Perplexity vs ChatGPT—What HR Teams Prefer

Inside: Why hybrid’s working still strong, and pay equity isn’t

Author

The HR Takeaways
September 19, 2025

Hello HR Pros,

This week’s edition digs into the forces quietly reshaping how we work, lead, and hire.

From the widening gender pay gap to the rise of AI copilots in HR, it’s clear that equity and technology are colliding in ways that demand new thinking.

Add in fresh data on hybrid work and a deep dive into workplace loneliness, and one theme stands out: the future of work won’t be decided by policies alone, but by how leaders choose to balance connection, fairness, and innovation.

📰 Upcoming in This Issue

  • 💵 The Gender Pay Gap Widens Again

  • 🧭 Flex Index Q3: Hybrid Holds, Mandates Lag

  • 🧰 Perplexity vs. ChatGPT for HR

  • 🌐 Loneliness Is Reshaping Your Workplace

✨ Helpful HR Tech Links

📣 Trending HR News

  • Ex-WhatsApp security head: Meta reviews punished speaking up (Business Insider)

  • Court approves $43M Disney gender pay discrimination settlement (Yahoo)

  • Workday to buy AI firm Sana for $1.1 billion as HR software deal-making heats up (Reuters)

  • 200+ Google AI contractors fired after complaining about low pay (NY Post)

After decades of steady progress, the gender pay gap is widening again—marking two consecutive years of regression. New Census Bureau data shows that in 2024, women earned 81 cents for every dollar men earned, down from 84 cents just two years prior. While both groups saw wage gains, men’s pay increased three times as much as women’s.

Layer on race, and the disparity grows even starker: Black women earn 65 cents and Latinas just 58 cents per dollar compared to white men.

This reversal raises critical questions for employers and policymakers about equity, opportunity, and the policies that shape workforce participation.

Key Takeaways:

  • 📉 Pay Gap Reverses: Women’s earnings fell to 81% of men’s in 2024, erasing recent progress toward equity.

  • 📊 Disparities by Race: Black women earn 65 cents and Latinas 58 cents for every dollar earned by white men.

  • 🏗️ Systemic Barriers Persist: Gaps stem less from direct pay discrimination and more from caregiving, industry segregation, and low-wage work concentration.

  • ⚠️ Economic Risks Ahead: Tariffs, program cuts, and workforce exits threaten to widen disparities further, especially for vulnerable groups.

Headlines hint at an office resurgence, but the Flex Report shows a slower, segmented reality. Two-thirds of U.S. firms still offer flexibility, with Structured Hybrid now dominant, and government shifts driving most reversals.

Mandates outpace behavior: required office time rose to 2.87 days, while attendance barely moved 1–3%. Critically, Fully Flexible public companies grew revenue 1.7× faster; 1.3× after controls.

Flex splits by size and status: small firms stay flexible; Fortune 100 tilt to 3–4 days.

Key Takeaways:

  • 📊 Hybrid Still Dominates: Structured Hybrid covers 42% of firms; Fully Flexible 24%; Full-time office 34% (page 8).

  • 🚀 Flex Beats Mandates: Fully Flexible companies show 1.7× revenue growth; 1.3× even after industry/size controls (page 10).

  • 🧭 Policy–Behavior Gap: Required days ↑ 12% since 2024, but attendance ↑ only 1–3%—compliance lags mandates (pages 19–20).

  • 🧩 Size & Status Divide: 67% of <500-employee firms are Fully Flexible; 45% of F100 now require 4–5 days (pages 12, 14).

🔍 Prevent Costly Payroll Mistakes

Payroll errors are more than just small slip-ups—they can trigger compliance fines, drain HR’s valuable time, and erode employee trust.

Too often, teams don’t notice these problems until they’ve already caused lasting damage.

That’s why forward-thinking HR leaders rely on Paycor Payroll. With automation, compliance safeguards, Paycor is built to stop errors before they even happen:

  • ✅ Automated Payroll & Tax Filing – Reduce errors and save time.

  • 📅 Built-In Compliance – Stay ahead of changing regulations.

  • 📑 Self-Service Access – Give employees control, ease HR workload.

👉 Watch Paycor demo video to see how it makes payroll simple & error-free.

HR teams are stretched thin, so choosing the right AI copilot matters—57% lack sufficient staff and 62% operate beyond capacity.

Perplexity excels at fast, sourced research; ChatGPT shines at drafting, role-play, and people-focused communications with office-suite integrations.

The playbook: verify facts and benchmarks in Perplexity, then translate them into plain-language memos, guides, and emails in ChatGPT.

Build guardrails first—accuracy, privacy, and context risks demand prompt design, critical review, and clear ethical use policies.

Key Takeaways:

  • 🧭 Pick by use-case: Perplexity for real-time, cited research; ChatGPT for ideation, drafting, and training scenarios in HR workflows.

  • 📚 Verify and cite: Use Perplexity when policy accuracy matters; always cross-check ChatGPT outputs to prevent outdated or fabricated guidance.

  • 🔐 Rethink confidentiality: Treat both tools as external consultants—share only what you’d disclose in a vendor RFP to safeguard trust and compliance.

  • 🚀 Elevate HR’s role: The winning HR teams won’t just use AI—they’ll redefine their value by pairing AI efficiency with uniquely human insight.

Loneliness isn’t just a societal issue—it’s a workplace crisis quietly eroding trust, collaboration, and performance.

This article by Harvard Business Review shows rising disconnection is costing U.S. companies billions annually while leaving teams more transactional and less resilient. Leaders who treat connection as a strategic priority can counter this by embedding belonging into systems and daily rhythms.

It’s not about adding “team-building” on top of already busy schedules. It’s about building workplaces where trust, cohesion, and human connection are designed into how work actually happens.

Key Takeaways:

  • 🧩 Loneliness Hurts Performance: Disconnection drives burnout, attrition, and lost productivity, costing U.S. companies up to $154 billion annually.

  • 🤝 Cohesion Fuels Meaning: Shared identity and rituals help employees feel part of something larger, reducing isolation and boosting commitment.

  • 🛠️ Leaders Must Model Humanity: Simple check-ins and vulnerability from leaders foster psychological safety and stronger team resilience.

  • 🔄 Connection Needs Infrastructure: Embedding belonging in onboarding, reviews, and recognition prevents loneliness from being overlooked or minimized.

The bottomline

The stories here aren’t just trends—they’re signals. Pay equity slipping, AI transforming workflows, hybrid models settling, loneliness eroding teams.

The common thread? HR leaders have the opportunity—and responsibility—to translate these signals into strategy. Because in a workplace shaped by uncertainty, what matters most isn’t reacting to change, but intentionally designing cultures where people can thrive.

And before you go, explore the 🎁 best HR tools & offers we’ve curated for you.

Until next time ✨

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