⚡Hustle Culture’s Comeback at Meta

Hi there! 👋 

Hope you had a great long weekend!

This edition explores how the workplace is being reshaped from both the inside and out. Inside, agentic AI in HR is becoming more autonomous, self-directed operations that promise speed and precision, but also raise new questions about the human role.

HR leaders are being pushed to rethink how to balance technological progress with the core human needs that keep employees engaged and thriving.

⬇️ Upcoming in this issue

• 🏢 Why Gen Z Is Dropping Remote Work to Stay Employed

• ⚡ Hustle Culture’s Comeback at Meta

• 🤖 Agentic AI Is Rewriting HR Systems

• 🌟 What Benefits Employees Want Most in 2025

📰 Latest in HR News

• 9 in 10 companies lack ‘future-ready’ talent strategies, Adecco says

• TikTok Layoff Memo Sent Out to Workers—Fresh Cuts Are Coming

• UK workers threaten to quit if asked to return onsite full-time

• Businesses are finding a workaround for tariffs — and it’s entirely legal

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🏢 Why Gen Z Is Dropping Remote Work to Stay Employed

Young job seekers between 16 and 28 are recalibrating what matters most. Surprisingly, flexible work arrangements — once a nonnegotiable rallying cry — are slipping down their list of priorities.

What’s rising instead? The need to simply land a secure role in a climate where even dissatisfied workers hesitate to jump ship.

Here’s what the latest data reveals:

• 📉 Gen Z’s demand for remote roles fell 12% — while every other age group actually increased their appetite for location flexibility.

• 💼 Only 24% of Gen Z wanted remote-first jobs (March 2025), compared to 35% of Gen X, marking the sharpest generational contrast.

• 🧠 Mental health support demand grew 4% overall — especially among younger workers, while baby boomers showed little change.

• ⏳ Four-day workweek desires plunged 43% over a year — shifting from “must-have” to “nice-to-have” for most job seekers.

read the full 389-word article here

⚡ Hustle Culture’s Comeback at Meta

Across industries, companies are recalibrating expectations, but at Meta, the message is: perform or prepare to exit.

Managers are being urged to flag more team members as underperformers, igniting anxiety about looming layoffs and a hard swing back to hustle culture.

Here’s what’s unfolding behind Meta’s glossy doors.

• 📊 Managers told to mark 15–20% as underperforming — up from last year’s 12–15%, signaling intensified performance pressures.

• 🛑 Internal memo hints at “exit decisions” — despite no formal plan for company-wide cuts, many brace for selective layoffs.

• 🤖 AI investments drive higher performance demands — as Meta doubles down on AI, the bar for human workers keeps rising.

• ⚠ Workplace stress climbs amid RTO and layoffs — reshaping a culture once casual into one defined by constant competition.

read the full 698-word article here

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🤖 Agentic AI Is Rewriting HR Systems

Agentic AI is emerging as a new force, blending large language models with workflow execution to create HR processes that anticipate needs and operate autonomously.

From personalizing employee support to managing routine tasks without human input, these systems are poised to redefine what “intelligent operations” look like across HR.

Here’s what’s fueling this acceleration

• ⚡ Agentic AI adoption expected to surge 327% — Salesforce poll shows CHROs see human–AI teams becoming standard within five years.

• 🧩 AI already powers HR tasks today — including sentiment analysis, document review, predictive insights, and process orchestration.

• 🌍 Borderless, hybrid work drives demand — as employees expect seamless, personalized digital support across every touchpoint.

• 🚀 Next-gen MPHRO leaders will align AI with strategy — delivering speed, intelligence, and personalization to win the future HR market.

read the full 533-word article here

🌟 What Benefits Employees Want Most in 2025

Across four generations in the workplace, HR leaders juggle wildly different expectations. A massive survey of over 18,000 employees revealed that, no matter their age, workers crave autonomy over how they manage their time.

Here’s what the data shows:

• 🕰 Alternative schedules top every generation’s list — 53% of Millennials, 48% of Gen Z, and 47% of Gen X prioritize flexible work setups.

• 🏠 Remote work is second for most — except Boomers — who instead value phased retirement options and flexible exit strategies.

• 💡 Gen Z craves mental health support — ranking screenings and therapy access higher than older groups who focus on retirement or upskilling.

• 📉 Only 32% can adjust hours today — despite 49% saying flexibility would significantly help them or their families manage life demands.

read the full 437-word article here

Sophia Bennett | Editor-in-Chief | HR Insights Today