Hey HR Pros,

As we wrap up Thanksgiving week, it’s a good moment to pause—not just to give thanks, but to rethink what truly drives great work.

This week’s stories look beyond the obvious: how happiness powers profits, how algorithms shape fairness, and how real performance cultures balance trust with accountability.

It’s a fitting reminder for the season—gratitude may spark connection, but clarity and curiosity keep performance thriving long after the pie is gone.

📰 Upcoming in This Issue

• 😊 Why Making Your Employees Happier Pays Off

• ⚖️ Is LinkedIn’s Algorithm Biased on Gender?

• ⚙️ What Founders and HR Get Wrong About Performance Culture

👉 Must Check: Useful HR tools to make HR life easier ✨

📣 Trending HR News

• U.S. mass layoff warnings climb to highest level in a decade (Newsweek)

• Company pays $2M to settle claims it mistreated HR director for hiring women (Yahoo)

• AI could replace four in 10 U.S. jobs, McKinsey claims (Personnel Today)

• Only 1 in 5 women feel confident about retiring comfortably (Yahoo)

😊 Why Making Your Employees Happier Pays Off

Forget ping-pong tables and free snacks—employee happiness is finally measurable, and it’s driving the bottom line.

New research from Irrational Capital shows that S&P 500 companies ranking in the top 20% for employee happiness outperformed those in the bottom 20% by nearly 6 percentage points over 11 years. Happiness isn’t fluff—it’s strategy.

The study identified six factors most tied to performance: openness to ideas, truthful communication, efficient management, growth-oriented leadership, workplace friendships, and culture alignment. In short, happy employees innovate faster, stay longer, and outperform the market.

Key Takeaways:

• 📈 Happiness = returns: Top “happy” companies beat low scorers by 6% in stock growth, proving well-being drives measurable ROI.

• 🗣️ Direct truth wins trust: Firms excelling in clarity and honesty outperformed peers by 7% in market value gains.

• 💡 Innovation starts with humility: Asking employees for advice boosts creativity and signals openness—key happiness drivers.

• 🥗 Connection over control: Team lunches without the boss foster organic friendships—the strongest predictor of engagement.

👉 Read the full 2,215-word article on Harvard Business Review

⚖️ Is LinkedIn’s Algorithm Biased on Gender?

LinkedIn’s latest controversy? A wave of women claiming the platform’s algorithm rewards men.

After users changed their gender markers or writing styles, some saw their reach skyrocket—up to +818%. The #WearthePants experiment went viral, suggesting LinkedIn favors “male-coded” content: assertive tone, confident framing, and consistent posting.

But data from creators and ex-employees tell a more nuanced story. The platform’s AI doesn’t seem explicitly sexist—it’s just trained to amplify behaviors statistically more common among men. Translation: LinkedIn rewards consistency, competition, and confidence—not gender.

Key Takeaways:

• 📊 The viral test: Women who switched profiles to male identities saw up to 818% more impressions, fueling the bias debate.

• 🤖 Bias or behavior?: Algorithm favors “agentic” language and activity patterns—traits often displayed more by male users.

• 🌍 It’s systemic, not singular: Non-native English posts get 8% less reach; non-US content drops 4%, showing broader bias layers.

• 💬 Fix > blame: Former LinkedIn execs confirm visibility now depends on persona clusters—engagement teaches the algorithm how to treat you.

👉 Read the full 2,476-word LinkedIn article here

⚙️ What Founders and HR Get Wrong About Performance Culture

Every founder wants a “performance culture.” Few truly understand what it takes.

Anna Ott breaks it down: performance culture isn’t about ratings or rituals—it’s about alignment, trust, and evolution. The best companies build it as a living practice, not a plug-and-play system. At Upvest, they call it “trust but measure”: give people freedom, then validate it with clear data, feedback, and business results.

It’s a mindset, not a model. Real performance culture grows when leaders calibrate, adapt, and resist one-size-fits-all solutions. In other words: don’t copy. Build what fits.

Key Takeaways:

• 📏 Myth-busting mindset: Buying tools or launching review cycles doesn’t create culture—trust, clarity, and context do.

• ⚖️ One size doesn’t fit all: High-performing teams tailor systems to their function—sales needs targets, engineers need autonomy.

• 🧭 Founders set the tone: Performance isn’t an HR project; it’s a business strategy led by executives and line managers.

• 💬 Calibration is a skill: Transparent levelling, open feedback, and fair comparison prevent bias and build credibility over time.

👉 Read the full 2,975-word article here

📌 Still Spending Hours on Payroll? Let’s Cut It Down to Minutes!

Most small business owners don’t have time for confusing payroll platforms—or surprise fees. Patriot Payroll solves this by:

• 💸 Offering simple, transparent pricing without hidden charges or per-run fees.

• ⚙️ Automating payroll taxes, filings, and calculations—so you don’t have to worry about compliance.

• ⏱️ Running payroll in just 3 steps, even if you're not a “finance person.”

• 🧾 Providing US-based support when you actually need a human.

👉 Try Patriot Payroll and run your payroll in minutes

The bottomline

Thanksgiving may be over, but the best HR leaders carry its mindset forward.

The ones who pause to listen, measure what matters, and lead with both empathy and evidence don’t just build better teams—they build lasting trust.

Here’s to keeping that spirit of reflection alive as we close the year: thoughtful, data-driven, and deeply human.