This Human, Doing Work

Hi friends,

When you first signed up for this newsletter, I promised an exploration of what it's like to be a human doing work. I committed to diving deep into how we can do a better job building companies that optimize for human thriving and business outcomes.

But first, it struck me that you all might be interested in learning more about what this human is doing for work these days.

The seat I sit in today is an interesting one. After 10 years of in-house HR, I quit my last full-time job to go solo 5 years ago. The paid work I do now is helping tech startups and early-stage companies build and scale their people operations as a fractional HR leader.

At any given time, it’s safe to assume I’m supporting 3-4 clients as an embedded part-time leader, doing everything a full-time CHRO would do—just for a fraction of the cost and without the 40-hour/week commitment.

When I have the capacity, I also do advisory work, giving founders strategic HR guidance that their team can then implement internally. And if that wasn’t enough, I'm also leaning more into meaningful unpaid work—more on this later!

My perspective on the world of work is informed by the unique opportunity I have to peer behind the curtain and see what multiple companies, industries, functions, and leaders care about and are working on. The trends I notice along the way generally inform my perspective on the world of work.

I have lots of opinions about lots of things. And, when the words come to me, they demand to be expressed. Sitting down and shutting up isn't who I am—at least, not anymore.

When SHRM announced they were removing "equity" from their DEI focus, I sounded the alarm.

When companies told their teams to get back to work as their humanity was erased, I pushed back.

When managers told their employees to "leave your feelings at the door," I spoke up [and will continue to].

When leaders treated every deliverable like a bona fide emergency while willfully ignoring the actual emergencies happening all around us, I named it.

And so, when companies started dismantling their DEI programs and issuing RTO mandates these past weeks, I wasn't surprised—just disappointed.

And now? I'm crystal clear about the work ahead.

I'm done watching companies perform care for their people without actually improving outcomes.

I'm done with reactive HR that serves optics instead of actual humans.

I'm done pretending that checking boxes creates real change.

I'm done watching leaders ignore power dynamics while claiming "everyone seemed fine with it!"

I'm done watching bad behavior run unchecked through our conference rooms because the person is "such a high performer."

After 15 years in this field, I've seen enough HR theater.

I've watched too many executives take the easy way out, blaming HR for unpopular decisions we never had the power to make in the first place.

I've seen too many leaders throw their People teams under the bus while taking credit for the programs we fought to implement.

And all the companies abandoning their DEI commitments now? Well, in the words of Mel Robbins: Let them! Let them show the world who they've always been.

How we choose to respond is up to each of us.

When you align your vocation with your values, your mission never has to change. And so my focus moving forward remains unchanged. I will continue helping my clients build inclusive, accessible workplaces that optimize for human thriving and business performance.

If you've been led to believe you have to choose one or the other, I'm here to tell you you've been led astray; These things go hand in hand.

No more performative allyship.

No more checkbox diversity.

No more "just do your job" when real people are struggling with real things.

No more manufactured urgency spiking everyone’s cortisol.

Just real, measurable improvement in how we take care of our people.

I'm not here to help you maintain the status quo or implement surface-level solutions. I’m interested in finding actual solutions to the real problems plaguing workplaces.

And, speaking of building something real—I'm excited to share that I have signed on to co-lead "Disability Reimagined: From Red Tape to Real Access" alongside my friend and confidante, Greer Prochich [who you can and should follow here!] This is the unpaid work I mentioned earlier, and it's how I'm choosing to lean into driving actual change.

Here’s the deal—More than 1 in 4 adults (28.7%) in the United States live with a disability, and I'm one of them.

Disability Reimagined will bring you:

1. A limited podcast series sharing expert insights and lived experiences

2. A Linkedin spotlight series amplifying the voices of people living with disabilities [keep an eye out for mine if you want to learn more about CPTSD!]

3. A hackathon focused on bringing together professionals from every business function to co-create practical solutions for achieving true accessibility and inclusion in the workplace

The outcome of this hackathon will be real, actionable guidance that any employer, regardless of size or industry, can implement to become more accessible and inclusive.

We've got some incredible humans who have already signed on to help and some equally amazing companies who have committed to sponsoring it.

If you want to get involved, too, you can indicate your interest here: Rethinking Disability: From Red Tape to Real Access. If you know someone who is passionate about this space and who we should be talking to, I welcome introductions!

From my perspective, the road ahead is clear.

While others retreat from their commitments to equity and inclusion, we'll be here doing the real work of building workplaces that work for actual humans.

Not because it's trendy, not because it checks a box, but because it's fundamentally necessary for both business success and human dignity.

I, for one, am done pretending that human complexity is a bug rather than a feature.

Until next time! ✌🏻

P.S. Know someone who'd enjoy this? Share it forward - it means a lot!

P.P.S. I welcome replies and read all of them. If this brought something up for you, drop me a line.