Ep145: Hot Topics - Rolling Layoffs and reduced trust. Are you ready for 2026?

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This week on Hot Topics, the team touches on the following topics and more:

• Rolling layoffs are becoming more of a trend. Reducing the workforce 50 or fewer employees at a time could be a way for companies to save face and avoid reporting requirements. What are the implications of this on the remaining workforce? Studies show increases in anxiety are just the tip of the iceberg.
• Proximity bias - Does it show up in your workplace? The future of remote work starts with clarity and transparency to your employees.
• There’s a drastic rise in misalignment between employees and leadership. Are your leaders being clear about the values and expectations to their employees?
• The impact of banning pay history questions in the hiring process.
• Healthcare costs are projected to increase next year and will be difficult on companies and employees.
• People in lower socioeconomic ranges are feeling more disconnected than ever with their employers.
• People are turning to dating apps for professional uses…? What do you think for?
• Caregiving is becoming more and more of a barrier for people in their workplaces. How do they balance it and how does a company stay balanced across employees?
• Job hugging is reshaping our workforce. Hard jobs are in high demand and seeing a surge in applicants.
• The economy is creating turmoil for all levels of employees. There are a lot of areas of the workforce that are going to be facing challenges in this market and it’s important to be thinking ahead.

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The viewpoints expressed by the characters in the stories are not necessarily that of The Team at HR Stories. The stories are shared to present various, real-world scenarios and share how they were handled by policy and, at times, law. Chuck and John are not lawyers and always recommend working with an employment lawyer to address concerns.