May 15, 2025 • 50 mins
The line between professional attire and personal expression has never been blurrier—especially now that TikTok is giving questionable fashion advice to workplace newcomers. We dive deep into the viral "office siren" trend where primarily Gen Z professionals are showing up to corporate environments in micro-minis and knee-high boots, only to face swift consequences when their romanticized vision of office life collides with reality.
Both of us share our own experiences navigating dress code violations from both sides of the HR desk. Would you immediately terminate someone for an inappropriate outfit on their first day, or is this a coachable moment? We explore how dress code enforcement disproportionately impacts women, with one of us recalling valuable feedback received early in her career: "You have great ideas, but I'm afraid your messaging gets lost when people are distracted by how you're dressed." It's an uncomfortable truth that still resonates years later.
The workplace sensitivity discussion reaches new heights as we examine the case of a UK employee who won £29,000 (approximately $38,000) after colleagues compared her to Darth Vader in a Star Wars personality test. This lawsuit raises important questions about where we draw the line between harmless team-building and genuinely harmful workplace behavior, especially for those with diagnosed anxiety. While acknowledging mental health challenges are real, we question whether we've gone too far in accommodating hypersensitivity that makes normal workplace interactions increasingly difficult.
Is your workplace navigating the delicate balance between self-expression and professionalism? Share your experiences with us and don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, or support us on Patreon if our unfiltered take on HR reality helps you survive your own workplace drama!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Had you actually read the email, you would know that
the podcast you are about tolisten to could contain explicit
language and offensive content.
These HR experts' views are notrepresentative of their past,
present or future employers.
If you have ever heard mymanager is unfair to me.
I need you to reset my HRportal password, or Can I write
(00:24):
up my employee for crying toomuch?
Welcome to our little safe zone.
Welcome to Jaded HR.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Welcome to Jaded HR, the podcast by two HR
professionals who want to helpyou get through the workday by
saying everything you'rethinking, but say it out loud.
I'm Warren.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
I'm Cece.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
All right, back again , whee.
So the last few episodes otherthan well.
I could hear it in the OfficeRewatch podcast episode that
your voice wasn't as strong then, but now it's my turn to be
sick.
But I'm actually getting overit.
But yeah, I counted out.
This is only the seventh timein my entire career from the 90s
(01:21):
and almost 30 years of callingout of work.
Career from the 90s and almost30 years of calling out of work
and so like, not planned call,not a planned day off or
anything like that.
So my body's weird.
It tends only to get sick onweekends.
It's like Wednesday, I feel.
You know, I feel somethingstrange is coming on by Friday.
(01:41):
I was like, oh shit, I'm goingto be sick on Saturday and
Sunday and of course I'll befine on Monday to get back to
work.
But this time I was not fineand of course I was Tony off air
.
That ruined my wife's mother'sday, because the first mother's
day where neither of our kidsare in the house.
So that was a traumaticexperience by itself.
But we also invited my in-lawsover for brunch for Sunday
(02:07):
morning, mother's Day and I wasunable to participate in the
prep or cook of that said brunch, and so I am in the doghouse
now for being sick and I want tobe in the doghouse for a little
while.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Oh, what a weekend.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yeah, it was, but I did go visit my mother and it
wasn't an awful trip.
I usually do not like goingvisiting my mother, but I'm a
good son, I do my duty.
It's like I've said before, I'ma needle phobe.
I go to the doctor, I get myshots, I get.
I've said before I'm a needlephobe, I go to the doctor, I get
my shots, I get.
You know, I gave blood last week.
I'm O negative, so everybodywants my blood and I do those
(02:52):
things I'm supposed to.
Oh, giving blood, this is thefirst time ever.
Like I said, I'm a needle phobe.
I don't like it.
This dude took three times toget the needle in and I was like
just an instant away fromsaying screw this, I'm out, I'm
going home.
I was like you know you didn'twant to do my blood pressure at
(03:14):
the moments before that thirdstick.
You know they take your bloodpressure and do all this stuff
before you give blood and youdid not want to take my blood
pressure before that third stickbecause, yeah, it would have
been really not a good thing forthat so yeah, yeah, but you had
a good mother's day I did, yeah, I.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
The only thing I wanted for mother's day was a
day to sleep in, and that's whatI got I got.
I slept in till like 11, whichif you have a cusp of a toddler
it's difficult, so I slept in.
My husband, Kevin, got me thesebreakfast sandwiches that I
really like.
He also got Starbucks deliveredto the house.
(03:58):
It was great.
It was great.
And then my parents came over,which was great in and of itself
, but it just kind of turnedinto me and my mom just prepping
side dishes Like, granted, okay, they grilled, Fine.
But then there's like theprepping of this and I think we
just need to normalize lettingmoms go out and golf on Mother's
(04:18):
Day.
Like why are we doing this?
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Yeah, yeah.
I usually try and do somethingnice for my wife on Mother's Day
, Like last year.
I remember her favorite.
She laughs at me.
I even go to Dunkin' Donuts.
I'll ask for the Homer Simpsondonut, the strawberry glazed
with sprinkles.
The sprinkles, they know whatyou're talking about.
You don't have to saystrawberries glazed with
(04:43):
sprinkles.
I say I want a Homer SimpsonGotcha, you know, and even where
I live in the middle of nowhere, we've got a Dunkin' Donuts.
It's in a gas station but it'sa Dunkin' Donuts.
Hey, it still counts.
And came back and had it readyfor her Breakfast in bed.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
A donut, donut in bed .
That's all I wanted and that'sexactly what I got.
I got to sit in bed and doomscroll.
So here's the sucky part,though this weekend being the
baby, she just had horribleteething I think the molars are
coming in and she wasinconsolable for I don't know
(05:32):
like two days just nonstopscreaming and crying, which was
very out of the norm for her.
But I did feel bad just leavingKevin to just a screaming child
.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
So you know, I had a nice blissful morning.
You didn't feel that bad.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
I did not.
No, I'm lying.
I did not feel bad, it was fine.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
You got over it very, very quick.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Yeah, I got over it.
The baby she's fine, she'shappy now Look, everyone's fine.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Yeah, so Well.
Glad you had a good Mother'sDay.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
So yay, oh, I forgot to tell you the best news.
Like we got a kitten oh, I sawwe got a kitten.
so I don't I don't know if Ishared on the podcast.
Actually it was very traumatic.
We had the love of our lives,this cat.
His name was munson and he wasjust a soulmate cat.
Like you know, when you haveone of those pets in your life,
that's just.
You'll never forget that pet.
(06:30):
So he was that for us and he hesadly passed away.
He had feline diabetes.
He had.
We had to put him down.
It was traumatic in the sensethat, of course, this happened
when Kevin was traveling forwork and he is primary human, so
it was just me alone at thevet's office making this
decision.
It was insane.
So anyway, that happened a fewweeks ago, I would say like a
(06:51):
couple months ago, maybe.
Yeah, in any case, we decidedto get a new baby, so he is a
Maine Coon.
He is going to be big.
He's already like super largefor being five months old and
his paws are huge Does he havesix toes.
He does not.
No he does not.
He's not a six-toed cat, but hejust has huge paws, like he's
(07:15):
going to be a little lion.
So I love him so much.
He's so sweet.
He slept next to me all daytoday in the office.
He's just a little lovey.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
He's going to me all day today in the office.
He's just a little lovey.
He's going to turn into a biglovey.
I saw you've got a Maine Coon.
My paternal grandparents andthey both passed away.
They ended up a Maine Coon catadopted them.
Like this cat would come intotheir garage and my grandmother
or grandfather would go out andbroom and swish it out and yell
(07:48):
at it and, you know, kick it outand then it just kept coming
back and coming back and comingback.
Next you know they're leavingsome food on the back patio for
it and next thing you know it'sin the house and it's theirs and
they named him mr kitty.
He was a giant maine coon catand he had the six.
He was a giant Maine Coon catand he was a Maine Coon with six
toes, on the front paws only.
(08:08):
He had six toes and he was justa giant cat and he owned the
house.
He owned the neighborhood, butno matter.
I mean I actually watched mygrandmother go after him with a
broom one time.
I'm like there's no way thiscat will ever come back.
And yet there he was.
He was like I'm determined thisis going to be my house and
(08:30):
like they put flyers up, foundcat.
Like nobody wanted to claim him, it wanted their house, it was
going to be theirs and it endedup being their house, their cat,
for many, many years.
He lived an awful long time.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
The cat distribution system.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
It worked just as planned.
Yeah, that brought backmemories when I saw the baby
Maine Coon cat.
Love them.
So I've got two HR stories andsomething else.
I'll probably save that for theend.
Something else at the end, butwhy don't we start off with this
(09:14):
dress code violation?
So this comes off LinkedIn.
I don't know the date, as itsays published 10 minutes ago
when I copied and pasted, butobviously it wasn't.
It's from Karen Michael.
Follow her on LinkedIn, followher on her website and she has a
blog, a podcast as well.
So follow her.
Very funny.
I hope to have her as a guest.
I've talked to her and we'llsee what we can do, but I'm just
(09:35):
gonna read this it's it's notthat long or read it for word
for word.
I wish this was a video podcastthat we could show the pictures
, because it really does make it, you know, make it stand out.
But you can go on Karen Michaelon LinkedIn and see the story.
I'll read a word for it.
This could be a total fake, bythe way, but let's play along
(09:56):
for a minute.
A woman claims she was fired onher first day on the job for
wearing this.
See pictures below.
She said her video that shesubscribes to the look good,
feel good, and she wanted tofeel pretty so she could be
confident and give a good firstimpression.
But clearly that backfired.
Her new boss called her overand she thought her boss was
going to compliment her on heroutfit.
(10:17):
But the boss started beratingher and told her how
inappropriate her outfit was forthe work and she needed to
change.
The employee claims to havebeen insulted and stood up for
herself in a respectful manner.
She told the manager that shewas used to envious females and
she used to is used to femalesbeing super jealous of her, and
that she could sense themanager's insecurity.
(10:39):
The manager told her to go homeand not come back allegedly.
Whether this isattention-seeking, fake or not.
After 32 years of being inworkplaces, I've concluded the
workplace, today more than ever,lacks accountability,
self-awareness, boundaries,respect for professionalism.
If this woman is really tellingthe truth, then she needs to
learn a lesson.
(10:59):
And this isn't about you.
And now I officially rescind mybring your authentic self to
work comments.
Just come to work andassimilate to culture and bring
your best ideas, skills andknowledge.
Agree, disagree, and I will tryand describe this young ladies.
My wife hates it when I callthis people little girl.
(11:22):
It doesn't say what her?
Oh, I don't know.
It doesn't tell her age.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
This individual.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
This individual, so let's call this a super mini
skirt, it's.
She's going to have a hard timesitting down in this mini skirt
.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
I would have gotten sent home from high school if my
skirt was this short.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Because it doesn't reach your.
It's shorter than your finger.
It's shorter than yourfingertips.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
It's shorter than fingertip length.
You're going home.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
And she's wearing some boots to her knees in this
zip-up sweater vest that'szipped halfway down, showing
ample amount of cleavage, andher bare midriff as well bear
midriff as well and I'm like,really you thought that that
(12:12):
would be a good outfit to wearto work.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
So I hope I will say this is, this is a tick, so okay
.
So I do know I've done a lot ofresearch on this, and by
research I mean drinking wine onmy couch and going down TikTok
rabbit hole.
This is fake, but it's not so.
The creator that we're lookingat is a content creator, but she
spoofs things.
(12:34):
So she was making fun ofsomething that was really
happening and she says, in therepoint of view, you dress like
an office siren at yourcorporate job and you got fired
and oh my gosh, this wasfantastic.
This was a few weeks ago.
It's the office siren trendthat was going on in offices as
(12:58):
people were returning to work,and it was really going on with
new to career individuals who,like, let's just say, are mostly
Gen Z and they were getting alot of ill advice from TikTok.
And there was this trend calledthe office siren trend and
(13:18):
literally it was mainly youngwomen and they were wearing very
provocative clothes that, intheir terms, romanticizes the
workplace, that reminds them ofearly 2000s sitcoms.
So, for those of you who arelistening, if you can remember
the movie, the Devil Wears Pradabasically what's her name?
(13:41):
She's all bunch in thischaracter.
She has like the sexy librarianglasses and her hair's up in a
tousled bun and she's dressed,like you know, very fashion
forward.
And so a lot, of, a lot ofwomen in the workplace who are
again career, a lot of whichhave never worked in an office
before, and I think we have toremember now that I'm talking
(14:03):
out loud a lot of these peoplehave never worked in an office,
they've only seen it on TV.
So now that they're returningto the office or they're working
more in the office, they'retaking ill advice, or ill advice
from these influencers, andthese are like literally a lot
of midriffs, a lot of low-cut,low, low, low, low cut blouses,
(14:24):
a lot of short, short skirts andknee-high boots, like just
things that would make you golike huh if they walked in as an
hr person or, you know, as aco-worker in general.
But but yeah, so anyway, therewas this lore of the Internet
(14:44):
where apparently this person hadan internship.
Now apparently they said again,I did a lot of research, I was
it was yeah, this is here.
But apparently the lore wasthat this individual had a
internship that had a guaranteedposition after like two years,
and after two years theinternship would turn into a
full-time role and would be at100K, which, for a college
(15:05):
intern, like score right.
And the individual came to workdressed just like you could
imagine this picture that youand I are looking at right here
and the HR person called them inthe office and basically told
her that she was in violation ofdress code and she was
(15:27):
terminated and go home and she,like lost out on the internship,
she lost out on the 100k,whatever.
All this to say like one like Ithink there's two ways you can
look at this.
One if I was like the HRbusiness partner or the HR
person and this person walked inmy office, clearly not knowing
(15:49):
the lay of the land, clearly youcan see that this is probably
the first time that they're inan office would that be a final
out?
They're in an office?
Would that be a final out foryou?
And I think yeah, like wouldthat be a final or would you
have coached the situation?
Speaker 2 (16:04):
Oh man, I think you can watch all the you know 90s,
early 2000s rom-com office setthings and see people dressed
somewhat similar to this.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Very Rachel Green from Friends.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Yeah, yeah, but you, there has to be some common
sense in there too.
Do I think it should beinstantly termable?
Probably not, but it's going toreally set a bad tone for their
first day in their first weekIf they think that their career
(16:48):
of management depending on who'supset about it in upper
management it might be it mightas well fire them, because they
may not ever be able to recoverfrom this.
So I'm really, I'm really tornon this.
Do they think they're able tocome to where I I hope somebody
(17:09):
doesn't think that that'sacceptable to go to work like?
Speaker 3 (17:12):
I really hope not.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
I would, but I've told the story before.
I was brand new at a.
I was working at a CPA firm andit was, if it wasn't my first
week, it was my second week, andthe rest of the HR team was
away on something theypre-planned.
They were going to go out and Ijust happened to start, so I
was the only HR person in thebuilding when a partner calls
(17:37):
and he doesn't know who I am andhis directions to me were get
your ass over here and tellBritney Spears that this is not
a nightclub and she needs to putsome clothes on.
And I'm like I'm a recruiter,I'm not, I don't do these things
, but you have a senior partneryelling at you to do this and I
(18:00):
was like, oh gosh.
So now did she look like this?
No, is she.
It was borderline professional.
What she wore, I wouldn't.
I can't even describe.
I can't.
You know.
It was probably 2003 when thishappened.
I can't even describe.
I can't.
You know.
It was probably 2003 when thishappened.
I can borderline, I don't think.
(18:20):
I think it was a blouse thatwas open, too deep, and I think
it was capri type pantsuit thatwas maybe a little more form
fitting than most of the otherpeople were wearing it.
Most of the other people werewearing it and you know, I I did
(18:40):
talk to her and I said, lookyou, you know I hadn't.
I wasn't even one recruiter.
Like I said, I only started twoweeks before.
So I was like, yeah, you know,I just want to let you know that
there are some people here thataren't appreciating the way
you're dressed today I said, ifyou could I I had to think this.
I'm thinking this all through mymind.
How do I say this?
Because first, a guy say beinga dude in HR, this is like one
(19:02):
of those worst case scenariosituations where you have to
talk about attire with a womanand things like that.
And it was like, yeah, there'ssome people here who don't
appreciate the way you'redressed today.
People here who don'tappreciate the way you're
dressed today.
They said you know, just, youknow why don't you just stay in
your cube for today and be sureto be a little more
(19:23):
conservatively dressed tomorrow?
and her company policy yeah, butthere was nothing in that
violated a dress code.
Honestly, there, it wasn't.
It was just she did the outfitup a little bit more yeah better
than you know other people yeahshe wasn't as traditional so
(19:47):
yeah, so that was like.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
That's the one end of it, is like, as hr, how would
you handle a situation?
Because I feel like if we wereto follow more it's a coachable
situation it wouldn't have beenan immediate, termable offense.
On the other side, it's kind ofyou alluded to it before.
I'm thinking like, at the endof the day, you're going to be
(20:10):
remembered as the person whodressed like that, like that's
who you're going to beremembered by and if you're cool
with that, okay, but justunderstand that, yes, if, if
we're going by the story of likelook good, feel good, live,
laugh, love, there's like, yeah,you're free to do what you want
(20:31):
, but at the same time, it's notfree of consequences.
So, exactly, and I did, I'mgoing to be honest with you.
I had a couple like in my 20s,like early in my career.
I had a couple or oneparticular person pull me aside
and give me feedback on meshowing too much of my cleavage
(20:52):
at work and I was incensedbecause I was like in my 20s and
I'm like who does she think sheis telling me she wears lower
cut like shirts than I do?
She just happens to be flatchested but at the same time, I
think the advice she gave me waskind of the best advice.
Hey, listen, like you have alot of, you're a very smart
person, you have a lot of reallygreat ideas and you're such a
(21:17):
value to this company.
Like, I'm afraid.
I think she said I'm afraidthat your messaging will get
lost because people will bedistracted by, like, how you're
dressed.
And I was like, hmm, I fuckinghate that.
She's kind of right.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
It's true.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
And I'd hate to say it.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
It's probably more so for women than it is for men.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
It is, it is.
It is Because I will say Idon't think in all of my I don't
think in all of my career Ihave ever heard of a man being
pulled to do an office and beingtold that the way he is dressed
can be a negative reflection ofhis professionalism.
What do you guys have?
(22:05):
Polos?
You got vests.
If you're in finance, like,what do you got?
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Well, I will say I wanted, I'm not going to.
I'm not the dress code police.
Hr should not.
If the manager and the teamhave a problem with it, they can
bring it to me and I'm actuallygoing to probably push it back.
Okay, here's what you need to,how you need to address it with
your employee.
It's not my employee, it's youremployee.
(22:31):
But there was this one guy Iworked with, a very nice guy,
but he always looked like hejust came out from a
refrigerator box on the side ofthe road.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
He looked like a bag of shit he did.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
I mean, first, the dress code policy did say no
torn jeans, no torn pants,anything, nothing torn.
His favorite pair of pants werethese like shredded pants that
had, like I don't know, only 40%of the material left in them
and he wore those all the time.
And he wore graphic tees allthe time.
(23:07):
And if we didn't have a policy,graphic tees weren't against
our policy, but it wasn't ourculture either.
There's nobody who wore graphictees and our dress code is so
bad I'll go ahead and say it.
I mentioned before a couple ofmy co-workers listened to this,
so they know who I'm talkingabout but our president violates
(23:28):
the dress code, if you take itverbatim.
And it's always been on myto-do list that I want to redo
the dress code and make it moremodern.
But in our company, dresscode's not an issue.
That's the only person I canthink of that I can think of.
Yeah, you didn't.
(23:49):
He's no longer with us, but youdidn't.
I'm not going to be the dresscode police.
But as long as their managerwasn't saying anything to me, I
was like, ok, it's, it's your,it's your thing, but it's dress
code.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
Or forcing them.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
They're important, but they, they suck just the
same.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
They are, and especially if you work in an
environment that has, you know,health and safety things like,
oh, closed-toed shoes and, likeyou know, whatever, like that
kind of stuff, it's superimportant, super important for
dress code.
Yeah, I don't, I don't know.
Just, you know what?
Just don't, just wear clothesand do your job.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Wear correct clothes and do your job.
Buddy, yeah, wear correctclothes and do your job.
Wear, wear correct clothes anddo your job buddy, yeah, and do
your job.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
I will say we were going through that awkward phase
of going from business casualattire to wearing jeans to work.
I will say I'm a jeans personthrough and through, especially
in an office environment.
If it's a culture that is likefinance or something like that,
where you're dressed in a suitevery day, do not don't even
(25:03):
reach out for me, like don'teven reach out to me for an open
position, like I don't know.
But there's, like this one ofthe one of the I think it was
the COO, the, yeah, coo.
He was hissed that we were putbringing jeans into the dress
code because he was very oldschool and he just believed that
(25:25):
the work environment is to beyou have to dress professionally
.
And he came in one day to kindof protest the gene
implementation and he came inthese raggedy jeans that were
torn and just looked like crapand he was like, yeah, like this
is what it's going to look likeevery day.
I hope you like it.
(25:45):
Like this is what people aregoing to come to work at, just
being a dick about it.
And then, of course, the dresscode passed and everyone was
thrilled and people for the mostpart are I're not like they're
gonna use common sense for themost part and he went out and
again, this is someone like whywould you do this?
He then went out and reallyleaned into it and he bought a
(26:08):
pair of like 180 jeans and likea couple like really expensive
jeans just for work, becausethose are his work jeans.
And then he like started talkingabout how much money he spent
on it.
And I'm like dude, you juststop, just stop, just stop
bragging about the money youspent on your jeans.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Like just go back to your office so I have one more
dress code story before I go toswitch topics.
It's from my wonderful brother.
He is the perpetrator in thisstory.
He spent the first I don't knowhow many years of his career he
was when he was a captain inthe army.
(26:51):
He'd spent more time deployedthan the other captain in the
whole US Army.
So you get little stripes onyour dress uniform for every six
months deployed.
And then he got promoted tomajor and he graduated from
Virginia Military Institute andhe saw a job opening for
military science instructor atVMI and applied for it
(27:13):
instructor at VMI and appliedfor it While he was in I don't
know if it was Iraq orAfghanistan, I don't remember
exactly where.
They flew him out of theater, asthey say, all the way to
Baltimore, maryland, tointerview him.
And he's going along his wholelife thinking he's interviewing
(27:33):
for this military scienceprofessor at VMI and they flew
him back to wherever he wascoming from and things like that
.
He's there for a few moremonths and they said okay, we're
hiring you, you're going toWest Point, he's going to be a
military science professor atWest Point, the United States
Military Academy, and he didn'treally want that, but it made
(27:55):
him non-deployable for so manyyears and he was sort of looking
forward to that not beingdeployable and things like that.
So anyways, he goes and he'sdoing a great job and everybody
loves him and all that other funstuff is a higher up.
(28:17):
Now, at this point he's a major.
And at some point somebodypulls him aside and says, okay,
you know, one of the reasons youwere hired is because you're so
highly decorated.
And you know he only wore likefive ribbons on his service,
ribbons on his uniform.
And you know we want you to.
You know, we think the studentswill be impressed by your
ribbons, your credentials, etcetera.
And he says they're going to beimpressed with your ribbons,
your credentials, etc.
And he says they're going to beimpressed with me because I'm
(28:38):
their professor not because I amthere, because I have all these
ribbons.
And they just told him oh, we'dlike you to wear more ribbons
than what you do.
He said, well, these five orsix are ones that actually mean
something to me, so I'll juststick with that.
And he said, no, you are goingto wear your more ribbons.
And he said, well, the militarydress code doesn't say I have
(29:01):
to and you are wearing it.
So my brother, in his full youknow being a complete a-hole
that he can be for like twoweeks in a row came in to work
at West Point wearing his dresstuxedo.
In to work at West Pointwearing his dress, tuxedo and
with the full ribbon and metal,not just the ribbon on his chest
(29:21):
but the ribbon and the metaland all the accoutrement he
could manage.
He said he looked like a SouthAmerican dictator walking down
the halls there.
And he did that for two weeksand then he went back to wearing
what he was going to do andnobody said a peep to him ever
again about wearing his, hisstuff.
He said I put every metal,every little accoutrement, every
little whatever you know,participation award ribbon they,
(29:45):
they give you.
He said I put them all on andbut he did not last very long at
west point.
He, that was his least favoritedeployment in 24 years in in
the army.
So that, yeah, he, he re-uppedonce there and then he said nope
, I'm not.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
I can't do it anymore .
I love a story that involvesmalicious compliance.
So you want me to wear a ribbon, I'll wear all my ribbons.
Oh, if ribbons like down in thestreet, oh, or ribbons from
Michael's, I don't care.
Yeah, yeah, you want ribbons?
I'll give you ribbon.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
Oh, so the other story I had is you know, we're
just past May the 4th.
We're what?
Nine days past May the 4th.
Speaker 3 (30:30):
It's the holiest holiday of the year.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
The holiest holiday of the year.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
It's for me.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
Did you sit there and have yourself a Star Wars
marathon?
Speaker 3 (30:42):
I did not this year.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
And do you skip episode two, the Jar Jar Binks?
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (30:49):
I do.
Oh my God, I've never done it.
We're going to go on a StarWars tangent really quick.
I forget what it's called, Okay, so I don't know if you?
For those of you who are notStar Wars fans, please forgive
me for the next minute, but itis called Machete Style.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (31:07):
Yes, so it's episode four, five, then you skip to two
and three, so it's almost likea flashback situation, and then
you go back to episode six andthen you can do like the last
trilogy, but completely omitepisode one.
(31:28):
That's what we omit, becauseepisode one is garbage.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Is that the Jar Jar Binks?
Speaker 3 (31:34):
one, that's the Jar Jar one.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
Oh, okay, I thought it was two off the top of my
cheek.
Yeah, I've watched it so manydifferent ways.
It's crazy, but I think ourfans like Star Wars because one
of our all-time favorites whenwe had Dolores the Empire's Evil
.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
Hr person that was one of our high time.
Dolores.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
Listen.
Speaker 3 (31:57):
She's doing the work, she's doing the work, she's
doing the work.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
I would love to go to one of the Comic-Con type
things and meet her in person.
How?
Speaker 3 (32:06):
funny.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
Yeah, so yeah, I've watched the machete style before
as well, so yeah.
But I will have to say RogueOne is one of my favorite Star
wars movies and I I would agreeit was, it was so different for
the franchise in a positive way.
(32:27):
And yeah, yeah, so it's rogueone is is still my, my favorite
and I'm looking forward to.
You know people are hating somuch on all the new star wars
stuff I could not get throughthe Young Rebels, was that what
it was called?
Speaker 3 (32:42):
Yeah, I didn't watch that one.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
Yeah, I couldn't get through it.
I'm trying to finish Andorright now.
I was trying to watch it whilesick, on Saturday or on Monday,
while I was home from work.
I tried watching it, but Iwasn't paying enough attention
work.
I tried watching it, but Iwasn't paying enough attention
and or is a a show, you have topay attention, almost intense
attention, to the whole thing.
You can't look at your phone forfive seconds, because you will,
(33:06):
you will get there.
But I've watched all the.
I love the cartoons clone warsand rebels, I'm all about those.
Those are actually damn goodthings, but anyways, yeah, so,
anyways, going on to star warshere.
So this person her name islorna rook, she's in the uk
(33:26):
somewhere.
She's a blood donationsupervisor and apparently
sometime in her absence, herteam filled out a star
wars-themed Meyer-Briggs testfor her and she came out to be
Darth Vader.
Speaker 3 (33:48):
Which?
Listen.
He's a flawed person, but hehas his strengths.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
He's a great leader.
Speaker 3 (33:56):
You know what he's a leader.
He's a great leader.
You know what he's a leader.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
He's a leader.
I like when he's like forcechoking this dude, and he says
he's such a great leader, helifts up those around him.
Speaker 3 (34:08):
You know what the mark of a great leader is?
Those who can lift their team,lift those around them.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
Okay, my first.
If I were to get some sort ofsuperhuman power, my first would
be the Thanos snap.
I would be snapping like afreaking jet West Side.
Story I'd be snapping and likestupid people.
I'd be just snap, snap, snap,snap everywhere.
It wouldn't be just a random50%.
(34:38):
And the second thing I'd wantI'd be just nap, snap, snap,
snap everywhere.
It wouldn't be just a random50%.
And the second thing I'd wantI'd want the force choke.
I would want to be able to chokesomeone from across the room
without even getting the, maybeeven on a Zoom call.
You're across the country on aZoom call with me and you're
ticking me off and I can justchoke you out from 3,000 miles
away, more than Obi-Wan's mindcontrol.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
These are not the droids you're looking for.
That's what I want.
I want to be able to manipulatepeople.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
Oh, I can manipulate them that got dark.
Pain's a great motivator, butanyways.
So the team got a good laughout of this.
She did not.
And what happens when someonegets their feelings hurt?
Now in the United States wehave snowflakes.
This takes snowflakes to thenewest level.
I don't know what's worse thana snowflake.
(35:26):
She sued and she won over29,000 pounds and I didn't do
the math to figure out what thatis in American dollars, but she
cut 29,000 pounds with it.
A legal observer said it's notabout Darth Vader.
It's about respect, consent andtrust in the workplace.
(35:49):
It sends a message.
Even playful team activitiescan pack serious consequences if
boundaries aren't respected.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
So I think that first of all, this is all for 38
thousand dollars, 38 600 in us36 nonsense
Speaker 3 (36:11):
yeah take away half to pay your lawyer to do this.
Was it worth it?
This is why we can't have nicethings, and this is also like
you are acting very Vader-ish.
I mean, you are proving thepoint Well see, I disagreed.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
I didn't think she's acting Vader-ish and I didn't
know the term for thesecreatures, but I had to ask AI
what's the most timid creaturein the Star Wars universe?
And it came up with the Docma.
And they pray for a larger,spider-like Kirka on their home
planet, etylon, furtherindicating vulnerability in
(36:55):
timidity.
Boy, I can't speak, but yeah, Idon't remember them, but
they're in Star Wars, rebels andother shows and they look like
Gary from SpongeBob actually iswhat I would call them.
They would look like Gary fromSpongeBob, but I couldn't say
that that's a dogma.
But maybe I was thinking, maybea porg, something like that,
(37:17):
that people have more relevant,have seen more relevant.
But really to get that butthurt, to sue over now I might
get mad if you call me Jar JarBinks, but I'm just kidding.
Speaker 3 (37:30):
I don't think anyone should as anyone should.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
Yes, you tried to be the death of the entire creature
?
Speaker 3 (37:53):
Like, is this a case where this person has probably
felt some kind of way, has feltbullied, has felt alienated, and
now this is just kind of thething that put them over the
edge, like I would.
Okay, I get that, but if we'retaking it at face value of
someone who just can't laugh atthemselves, I say boo, laura
(38:15):
Knob, boo.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
She's going to have a tough time getting into that.
Boo, laura Knob, boo, she'sgoing to have a tough time
getting into it.
You know she goes to a new joband someone's going to give her
a Darth Vader cookie for herfirst day, or something like
that.
Speaker 3 (38:25):
But honestly, like I mean, I'm one of those people.
I know people Listen.
This is very polarizing.
I know some people are intoteam building activities like
this.
I know some people aren't.
I think a Star Wars twist to itis kind of cute.
Especially I'm going to assumeit might have been around May
the 4th.
That's cute.
I think it's cute.
I don't really think there'sany harm in that.
Speaker 1 (38:46):
But then again, if you're a manager you got to know
your audience.
Speaker 3 (38:50):
So if you know there's someone on your team
who's going to be a little morebutthurt if you look at them the
wrong way, like maybe thisisn't the activity, that
activity, like maybe you dodifferent things, but I don't
know, I do think it's harmless,but then again, I'm not Lorna
and I'm not in her head.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
So I still say boo Lorna.
Yeah, I do too.
She said the comparison madeher feel isolated and unpopular.
Speaker 3 (39:15):
Probably is unpopular for different reasons.
Speaker 2 (39:17):
Yeah exactly their tribunal agreed it wasn't just a
harmless joke.
It it cross-lined intoworkplace detriment, especially
given works, diagnose anxietyand stress related challenges.
Okay, I, anxiety is I'm notsaying it's not, but it is so,
(39:38):
so, so overused.
We cannot be a functioningsociety if everybody and their
brother is this highly anxious.
Like I said, anxiety is real, Iknow it, you know it's real.
But the amount of people whojust get anxious over the
stupidest shit, that's somethingelse and I'm not a mental
(40:02):
health professional.
Speaker 3 (40:02):
But I think I don't know.
We are not a mental healthpodcast.
Just that, just to let you know.
These are just two HRprofessionals who know nothing
about psychology.
But like I get it, I get and Iget when people are like, oh,
someone finds somethingtriggering right?
Speaker 2 (40:23):
We hear that word a lot, a lot.
Oh, trigger is another one ofmy least favorite phrases.
Speaker 3 (40:27):
That's one of your pet peeves.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:29):
Well, I think there's legitimately two like there's
things out there like, oh, if Ilike hear something, or like I
don't like it.
But I also think it's aperson's responsibility to
understand why things aretriggering to themselves and
therefore they must then do thework instead of just putting a
(40:50):
bubble around themselves anddictating that other people
can't do things.
Like I'm like this whole StarWars thing right.
Like, oh, like, why is thistriggering to me?
Like maybe I should do the workin and of myself to figure out
why this is bothering me.
I always, I always use the storyof you know, the thing I hate
to hear the most in my life iswhat do you want to do for
(41:13):
dinner?
I think for me.
I hate that question.
I hear it.
I spiral into like an ADHDwormhole of like, oh my God,
that's one more thing I have toplan.
Oh my God, I have to do allthis stuff too.
Oh my blah, blah, blah.
Like it, it does something tome.
But at the same time, like Ican't get angry at my husband
every single time he asks asimple, damn question of what
(41:36):
food we're going to consume inthe evening.
So, like you know, I thinkanxiety is real.
I think mental health is real,but I also think especially in
the case of Lorna over here youhave to be able to function in
society and therefore sometimesit's not a them problem,
sometimes it's a you issue, andyou need to do the work to help
(41:57):
navigate your own triggers.
Yeah, and that's what I'm goingto say.
Mic drop Again, I am not amental health professional.
Speaker 2 (42:07):
Well, I listen to audio books like crazy.
I don't know how many hoursI've listened to already this
year, but the book I startedtoday actually the first
pre-chapter after Audiblepresents.
It's like a page-long triggerwarning about the book and, okay
(42:28):
, a few of the things needed tobe trigger warnings.
But if you pick up the book andyou've read anything else by
the author and you look at theback, you're going to be able to
pretty much guess that theseare going to be some of the
themes of the book and I don'tknow, just in trigger warnings
at the beginning of podcastswhen they're not.
(42:49):
Okay, bad things happen in lifebut you can't not discuss them
because of something.
So I I don't know it's yeah thetrigger warning I, I don't know
I, I appreciate a triggerwarning.
Speaker 3 (43:06):
I think they're pretty harmless, like throw them
out there.
I will say I watched, I watchedI don't know why I've been very
curious about again this is likean adhd fixation, so but I like
wanted.
I just fell down a rabbit holeof Hurricane Katrina.
Okay, I don't know, but I saw,I watched this documentary on
Max, called when the LeveesBroke, and I could have used a
(43:31):
trigger when, at the very lastthree minutes of the first
episode, they're literally just,they're just showing dead
bodies, like closeups of deadbodies, dead bodies that have
been out in the water for days,and at first, like it's very
funny because I think there's abit of us that's desensitized to
that kind of stuff when youwatch shit on TV and you're like
(43:51):
, oh, the special effects areamazing, and then it takes it
took me a good like coupleseconds to to process like, oh,
this isn't special effects,these are real dead bodies.
And so I was like I would havelet, I would have liked a
trigger warning, because I sawthings that I was not prepared
to see yeah, yeah but at thesame time, yeah, I don't know
(44:14):
yeah like.
So I, I, you know just a headsup of what I'm about to see,
because that's been in my brainfor a couple days and I got to
now.
I got to go watch.
I got to watch Gilmore Girlsfrom beginning to end, to clean
my palate.
Speaker 2 (44:27):
Nothing's going to trigger you out of that.
Yeah Well, speaking of triggers, right before we started
recording tonight, my wife and Iwatched the series finale of
handmaid's tale and it's apretty good story.
Elizabeth moss is probably theworst actress I've ever had to
(44:48):
deal with in my life.
And it's not just this, it'severything she does, they and
she's the director, producer,all that of it.
She could stay behind the, butshe likes to focus in, like
super big, on her own face andshe's doing all these, just
these god-awful facialcontortions and it just makes me
want to throw something at theTV and if I was like Elvis, I
(45:10):
would have shot my TV because Ijust I'm glad.
Okay, the story, the seriesfinale if you haven't seen it,
sorry spoiler, it sucks the waythey ended.
It was just so stupid on top ofit, but I'm just glad to be rid
of it.
I'm never going to watchanything with Elizabeth Moss
again because she's just thatgod-awful of an actress.
And there's two other shows mywife and I or one was a movie
(45:34):
and another show and she doesthe same thing.
She just contorts her face,trying to be dramatic or
whatever.
It's not like a Jim Carreyfacial contortion and she
doesn't do it well and she hasto get like super zoomed in.
It just kills me and I'm gladthat show's over, it's done.
But that triggered me everysingle time because as they
(45:57):
start zooming in our face, ohhere comes some stupid
contortion or you know whatever.
But anyways I was.
Speaker 3 (46:05):
You need a trigger warning at the beginning, like
warning this episode containsElizabeth Moss's face.
Speaker 2 (46:12):
Yeah, but I will.
There's a couple of actors.
Speaker 3 (46:15):
I've never noticed that no-transcript.
Now I'm only going to see it.
Speaker 2 (46:18):
Watch Handmaid's Tale , and no other show zooms in
that closely on anybody's face,and this show zooms in on other
characters' faces.
They don't do the same stupidshit she does.
See, I don't know, she's tryingto overact with facial
expressions, I guess, butanyways, yeah, we just finished
that.
Now we're going to be lookingfor something new to binge watch
(46:40):
and we've got a couple of ideason there.
But before we wrap this up, Iwent on all the podcast apps
recently and was looking to seeif we had any reviews.
I could find that I hadn'tmentioned.
We don't.
So please give us some reviews,people, especially on Apple.
Speaker 3 (46:59):
Give us reviews.
Well, read your reviews.
Speaker 2 (47:02):
Now, I don't use Spotify, I use Pocket Casts and
you can just like it and give ita star if you like it, and we
have a couple of people done iton Pocket Casts.
But you can't put a verbalrating and I don't know how
Spotify works as I don't usethat.
But Spotify we've got like afour and a half star out of 23
(47:23):
reviews out there.
So thank you all of y'all thathelp us out on Spotify.
So just give it a quick click,give us a couple stars.
But as I'm going down the list,I get to good pods and I
haven't been on good pods inyears and I don't know where to
come up with their stats, butI'm definitely not going to
question their validity.
Good Pods ranks Jaded HR thenumber one in the top 100
(47:50):
independent human resourcesall-time podcasts oh.
And we're number eight of allthe human resource podcasts all
time, and I looked at the listthat you know.
They don't have some shows outthere.
I think their ratings and theirreviews and their listenerships
are much higher than ours, butthey don't and some of the ones
(48:12):
are above us in those tophundred I've never even heard of
.
But, thank you, I know we havebecause I can see on our host,
buzzsprout how many peoplelisten.
We've got a few dozen peoplelisten to every episode on Good
Pods.
So thank you.
Whatever you're doing to boostus with that, I appreciate it.
So, yay, if that's really cool,I'm going to post this on our
(48:35):
Instagram page, probablytomorrow night.
I'm editing this episode, soyeah.
So thank you.
And you know, please, please,get out there, leave us reviews,
tell your friends, spread theword.
You can support us.
You can support us on Patreon.
You can buy us a beer All sortsof ways you can support us.
All the links are in the shownotes, as well as links directly
(48:59):
to Cece's Instagram of BoozyHR.
You can check her out there,but that's all I have today.
But you can support us alikeHallie, our original GDHR rock
star, bill and Michael, whosupport us on Patreon as well.
So thank you very much for yoursupport.
I think those three are gettingkind of lonely.
(49:20):
It's been a while since we'vehad another supporter.
So I think the minimum you cando is $2 a month and I think I
even have a $50 a month level.
If anybody wants it, it's outthere, a $50 a month level to
support us.
But anyways, go check us out onPatreon.
So anything else you have fortoday.
Speaker 3 (49:41):
No, no, I'm good.
Speaker 2 (49:44):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, that's all I've got too.
So our intro is Andrew Kolpadoes the voice and the music is
Devil, with a Double by theUnderscore Orchestra.
Can't remember that aftersaying it for five years and, as
always, I'm Warren.
Speaker 3 (50:01):
I'm Phoebe.
Speaker 2 (50:02):
And we're here helping you survive.
Hr one, what the fuck.
Moment at a time.
Thank you.
Had you actually read the email, you would know that
the podcast you are about tolisten to could contain explicit
language and offensive content.
These HR experts' views are notrepresentative of their past,
present or future employers.
If you have ever heard mymanager is unfair to me.
I need you to reset my HRportal password, or Can I write
(00:24):
up my employee for crying toomuch?
Welcome to our little safe zone.
Welcome to Jaded HR.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Welcome to Jaded HR, the podcast by two HR
professionals who want to helpyou get through the workday by
saying everything you'rethinking, but say it out loud.
I'm Warren.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
I'm Cece.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
All right, back again , whee.
So the last few episodes otherthan well.
I could hear it in the OfficeRewatch podcast episode that
your voice wasn't as strong then, but now it's my turn to be
sick.
But I'm actually getting overit.
But yeah, I counted out.
This is only the seventh timein my entire career from the 90s
(01:21):
and almost 30 years of callingout of work.
Career from the 90s and almost30 years of calling out of work
and so like, not planned call,not a planned day off or
anything like that.
So my body's weird.
It tends only to get sick onweekends.
It's like Wednesday, I feel.
You know, I feel somethingstrange is coming on by Friday.
(01:41):
I was like, oh shit, I'm goingto be sick on Saturday and
Sunday and of course I'll befine on Monday to get back to
work.
But this time I was not fineand of course I was Tony off air
.
That ruined my wife's mother'sday, because the first mother's
day where neither of our kidsare in the house.
So that was a traumaticexperience by itself.
But we also invited my in-lawsover for brunch for Sunday
(02:07):
morning, mother's Day and I wasunable to participate in the
prep or cook of that said brunch, and so I am in the doghouse
now for being sick and I want tobe in the doghouse for a little
while.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Oh, what a weekend.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yeah, it was, but I did go visit my mother and it
wasn't an awful trip.
I usually do not like goingvisiting my mother, but I'm a
good son, I do my duty.
It's like I've said before, I'ma needle phobe.
I go to the doctor, I get myshots, I get.
I've said before I'm a needlephobe, I go to the doctor, I get
my shots, I get.
You know, I gave blood last week.
I'm O negative, so everybodywants my blood and I do those
(02:52):
things I'm supposed to.
Oh, giving blood, this is thefirst time ever.
Like I said, I'm a needle phobe.
I don't like it.
This dude took three times toget the needle in and I was like
just an instant away fromsaying screw this, I'm out, I'm
going home.
I was like you know you didn'twant to do my blood pressure at
(03:14):
the moments before that thirdstick.
You know they take your bloodpressure and do all this stuff
before you give blood and youdid not want to take my blood
pressure before that third stickbecause, yeah, it would have
been really not a good thing forthat so yeah, yeah, but you had
a good mother's day I did, yeah, I.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
The only thing I wanted for mother's day was a
day to sleep in, and that's whatI got I got.
I slept in till like 11, whichif you have a cusp of a toddler
it's difficult, so I slept in.
My husband, Kevin, got me thesebreakfast sandwiches that I
really like.
He also got Starbucks deliveredto the house.
(03:58):
It was great.
It was great.
And then my parents came over,which was great in and of itself
, but it just kind of turnedinto me and my mom just prepping
side dishes Like, granted, okay, they grilled, Fine.
But then there's like theprepping of this and I think we
just need to normalize lettingmoms go out and golf on Mother's
(04:18):
Day.
Like why are we doing this?
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Yeah, yeah.
I usually try and do somethingnice for my wife on Mother's Day
, Like last year.
I remember her favorite.
She laughs at me.
I even go to Dunkin' Donuts.
I'll ask for the Homer Simpsondonut, the strawberry glazed
with sprinkles.
The sprinkles, they know whatyou're talking about.
You don't have to saystrawberries glazed with
(04:43):
sprinkles.
I say I want a Homer SimpsonGotcha, you know, and even where
I live in the middle of nowhere, we've got a Dunkin' Donuts.
It's in a gas station but it'sa Dunkin' Donuts.
Hey, it still counts.
And came back and had it readyfor her Breakfast in bed.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
A donut, donut in bed .
That's all I wanted and that'sexactly what I got.
I got to sit in bed and doomscroll.
So here's the sucky part,though this weekend being the
baby, she just had horribleteething I think the molars are
coming in and she wasinconsolable for I don't know
(05:32):
like two days just nonstopscreaming and crying, which was
very out of the norm for her.
But I did feel bad just leavingKevin to just a screaming child
.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
So you know, I had a nice blissful morning.
You didn't feel that bad.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
I did not.
No, I'm lying.
I did not feel bad, it was fine.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
You got over it very, very quick.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Yeah, I got over it.
The baby she's fine, she'shappy now Look, everyone's fine.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Yeah, so Well.
Glad you had a good Mother'sDay.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
So yay, oh, I forgot to tell you the best news.
Like we got a kitten oh, I sawwe got a kitten.
so I don't I don't know if Ishared on the podcast.
Actually it was very traumatic.
We had the love of our lives,this cat.
His name was munson and he wasjust a soulmate cat.
Like you know, when you haveone of those pets in your life,
that's just.
You'll never forget that pet.
(06:30):
So he was that for us and he hesadly passed away.
He had feline diabetes.
He had.
We had to put him down.
It was traumatic in the sensethat, of course, this happened
when Kevin was traveling forwork and he is primary human, so
it was just me alone at thevet's office making this
decision.
It was insane.
So anyway, that happened a fewweeks ago, I would say like a
(06:51):
couple months ago, maybe.
Yeah, in any case, we decidedto get a new baby, so he is a
Maine Coon.
He is going to be big.
He's already like super largefor being five months old and
his paws are huge Does he havesix toes.
He does not.
No he does not.
He's not a six-toed cat, but hejust has huge paws, like he's
(07:15):
going to be a little lion.
So I love him so much.
He's so sweet.
He slept next to me all daytoday in the office.
He's just a little lovey.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
He's going to me all day today in the office.
He's just a little lovey.
He's going to turn into a biglovey.
I saw you've got a Maine Coon.
My paternal grandparents andthey both passed away.
They ended up a Maine Coon catadopted them.
Like this cat would come intotheir garage and my grandmother
or grandfather would go out andbroom and swish it out and yell
(07:48):
at it and, you know, kick it outand then it just kept coming
back and coming back and comingback.
Next you know they're leavingsome food on the back patio for
it and next thing you know it'sin the house and it's theirs and
they named him mr kitty.
He was a giant maine coon catand he had the six.
He was a giant Maine Coon catand he was a Maine Coon with six
toes, on the front paws only.
(08:08):
He had six toes and he was justa giant cat and he owned the
house.
He owned the neighborhood, butno matter.
I mean I actually watched mygrandmother go after him with a
broom one time.
I'm like there's no way thiscat will ever come back.
And yet there he was.
He was like I'm determined thisis going to be my house and
(08:30):
like they put flyers up, foundcat.
Like nobody wanted to claim him, it wanted their house, it was
going to be theirs and it endedup being their house, their cat,
for many, many years.
He lived an awful long time.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
The cat distribution system.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
It worked just as planned.
Yeah, that brought backmemories when I saw the baby
Maine Coon cat.
Love them.
So I've got two HR stories andsomething else.
I'll probably save that for theend.
Something else at the end, butwhy don't we start off with this
(09:14):
dress code violation?
So this comes off LinkedIn.
I don't know the date, as itsays published 10 minutes ago
when I copied and pasted, butobviously it wasn't.
It's from Karen Michael.
Follow her on LinkedIn, followher on her website and she has a
blog, a podcast as well.
So follow her.
Very funny.
I hope to have her as a guest.
I've talked to her and we'llsee what we can do, but I'm just
(09:35):
gonna read this it's it's notthat long or read it for word
for word.
I wish this was a video podcastthat we could show the pictures
, because it really does make it, you know, make it stand out.
But you can go on Karen Michaelon LinkedIn and see the story.
I'll read a word for it.
This could be a total fake, bythe way, but let's play along
(09:56):
for a minute.
A woman claims she was fired onher first day on the job for
wearing this.
See pictures below.
She said her video that shesubscribes to the look good,
feel good, and she wanted tofeel pretty so she could be
confident and give a good firstimpression.
But clearly that backfired.
Her new boss called her overand she thought her boss was
going to compliment her on heroutfit.
(10:17):
But the boss started beratingher and told her how
inappropriate her outfit was forthe work and she needed to
change.
The employee claims to havebeen insulted and stood up for
herself in a respectful manner.
She told the manager that shewas used to envious females and
she used to is used to femalesbeing super jealous of her, and
that she could sense themanager's insecurity.
(10:39):
The manager told her to go homeand not come back allegedly.
Whether this isattention-seeking, fake or not.
After 32 years of being inworkplaces, I've concluded the
workplace, today more than ever,lacks accountability,
self-awareness, boundaries,respect for professionalism.
If this woman is really tellingthe truth, then she needs to
learn a lesson.
(10:59):
And this isn't about you.
And now I officially rescind mybring your authentic self to
work comments.
Just come to work andassimilate to culture and bring
your best ideas, skills andknowledge.
Agree, disagree, and I will tryand describe this young ladies.
My wife hates it when I callthis people little girl.
(11:22):
It doesn't say what her?
Oh, I don't know.
It doesn't tell her age.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
This individual.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
This individual, so let's call this a super mini
skirt, it's.
She's going to have a hard timesitting down in this mini skirt
.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
I would have gotten sent home from high school if my
skirt was this short.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Because it doesn't reach your.
It's shorter than your finger.
It's shorter than yourfingertips.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
It's shorter than fingertip length.
You're going home.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
And she's wearing some boots to her knees in this
zip-up sweater vest that'szipped halfway down, showing
ample amount of cleavage, andher bare midriff as well bear
midriff as well and I'm like,really you thought that that
(12:12):
would be a good outfit to wearto work.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
So I hope I will say this is, this is a tick, so okay
.
So I do know I've done a lot ofresearch on this, and by
research I mean drinking wine onmy couch and going down TikTok
rabbit hole.
This is fake, but it's not so.
The creator that we're lookingat is a content creator, but she
spoofs things.
(12:34):
So she was making fun ofsomething that was really
happening and she says, in therepoint of view, you dress like
an office siren at yourcorporate job and you got fired
and oh my gosh, this wasfantastic.
This was a few weeks ago.
It's the office siren trendthat was going on in offices as
(12:58):
people were returning to work,and it was really going on with
new to career individuals who,like, let's just say, are mostly
Gen Z and they were getting alot of ill advice from TikTok.
And there was this trend calledthe office siren trend and
(13:18):
literally it was mainly youngwomen and they were wearing very
provocative clothes that, intheir terms, romanticizes the
workplace, that reminds them ofearly 2000s sitcoms.
So, for those of you who arelistening, if you can remember
the movie, the Devil Wears Pradabasically what's her name?
(13:41):
She's all bunch in thischaracter.
She has like the sexy librarianglasses and her hair's up in a
tousled bun and she's dressed,like you know, very fashion
forward.
And so a lot, of, a lot ofwomen in the workplace who are
again career, a lot of whichhave never worked in an office
before, and I think we have toremember now that I'm talking
(14:03):
out loud a lot of these peoplehave never worked in an office,
they've only seen it on TV.
So now that they're returningto the office or they're working
more in the office, they'retaking ill advice, or ill advice
from these influencers, andthese are like literally a lot
of midriffs, a lot of low-cut,low, low, low, low cut blouses,
(14:24):
a lot of short, short skirts andknee-high boots, like just
things that would make you golike huh if they walked in as an
hr person or, you know, as aco-worker in general.
But but yeah, so anyway, therewas this lore of the Internet
(14:44):
where apparently this person hadan internship.
Now apparently they said again,I did a lot of research, I was
it was yeah, this is here.
But apparently the lore wasthat this individual had a
internship that had a guaranteedposition after like two years,
and after two years theinternship would turn into a
full-time role and would be at100K, which, for a college
(15:05):
intern, like score right.
And the individual came to workdressed just like you could
imagine this picture that youand I are looking at right here
and the HR person called them inthe office and basically told
her that she was in violation ofdress code and she was
(15:27):
terminated and go home and she,like lost out on the internship,
she lost out on the 100k,whatever.
All this to say like one like Ithink there's two ways you can
look at this.
One if I was like the HRbusiness partner or the HR
person and this person walked inmy office, clearly not knowing
(15:49):
the lay of the land, clearly youcan see that this is probably
the first time that they're inan office would that be a final
out?
They're in an office?
Would that be a final out foryou?
And I think yeah, like wouldthat be a final or would you
have coached the situation?
Speaker 2 (16:04):
Oh man, I think you can watch all the you know 90s,
early 2000s rom-com office setthings and see people dressed
somewhat similar to this.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Very Rachel Green from Friends.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Yeah, yeah, but you, there has to be some common
sense in there too.
Do I think it should beinstantly termable?
Probably not, but it's going toreally set a bad tone for their
first day in their first weekIf they think that their career
(16:48):
of management depending on who'supset about it in upper
management it might be it mightas well fire them, because they
may not ever be able to recoverfrom this.
So I'm really, I'm really tornon this.
Do they think they're able tocome to where I I hope somebody
(17:09):
doesn't think that that'sacceptable to go to work like?
Speaker 3 (17:12):
I really hope not.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
I would, but I've told the story before.
I was brand new at a.
I was working at a CPA firm andit was, if it wasn't my first
week, it was my second week, andthe rest of the HR team was
away on something theypre-planned.
They were going to go out and Ijust happened to start, so I
was the only HR person in thebuilding when a partner calls
(17:37):
and he doesn't know who I am andhis directions to me were get
your ass over here and tellBritney Spears that this is not
a nightclub and she needs to putsome clothes on.
And I'm like I'm a recruiter,I'm not, I don't do these things
, but you have a senior partneryelling at you to do this and I
(18:00):
was like, oh gosh.
So now did she look like this?
No, is she.
It was borderline professional.
What she wore, I wouldn't.
I can't even describe.
I can't.
You know.
It was probably 2003 when thishappened.
I can't even describe.
I can't.
You know.
It was probably 2003 when thishappened.
I can borderline, I don't think.
(18:20):
I think it was a blouse thatwas open, too deep, and I think
it was capri type pantsuit thatwas maybe a little more form
fitting than most of the otherpeople were wearing it.
Most of the other people werewearing it and you know, I I did
(18:40):
talk to her and I said, lookyou, you know I hadn't.
I wasn't even one recruiter.
Like I said, I only started twoweeks before.
So I was like, yeah, you know,I just want to let you know that
there are some people here thataren't appreciating the way
you're dressed today I said, ifyou could I I had to think this.
I'm thinking this all through mymind.
How do I say this?
Because first, a guy say beinga dude in HR, this is like one
(19:02):
of those worst case scenariosituations where you have to
talk about attire with a womanand things like that.
And it was like, yeah, there'ssome people here who don't
appreciate the way you'redressed today.
People here who don'tappreciate the way you're
dressed today.
They said you know, just, youknow why don't you just stay in
your cube for today and be sureto be a little more
(19:23):
conservatively dressed tomorrow?
and her company policy yeah, butthere was nothing in that
violated a dress code.
Honestly, there, it wasn't.
It was just she did the outfitup a little bit more yeah better
than you know other people yeahshe wasn't as traditional so
(19:47):
yeah, so that was like.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
That's the one end of it, is like, as hr, how would
you handle a situation?
Because I feel like if we wereto follow more it's a coachable
situation it wouldn't have beenan immediate, termable offense.
On the other side, it's kind ofyou alluded to it before.
I'm thinking like, at the endof the day, you're going to be
(20:10):
remembered as the person whodressed like that, like that's
who you're going to beremembered by and if you're cool
with that, okay, but justunderstand that, yes, if, if
we're going by the story of likelook good, feel good, live,
laugh, love, there's like, yeah,you're free to do what you want
(20:31):
, but at the same time, it's notfree of consequences.
So, exactly, and I did, I'mgoing to be honest with you.
I had a couple like in my 20s,like early in my career.
I had a couple or oneparticular person pull me aside
and give me feedback on meshowing too much of my cleavage
(20:52):
at work and I was incensedbecause I was like in my 20s and
I'm like who does she think sheis telling me she wears lower
cut like shirts than I do?
She just happens to be flatchested but at the same time, I
think the advice she gave me waskind of the best advice.
Hey, listen, like you have alot of, you're a very smart
person, you have a lot of reallygreat ideas and you're such a
(21:17):
value to this company.
Like, I'm afraid.
I think she said I'm afraidthat your messaging will get
lost because people will bedistracted by, like, how you're
dressed.
And I was like, hmm, I fuckinghate that.
She's kind of right.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
It's true.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
And I'd hate to say it.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
It's probably more so for women than it is for men.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
It is, it is.
It is Because I will say Idon't think in all of my I don't
think in all of my career Ihave ever heard of a man being
pulled to do an office and beingtold that the way he is dressed
can be a negative reflection ofhis professionalism.
What do you guys have?
(22:05):
Polos?
You got vests.
If you're in finance, like,what do you got?
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Well, I will say I wanted, I'm not going to.
I'm not the dress code police.
Hr should not.
If the manager and the teamhave a problem with it, they can
bring it to me and I'm actuallygoing to probably push it back.
Okay, here's what you need to,how you need to address it with
your employee.
It's not my employee, it's youremployee.
(22:31):
But there was this one guy Iworked with, a very nice guy,
but he always looked like hejust came out from a
refrigerator box on the side ofthe road.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
He looked like a bag of shit he did.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
I mean, first, the dress code policy did say no
torn jeans, no torn pants,anything, nothing torn.
His favorite pair of pants werethese like shredded pants that
had, like I don't know, only 40%of the material left in them
and he wore those all the time.
And he wore graphic tees allthe time.
(23:07):
And if we didn't have a policy,graphic tees weren't against
our policy, but it wasn't ourculture either.
There's nobody who wore graphictees and our dress code is so
bad I'll go ahead and say it.
I mentioned before a couple ofmy co-workers listened to this,
so they know who I'm talkingabout but our president violates
(23:28):
the dress code, if you take itverbatim.
And it's always been on myto-do list that I want to redo
the dress code and make it moremodern.
But in our company, dresscode's not an issue.
That's the only person I canthink of that I can think of.
Yeah, you didn't.
(23:49):
He's no longer with us, but youdidn't.
I'm not going to be the dresscode police.
But as long as their managerwasn't saying anything to me, I
was like, ok, it's, it's your,it's your thing, but it's dress
code.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
Or forcing them.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
They're important, but they, they suck just the
same.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
They are, and especially if you work in an
environment that has, you know,health and safety things like,
oh, closed-toed shoes and, likeyou know, whatever, like that
kind of stuff, it's superimportant, super important for
dress code.
Yeah, I don't, I don't know.
Just, you know what?
Just don't, just wear clothesand do your job.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Wear correct clothes and do your job.
Buddy, yeah, wear correctclothes and do your job.
Wear, wear correct clothes anddo your job buddy, yeah, and do
your job.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
I will say we were going through that awkward phase
of going from business casualattire to wearing jeans to work.
I will say I'm a jeans personthrough and through, especially
in an office environment.
If it's a culture that is likefinance or something like that,
where you're dressed in a suitevery day, do not don't even
(25:03):
reach out for me, like don'teven reach out to me for an open
position, like I don't know.
But there's, like this one ofthe one of the I think it was
the COO, the, yeah, coo.
He was hissed that we were putbringing jeans into the dress
code because he was very oldschool and he just believed that
(25:25):
the work environment is to beyou have to dress professionally
.
And he came in one day to kindof protest the gene
implementation and he came inthese raggedy jeans that were
torn and just looked like crapand he was like, yeah, like this
is what it's going to look likeevery day.
I hope you like it.
(25:45):
Like this is what people aregoing to come to work at, just
being a dick about it.
And then, of course, the dresscode passed and everyone was
thrilled and people for the mostpart are I're not like they're
gonna use common sense for themost part and he went out and
again, this is someone like whywould you do this?
He then went out and reallyleaned into it and he bought a
(26:08):
pair of like 180 jeans and likea couple like really expensive
jeans just for work, becausethose are his work jeans.
And then he like started talkingabout how much money he spent
on it.
And I'm like dude, you juststop, just stop, just stop
bragging about the money youspent on your jeans.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Like just go back to your office so I have one more
dress code story before I go toswitch topics.
It's from my wonderful brother.
He is the perpetrator in thisstory.
He spent the first I don't knowhow many years of his career he
was when he was a captain inthe army.
(26:51):
He'd spent more time deployedthan the other captain in the
whole US Army.
So you get little stripes onyour dress uniform for every six
months deployed.
And then he got promoted tomajor and he graduated from
Virginia Military Institute andhe saw a job opening for
military science instructor atVMI and applied for it
(27:13):
instructor at VMI and appliedfor it While he was in I don't
know if it was Iraq orAfghanistan, I don't remember
exactly where.
They flew him out of theater, asthey say, all the way to
Baltimore, maryland, tointerview him.
And he's going along his wholelife thinking he's interviewing
(27:33):
for this military scienceprofessor at VMI and they flew
him back to wherever he wascoming from and things like that
.
He's there for a few moremonths and they said okay, we're
hiring you, you're going toWest Point, he's going to be a
military science professor atWest Point, the United States
Military Academy, and he didn'treally want that, but it made
(27:55):
him non-deployable for so manyyears and he was sort of looking
forward to that not beingdeployable and things like that.
So anyways, he goes and he'sdoing a great job and everybody
loves him and all that other funstuff is a higher up.
(28:17):
Now, at this point he's a major.
And at some point somebodypulls him aside and says, okay,
you know, one of the reasons youwere hired is because you're so
highly decorated.
And you know he only wore likefive ribbons on his service,
ribbons on his uniform.
And you know we want you to.
You know, we think the studentswill be impressed by your
ribbons, your credentials, etcetera.
And he says they're going to beimpressed with your ribbons,
your credentials, etc.
And he says they're going to beimpressed with me because I'm
(28:38):
their professor not because I amthere, because I have all these
ribbons.
And they just told him oh, we'dlike you to wear more ribbons
than what you do.
He said, well, these five orsix are ones that actually mean
something to me, so I'll juststick with that.
And he said, no, you are goingto wear your more ribbons.
And he said, well, the militarydress code doesn't say I have
(29:01):
to and you are wearing it.
So my brother, in his full youknow being a complete a-hole
that he can be for like twoweeks in a row came in to work
at West Point wearing his dresstuxedo.
In to work at West Pointwearing his dress, tuxedo and
with the full ribbon and metal,not just the ribbon on his chest
(29:21):
but the ribbon and the metaland all the accoutrement he
could manage.
He said he looked like a SouthAmerican dictator walking down
the halls there.
And he did that for two weeksand then he went back to wearing
what he was going to do andnobody said a peep to him ever
again about wearing his, hisstuff.
He said I put every metal,every little accoutrement, every
little whatever you know,participation award ribbon they,
(29:45):
they give you.
He said I put them all on andbut he did not last very long at
west point.
He, that was his least favoritedeployment in 24 years in in
the army.
So that, yeah, he, he re-uppedonce there and then he said nope
, I'm not.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
I can't do it anymore .
I love a story that involvesmalicious compliance.
So you want me to wear a ribbon, I'll wear all my ribbons.
Oh, if ribbons like down in thestreet, oh, or ribbons from
Michael's, I don't care.
Yeah, yeah, you want ribbons?
I'll give you ribbon.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
Oh, so the other story I had is you know, we're
just past May the 4th.
We're what?
Nine days past May the 4th.
Speaker 3 (30:30):
It's the holiest holiday of the year.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
The holiest holiday of the year.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
It's for me.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
Did you sit there and have yourself a Star Wars
marathon?
Speaker 3 (30:42):
I did not this year.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
And do you skip episode two, the Jar Jar Binks?
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (30:49):
I do.
Oh my God, I've never done it.
We're going to go on a StarWars tangent really quick.
I forget what it's called, Okay, so I don't know if you?
For those of you who are notStar Wars fans, please forgive
me for the next minute, but itis called Machete Style.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (31:07):
Yes, so it's episode four, five, then you skip to two
and three, so it's almost likea flashback situation, and then
you go back to episode six andthen you can do like the last
trilogy, but completely omitepisode one.
(31:28):
That's what we omit, becauseepisode one is garbage.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Is that the Jar Jar Binks?
Speaker 3 (31:34):
one, that's the Jar Jar one.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
Oh, okay, I thought it was two off the top of my
cheek.
Yeah, I've watched it so manydifferent ways.
It's crazy, but I think ourfans like Star Wars because one
of our all-time favorites whenwe had Dolores the Empire's Evil
.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
Hr person that was one of our high time.
Dolores.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
Listen.
Speaker 3 (31:57):
She's doing the work, she's doing the work, she's
doing the work.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
I would love to go to one of the Comic-Con type
things and meet her in person.
How?
Speaker 3 (32:06):
funny.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
Yeah, so yeah, I've watched the machete style before
as well, so yeah.
But I will have to say RogueOne is one of my favorite Star
wars movies and I I would agreeit was, it was so different for
the franchise in a positive way.
(32:27):
And yeah, yeah, so it's rogueone is is still my, my favorite
and I'm looking forward to.
You know people are hating somuch on all the new star wars
stuff I could not get throughthe Young Rebels, was that what
it was called?
Speaker 3 (32:42):
Yeah, I didn't watch that one.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
Yeah, I couldn't get through it.
I'm trying to finish Andorright now.
I was trying to watch it whilesick, on Saturday or on Monday,
while I was home from work.
I tried watching it, but Iwasn't paying enough attention
work.
I tried watching it, but Iwasn't paying enough attention
and or is a a show, you have topay attention, almost intense
attention, to the whole thing.
You can't look at your phone forfive seconds, because you will,
(33:06):
you will get there.
But I've watched all the.
I love the cartoons clone warsand rebels, I'm all about those.
Those are actually damn goodthings, but anyways, yeah, so,
anyways, going on to star warshere.
So this person her name islorna rook, she's in the uk
(33:26):
somewhere.
She's a blood donationsupervisor and apparently
sometime in her absence, herteam filled out a star
wars-themed Meyer-Briggs testfor her and she came out to be
Darth Vader.
Speaker 3 (33:48):
Which?
Listen.
He's a flawed person, but hehas his strengths.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
He's a great leader.
Speaker 3 (33:56):
You know what he's a leader.
He's a great leader.
You know what he's a leader.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
He's a leader.
I like when he's like forcechoking this dude, and he says
he's such a great leader, helifts up those around him.
Speaker 3 (34:08):
You know what the mark of a great leader is?
Those who can lift their team,lift those around them.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
Okay, my first.
If I were to get some sort ofsuperhuman power, my first would
be the Thanos snap.
I would be snapping like afreaking jet West Side.
Story I'd be snapping and likestupid people.
I'd be just snap, snap, snap,snap everywhere.
It wouldn't be just a random50%.
(34:38):
And the second thing I'd wantI'd be just nap, snap, snap,
snap everywhere.
It wouldn't be just a random50%.
And the second thing I'd wantI'd want the force choke.
I would want to be able to chokesomeone from across the room
without even getting the, maybeeven on a Zoom call.
You're across the country on aZoom call with me and you're
ticking me off and I can justchoke you out from 3,000 miles
away, more than Obi-Wan's mindcontrol.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
These are not the droids you're looking for.
That's what I want.
I want to be able to manipulatepeople.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
Oh, I can manipulate them that got dark.
Pain's a great motivator, butanyways.
So the team got a good laughout of this.
She did not.
And what happens when someonegets their feelings hurt?
Now in the United States wehave snowflakes.
This takes snowflakes to thenewest level.
I don't know what's worse thana snowflake.
(35:26):
She sued and she won over29,000 pounds and I didn't do
the math to figure out what thatis in American dollars, but she
cut 29,000 pounds with it.
A legal observer said it's notabout Darth Vader.
It's about respect, consent andtrust in the workplace.
(35:49):
It sends a message.
Even playful team activitiescan pack serious consequences if
boundaries aren't respected.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
So I think that first of all, this is all for 38
thousand dollars, 38 600 in us36 nonsense
Speaker 3 (36:11):
yeah take away half to pay your lawyer to do this.
Was it worth it?
This is why we can't have nicethings, and this is also like
you are acting very Vader-ish.
I mean, you are proving thepoint Well see, I disagreed.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
I didn't think she's acting Vader-ish and I didn't
know the term for thesecreatures, but I had to ask AI
what's the most timid creaturein the Star Wars universe?
And it came up with the Docma.
And they pray for a larger,spider-like Kirka on their home
planet, etylon, furtherindicating vulnerability in
(36:55):
timidity.
Boy, I can't speak, but yeah, Idon't remember them, but
they're in Star Wars, rebels andother shows and they look like
Gary from SpongeBob actually iswhat I would call them.
They would look like Gary fromSpongeBob, but I couldn't say
that that's a dogma.
But maybe I was thinking, maybea porg, something like that,
(37:17):
that people have more relevant,have seen more relevant.
But really to get that butthurt, to sue over now I might
get mad if you call me Jar JarBinks, but I'm just kidding.
Speaker 3 (37:30):
I don't think anyone should as anyone should.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
Yes, you tried to be the death of the entire creature
?
Speaker 3 (37:53):
Like, is this a case where this person has probably
felt some kind of way, has feltbullied, has felt alienated, and
now this is just kind of thething that put them over the
edge, like I would.
Okay, I get that, but if we'retaking it at face value of
someone who just can't laugh atthemselves, I say boo, laura
(38:15):
Knob, boo.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
She's going to have a tough time getting into that.
Boo, laura Knob, boo, she'sgoing to have a tough time
getting into it.
You know she goes to a new joband someone's going to give her
a Darth Vader cookie for herfirst day, or something like
that.
Speaker 3 (38:25):
But honestly, like I mean, I'm one of those people.
I know people Listen.
This is very polarizing.
I know some people are intoteam building activities like
this.
I know some people aren't.
I think a Star Wars twist to itis kind of cute.
Especially I'm going to assumeit might have been around May
the 4th.
That's cute.
I think it's cute.
I don't really think there'sany harm in that.
Speaker 1 (38:46):
But then again, if you're a manager you got to know
your audience.
Speaker 3 (38:50):
So if you know there's someone on your team
who's going to be a little morebutthurt if you look at them the
wrong way, like maybe thisisn't the activity, that
activity, like maybe you dodifferent things, but I don't
know, I do think it's harmless,but then again, I'm not Lorna
and I'm not in her head.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
So I still say boo Lorna.
Yeah, I do too.
She said the comparison madeher feel isolated and unpopular.
Speaker 3 (39:15):
Probably is unpopular for different reasons.
Speaker 2 (39:17):
Yeah exactly their tribunal agreed it wasn't just a
harmless joke.
It it cross-lined intoworkplace detriment, especially
given works, diagnose anxietyand stress related challenges.
Okay, I, anxiety is I'm notsaying it's not, but it is so,
(39:38):
so, so overused.
We cannot be a functioningsociety if everybody and their
brother is this highly anxious.
Like I said, anxiety is real, Iknow it, you know it's real.
But the amount of people whojust get anxious over the
stupidest shit, that's somethingelse and I'm not a mental
(40:02):
health professional.
Speaker 3 (40:02):
But I think I don't know.
We are not a mental healthpodcast.
Just that, just to let you know.
These are just two HRprofessionals who know nothing
about psychology.
But like I get it, I get and Iget when people are like, oh,
someone finds somethingtriggering right?
Speaker 2 (40:23):
We hear that word a lot, a lot.
Oh, trigger is another one ofmy least favorite phrases.
Speaker 3 (40:27):
That's one of your pet peeves.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:29):
Well, I think there's legitimately two like there's
things out there like, oh, if Ilike hear something, or like I
don't like it.
But I also think it's aperson's responsibility to
understand why things aretriggering to themselves and
therefore they must then do thework instead of just putting a
(40:50):
bubble around themselves anddictating that other people
can't do things.
Like I'm like this whole StarWars thing right.
Like, oh, like, why is thistriggering to me?
Like maybe I should do the workin and of myself to figure out
why this is bothering me.
I always, I always use the storyof you know, the thing I hate
to hear the most in my life iswhat do you want to do for
(41:13):
dinner?
I think for me.
I hate that question.
I hear it.
I spiral into like an ADHDwormhole of like, oh my God,
that's one more thing I have toplan.
Oh my God, I have to do allthis stuff too.
Oh my blah, blah, blah.
Like it, it does something tome.
But at the same time, like Ican't get angry at my husband
every single time he asks asimple, damn question of what
(41:36):
food we're going to consume inthe evening.
So, like you know, I thinkanxiety is real.
I think mental health is real,but I also think especially in
the case of Lorna over here youhave to be able to function in
society and therefore sometimesit's not a them problem,
sometimes it's a you issue, andyou need to do the work to help
(41:57):
navigate your own triggers.
Yeah, and that's what I'm goingto say.
Mic drop Again, I am not amental health professional.
Speaker 2 (42:07):
Well, I listen to audio books like crazy.
I don't know how many hoursI've listened to already this
year, but the book I startedtoday actually the first
pre-chapter after Audiblepresents.
It's like a page-long triggerwarning about the book and, okay
(42:28):
, a few of the things needed tobe trigger warnings.
But if you pick up the book andyou've read anything else by
the author and you look at theback, you're going to be able to
pretty much guess that theseare going to be some of the
themes of the book and I don'tknow, just in trigger warnings
at the beginning of podcastswhen they're not.
(42:49):
Okay, bad things happen in lifebut you can't not discuss them
because of something.
So I I don't know it's yeah thetrigger warning I, I don't know
I, I appreciate a triggerwarning.
Speaker 3 (43:06):
I think they're pretty harmless, like throw them
out there.
I will say I watched, I watchedI don't know why I've been very
curious about again this is likean adhd fixation, so but I like
wanted.
I just fell down a rabbit holeof Hurricane Katrina.
Okay, I don't know, but I saw,I watched this documentary on
Max, called when the LeveesBroke, and I could have used a
(43:31):
trigger when, at the very lastthree minutes of the first
episode, they're literally just,they're just showing dead
bodies, like closeups of deadbodies, dead bodies that have
been out in the water for days,and at first, like it's very
funny because I think there's abit of us that's desensitized to
that kind of stuff when youwatch shit on TV and you're like
(43:51):
, oh, the special effects areamazing, and then it takes it
took me a good like coupleseconds to to process like, oh,
this isn't special effects,these are real dead bodies.
And so I was like I would havelet, I would have liked a
trigger warning, because I sawthings that I was not prepared
to see yeah, yeah but at thesame time, yeah, I don't know
(44:14):
yeah like.
So I, I, you know just a headsup of what I'm about to see,
because that's been in my brainfor a couple days and I got to
now.
I got to go watch.
I got to watch Gilmore Girlsfrom beginning to end, to clean
my palate.
Speaker 2 (44:27):
Nothing's going to trigger you out of that.
Yeah Well, speaking of triggers, right before we started
recording tonight, my wife and Iwatched the series finale of
handmaid's tale and it's apretty good story.
Elizabeth moss is probably theworst actress I've ever had to
(44:48):
deal with in my life.
And it's not just this, it'severything she does, they and
she's the director, producer,all that of it.
She could stay behind the, butshe likes to focus in, like
super big, on her own face andshe's doing all these, just
these god-awful facialcontortions and it just makes me
want to throw something at theTV and if I was like Elvis, I
(45:10):
would have shot my TV because Ijust I'm glad.
Okay, the story, the seriesfinale if you haven't seen it,
sorry spoiler, it sucks the waythey ended.
It was just so stupid on top ofit, but I'm just glad to be rid
of it.
I'm never going to watchanything with Elizabeth Moss
again because she's just thatgod-awful of an actress.
And there's two other shows mywife and I or one was a movie
(45:34):
and another show and she doesthe same thing.
She just contorts her face,trying to be dramatic or
whatever.
It's not like a Jim Carreyfacial contortion and she
doesn't do it well and she hasto get like super zoomed in.
It just kills me and I'm gladthat show's over, it's done.
But that triggered me everysingle time because as they
(45:57):
start zooming in our face, ohhere comes some stupid
contortion or you know whatever.
But anyways I was.
Speaker 3 (46:05):
You need a trigger warning at the beginning, like
warning this episode containsElizabeth Moss's face.
Speaker 2 (46:12):
Yeah, but I will.
There's a couple of actors.
Speaker 3 (46:15):
I've never noticed that no-transcript.
Now I'm only going to see it.
Speaker 2 (46:18):
Watch Handmaid's Tale , and no other show zooms in
that closely on anybody's face,and this show zooms in on other
characters' faces.
They don't do the same stupidshit she does.
See, I don't know, she's tryingto overact with facial
expressions, I guess, butanyways, yeah, we just finished
that.
Now we're going to be lookingfor something new to binge watch
(46:40):
and we've got a couple of ideason there.
But before we wrap this up, Iwent on all the podcast apps
recently and was looking to seeif we had any reviews.
I could find that I hadn'tmentioned.
We don't.
So please give us some reviews,people, especially on Apple.
Speaker 3 (46:59):
Give us reviews.
Well, read your reviews.
Speaker 2 (47:02):
Now, I don't use Spotify, I use Pocket Casts and
you can just like it and give ita star if you like it, and we
have a couple of people done iton Pocket Casts.
But you can't put a verbalrating and I don't know how
Spotify works as I don't usethat.
But Spotify we've got like afour and a half star out of 23
(47:23):
reviews out there.
So thank you all of y'all thathelp us out on Spotify.
So just give it a quick click,give us a couple stars.
But as I'm going down the list,I get to good pods and I
haven't been on good pods inyears and I don't know where to
come up with their stats, butI'm definitely not going to
question their validity.
Good Pods ranks Jaded HR thenumber one in the top 100
(47:50):
independent human resourcesall-time podcasts oh.
And we're number eight of allthe human resource podcasts all
time, and I looked at the listthat you know.
They don't have some shows outthere.
I think their ratings and theirreviews and their listenerships
are much higher than ours, butthey don't and some of the ones
(48:12):
are above us in those tophundred I've never even heard of
.
But, thank you, I know we havebecause I can see on our host,
buzzsprout how many peoplelisten.
We've got a few dozen peoplelisten to every episode on Good
Pods.
So thank you.
Whatever you're doing to boostus with that, I appreciate it.
So, yay, if that's really cool,I'm going to post this on our
(48:35):
Instagram page, probablytomorrow night.
I'm editing this episode, soyeah.
So thank you.
And you know, please, please,get out there, leave us reviews,
tell your friends, spread theword.
You can support us.
You can support us on Patreon.
You can buy us a beer All sortsof ways you can support us.
All the links are in the shownotes, as well as links directly
(48:59):
to Cece's Instagram of BoozyHR.
You can check her out there,but that's all I have today.
But you can support us alikeHallie, our original GDHR rock
star, bill and Michael, whosupport us on Patreon as well.
So thank you very much for yoursupport.
I think those three are gettingkind of lonely.
(49:20):
It's been a while since we'vehad another supporter.
So I think the minimum you cando is $2 a month and I think I
even have a $50 a month level.
If anybody wants it, it's outthere, a $50 a month level to
support us.
But anyways, go check us out onPatreon.
So anything else you have fortoday.
Speaker 3 (49:41):
No, no, I'm good.
Speaker 2 (49:44):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, that's all I've got too.
So our intro is Andrew Kolpadoes the voice and the music is
Devil, with a Double by theUnderscore Orchestra.
Can't remember that aftersaying it for five years and, as
always, I'm Warren.
Speaker 3 (50:01):
I'm Phoebe.
Speaker 2 (50:02):
And we're here helping you survive.
Hr one, what the fuck.
Moment at a time.
Thank you.
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