🙅 Why Workers Say Employers Still Don’t Get It

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Happy International HR Day! 🎉

To all the People Pros shaping better workplaces—thank you. Your work sits at the heart of every team’s experience, especially in a world where employee expectations, values, and vulnerabilities are changing everyday.

In this edition, we explore a powerful theme cutting across today’s headlines: the widening gap between what employers offer and what employees actually need. From strikes over dress codes and benefit disconnects, to the slow cultural shift toward neurodiversity inclusion, let’s dive in.

⬇️ Upcoming in this issue

• 🙅 The Modern Benefits Gap: Why Workers Say Employers Still Don’t Get It

• 🧠 Is Neurodiversity Finally Getting a Fair Shot in Hiring?

• ☕ Starbucks Baristas Push Back: Is a Dress Code Worth a Strike?

• 🥚 Inside the Eggshell Economy: Why Even "Happy" Employees Are Holding Back

📰 Latest in HR News

• Employees are walking on eggshells in 2025, report finds

• More fake applicants are trying to trick HR, thanks to the rise of deepfakes

• Spotify's new CHRO has 3 priorities to avoid 'mediocrity'

🙅 The Modern Benefits Gap: Why Workers Say Employers Still Don’t Get It

Most companies are convinced they're offering what today's workforce wants. But when it comes to benefits, employees are clearly seeing something else entirely.

That mismatch between perception and reality is front and center in a sweeping new survey that dives deep into what workers actually expect—and how far off employers still are.

Key Insights

• 📉 86% of employers think they offer “modern” benefits—but only 59% of employees agree.
  This 27-point gap shows a serious disconnect in perception between providers and recipients of workplace benefits.

• 💡 Employees define “modern” as comprehensive, easy to access, and tailored—employers define it as having newer perks.
  The disconnect lies in experience vs. features; convenience and variety matter more than novelty.

• 💸 Immediate financial stress beats long-term planning: 44% cite everyday costs as more pressing than saving for retirement.
  Yet only 35% of employers think their benefits address those daily financial pressures.

• ⚖️ Employees expect support for life outside work: 41% want four-day weeks, 23% want pet leave (“pawternity”).
  Modern benefits must address work-life balance in tangible, progressive ways.

read the full 874-word article here

🧠 Is Neurodiversity Finally Getting a Fair Shot in Hiring?

Job interviews can be high-stakes and stressful for anyone. But for neurodivergent candidates, the added question looms: Should I disclose my diagnosis?

As companies wrestle with how to better support mental health in the workplace, openness to neurodiversity is becoming a litmus test for inclusive hiring.

Still, real progress depends not just on good intentions but on consistent training and cultural shifts across the board.

Key Insights

• 👥 86% of hiring managers say disclosure of neurodivergence wouldn’t negatively impact hiring—or would even reflect positively.
  This challenges long-held assumptions that mental health stigma automatically hurts jobseekers during the interview process.

• 🧑‍💼 Gen Z and Millennial managers are driving the change: 44–48% view disclosure as a sign of honesty and self-awareness.
  Their openness ties directly to higher rates of mental health training in younger cohorts.

• 📉 In contrast, previous research shows neurodivergent applicants in the UK and Norway were up to 27% less likely to get interviews.
  Even mild disclosures, like explaining a gap year, significantly reduced employer interest.

• 🏢 Companies must institutionalize training across generations to create lasting change—so support isn’t left to chance or personality.
  Younger leaders may be more empathetic, but systemic consistency remains the missing piece.

read the full 533-word article here

☕ Starbucks Baristas Push Back: Is a Dress Code Worth a Strike?

Tension is playing out across dozens of U.S. Starbucks locations, where baristas have staged strikes over a new dress code that many feel is unnecessary and overly restrictive. Instead of empowering employees, the policy has triggered resistance, fueled by a deeper sense of not being heard.

And with union support now entering the fray, what started as a simple shirt-and-pants policy is becoming a broader labor battle.

Key Insights

• 👕 Hundreds of baristas are striking over a new policy mandating plain black shirts and neutral pants under the green apron.
  Workers say the sudden change feels unnecessary, especially without meaningful input or collective bargaining.

• 🤝 The union claims the dress code breaks prior agreements—and could set a dangerous precedent if left unchallenged.
  They’ve filed a complaint with the NLRB, citing the company’s failure to negotiate the change.

• 💬 Employees criticize the focus on appearances, arguing customers don’t care what baristas wear—but do care about service delays.
  They say priorities feel misplaced as stores face staffing issues and longer wait times.

• 🧵 Starbucks sells branded gear to employees—but won’t let them wear it, offering only two free black shirts instead.
  This contradiction has fueled more frustration, especially during ongoing wage and benefit negotiations.

read the full 1,057-word article here

🥚 Inside the Eggshell Economy: Why Even "Happy" Employees Are Holding Back

Today’s workplace might seem stable on the surface—but dig a little deeper, and you’ll find something more fragile.

Many employees report high job satisfaction, yet they're actively shielding themselves—building silos, documenting every move, and staying perpetually “on.” Beneath the surface of smiles and Slack replies lies a workforce quietly bracing for uncertainty.

Key Insights

• 📈 73% of employees are documenting work and creating “barriers” to make their roles harder to offload or replace.
  This strategic self-protection stems from fear, not disengagement—and it’s especially strong among Gen Z and Millennials.

• 🧠 Half of all employees are censoring their views and avoiding humor to sidestep potential workplace backlash.
  The risk of saying the wrong thing has reshaped how people communicate—even among senior leaders.

• 💬 Executives feel under-recognized too: 50% say their work goes unnoticed, more than managers or individual contributors.
  Visibility anxiety isn’t limited to entry-level workers—it runs all the way to the top.

• 💡 Financial security boosts job satisfaction: 95% of those with savings report being satisfied, vs. just 73% without.
  Stability outside the office deeply impacts how safe and valued people feel inside it.

read the full 850-word article here