Ep. 13 Bathtubs, Brawls, and Burnout: HR Nightmares from Every Corner of the Map

In this episode we talk about the weird, the wild, and the totally preventable disasters companies face when expectations are unclear and accountability goes missing. Ryan Leary is flying solo at HR Tech as he sits down with guests from isolved, 360insights, and Haynes to unpack misconduct stories from across the country — and from a tiny island in Alaska. Key Takeaways ➡ A traveling employee flooded three hotel floors — including the HR office — by falling asleep with the tub running ➡ A 20-year-old HR employee threw a presidential suite party that ended with security intervention ➡ One island-based company scrapped its attendance policy after some workers racked up 40 to 50 absences ➡ An attendance incentive offering 60,000 airline miles still didn’t move the needle on absenteeism ➡ That same incentive led to a relapse and eventual termination for on-the-job alcoholism ➡ A sales team brawl at a kickoff event forced hotel security to separate warring groups — think West Side Story ➡ HR leaders have had to bail out employees from jail after “misunderstandings” at company events ➡ One sales event ended with two leaders “doing what they had to do” on the beach in front of the entire team ➡ Sometimes the problem is not policy — it's unclear expectations and zero guardrails ➡ Sitka, Alaska has just 14 miles of road and a 2-day drive through Canada to access by ferry ➡ When cruise ships unload 5,000 people in Sitka, phone service dies. Businesses just have to deal with it ➡ A recent storm broke undersea cables, cutting off internet and cell service for 17 days Chapters 00:00 Live from the Fama booth at HR Tech 01:00 Flooded hotel rooms and international jet lag 02:50 The presidential suite birthday party gone wrong 04:00 Island life and 50-absence employees 05:30 Sales team gang fight at kickoff event 06:45 Poolside misconduct in full view of the company 08:00 Why clear expectations matter 09:30 Cultural context and mental health on isolated islands 11:00 Cruise ships, broken cables, and 17 days without internet 12:30 What each guest hopes to get out of HR Tech This limited series is brought to you by FAMA, Modern Candidate Screening. Talent teams use FAMA to improve candidate quality, create safe and inclusive workplaces and place the right leadership for their organizations. You can subscribe and listen to the #9to5Nightmares podcast here https://fama.io/podcasts or here Guest Info Amberly Dressler, isolved LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amberlydressler/ Website: https://www.isolvedhcm.com Geoff Webb, 360insights LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoff-webb/ Website: https://www.360insights.com Jaylene, Haynes Connect with us William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary Connect with WRKdefined on your favorite social network Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined Twitter: https://twitter.com/WRKdefined Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com