, transparent referral programs outperform complex ones.
  Use one-click links, offer tiered perks, and always keep referrers in the loop.

• 🔥 “Super referrers” can become your brand’s secret weapon.
  Identify your top advocates and give them VIP status, perks, and visibility within your community.

• 🤖 Tech makes referrals scalable and seamless.
  Automated nudges, referral links, and tracking tools can turn occasional referrals into a consistent pipeline.

🌴 Rethinking Time Off: How Smart Tech Is Fixing Broken PTO

read the full 645-word article here

I’ve seen plenty of companies tout “unlimited PTO” and still burn out their teams. That’s because offering time off isn’t the same as enabling people to actually take it.

A new partnership between Helios and PTO Genius is addressing this disconnect with data-driven insights and proactive nudges. By integrating behavioral analytics into workforce tools, companies can now detect early signs of burnout and gently course-correct.

Key Insights

• 📊 46% of employees left PTO unused in 2024.
  Even with generous policies, lack of awareness and planning keeps people from taking needed breaks.

• 🧠 Smart reminders prompt employees to take breaks.
  PTO Genius sends nudges to encourage time off when patterns show employees may be overworking.

• 🌍 Floating holidays offer global flexibility.
  Workers abroad can convert unused U.S. holidays into custom PTO, respecting cultural differences and personal needs.

• ⚖️ Compliance and tax tracking are built in.
  Helios helps companies manage PTO-related tax and wage liabilities, avoiding costly legal missteps.

🤔 Is Gen Z Using FMLA to Signal a Broken Work Culture?

Read the full 870-word article here

I’ve watched Gen Z enter the workforce with a bold mix of expectations: more transparency, better benefits, and no tolerance for burnout. So when (Family and Medical Leave Act) FMLA leave starts becoming more common among this cohort, it’s a signal.

The rise in Gen Z’s use of FMLA has sparked questions about whether this is a new form of quiet quitting.

Key Insights

• 📉 47% of Gen Z admit to coasting at work—more than any other generation.
  This signals a major shift in engagement and motivation for younger workers.

• 🧠 Mental health is driving FMLA requests.
  Gen Z workers increasingly cite emotional well-being as a reason to take protected leave.

• 📊 50% of Gen Z left or considered leaving over poor reproductive health benefits.
  This is more than triple the rate of Gen X, showing how crucial comprehensive benefits are to them.

• 🧭 Kindness, fairness, and structure are Gen Z’s workplace non-negotiables.
  The Engaged Empathy Leadership Model may be the key to bridging the generational divide.

💼 New Data | Managers: The Most Powerful Tool to Improve Employee Experience

Read the full 825-word article here

I’ve seen this dynamic play out over and over: the single biggest influence on an employee’s experience isn’t your benefits package—it’s their manager.

New Gallup data backs this up: nearly a third of global employees say their manager has the most positive impact on their daily lives, second only to family.

In today’s high-burnout, low-trust workplace climate, managers are uniquely positioned to deliver the four essentials employees crave most: hope, trust, compassion, and stability.

Key Insights

• 📈 31% of employees say managers impact their daily lives more than political or religious leaders.
  This is a major trust signal—and a call for strategic investment in leadership development.

• 🌱 Hope isn’t about promises—it’s about career clarity.
  Train managers to tie daily work to long-term growth, without overcommitting or sugarcoating.

• 🧠 Reframe compassion as shared understanding.
  Empathy-based leadership creates psychologically safe spaces that increase engagement and reduce turnover.

• 🔒 Stability is rare—but transparency creates it.
  In uncertain times, consistent and candid communication from managers builds trust, even when outcomes are unclear.