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Psychological Safety at Work, AI Ready CHRO, and the Rise of Microshifting
Inside: A Smarter Way for HR to Manage Employee Scheduling & Shifts
The HR Takeaways
October 31, 2025
Hey HR Pros,
🎃 Happy Friday! As the boundaries of work continue to blur, HR leaders are rewriting the rulebook on productivity, leadership, and adaptability. This week’s edition explores how the future of work is being shaped by people, not policies—from CHROs leading AI transformation and adaptability becoming the new intelligence, to the rise of “microshifting,” a flexible model redefining when and how we work.
These insights spotlight one truth: success in the age of AI won’t come from control—it’ll come from trust, learning, and the ability to evolve.
📰 Upcoming in This Issue 🎃
🧠 6 Defensive Behaviors That Show Up at Work—and How Psychological Safety Can Help
🤖 The Pivotal Role of Chief HR Officer in AI Transformation
🧠 The Superpower of the 21st Century Isn’t IQ or EQ
⏰ The Future of Work Isn’t Remote or Hybrid — It’s ‘Microshifting’
✨ Helpful HR Resource
🎁 Top HR tools & offers curated for The HR Takeaways readers
📣 Trending HR News
Amazon cuts 14,000 corporate jobs in AI push (Reuters)
UPS cuts 48,000 jobs in management and operations (WSJ)
PwC abandons headcount target as revenue growth slows (Financial Times)
FedEx drivers allege company uses contractor model to dodge overtime pay (HRD America)
From silent disengagement to combative debate, many “difficult” behaviors at work are actually defense mechanisms—instinctive responses to environments that feel unsafe. This Harvard Business Review piece reframes reactions like fight, flight, freeze, fawning, or collapse as signals, not flaws. When leaders interpret these cues with empathy rather than judgment, they uncover hidden data about the team’s climate and build deeper trust.
For HR and managers, the takeaway is clear: psychological safety isn’t soft—it’s strategic. By creating spaces where employees can express uncertainty, disagree respectfully, and recover from mistakes, leaders transform defensive energy into engagement, learning, and creativity.
Key Takeaways:
🧭 Decode defensive behavior: Recognize “fight, flight, freeze, fawn, cry-for-help, and collapse” as signs of fear—not incompetence or resistance.
💬 Respond, don’t react: Replace correction with curiosity—ask open questions, slow conversations, and model calm engagement during conflict.
🛠️ Build everyday safety: Embed norms like “we’re here to learn, not judge” and praise collaboration over competition to rewire team dynamics.
❤️ Lead with consistency and compassion: Make psychological safety routine—through predictable check-ins, fair feedback, and visible care for well-being.
AI transformation isn’t just about algorithms—it’s about people, work, and leadership. In this thought-provoking piece, Josh Bersin highlights how Chief HR Officers (CHROs) are at the center of guiding organizations through AI-driven change. Drawing on insights from leaders like Patricia Frost (Seagate) and Jacqui Canney (ServiceNow), the article emphasizes that HR must ensure no one is left behind as AI reshapes roles, skills, and organizational design.
From upskilling the workforce to reimagining leadership and job structures, CHROs are redefining what it means to lead transformation. As Bersin notes, AI success depends not on technology adoption but on how well people learn, adapt, and lead in this new era.
Key Takeaways:
🧭 AI is a people transformation, not a tech project: CHROs must ensure workforce readiness through upskilling, trust-building, and inclusive AI adoption.
⚙️ HR + IT partnership is critical: Designing AI platforms centered on the employee experience ensures usability, engagement, and productivity.
🧩 Dynamic org design is the new frontier: Instead of cutting roles, CHROs are rethinking how to redeploy, reskill, and redefine jobs to maintain “talent density.”
🌟 Supermanagers lead the charge: Empowering adaptable, future-ready leaders who embrace AI and foster cultural alignment drives transformation success.
[Friday HR Hack] A Smarter Way for HR to Manage Employee Scheduling & Shifts
If scheduling shifts feels like a never-ending battle with spreadsheets, time-off requests, and last-minute changes, it’s time for a smarter way to work. When I Work gives HR teams the tools to build, manage, and adjust employee schedules in minutes — not hours — so you can spend less time fixing conflicts and more time supporting your people.
HR professionals rely on When I Work to simplify shift management, reduce overtime errors, and keep teams connected and accountable. It’s intuitive, quick to implement, and built for small HR departments that need to make a big impact.
Why HR teams love When I Work:
🗓 Drag-and-drop scheduling to create, edit, or reassign shifts instantly
📱 Mobile app access for employees to view schedules, swap shifts, and request time off easily
💰 Built-in time tracking and labor insights for smarter, compliant budgeting
🤝 Seamless payroll integrations with Gusto, ADP, and Patriot Payroll
Stop letting shift management drain your time and energy. Focus on engagement, retention, and culture — and let When I Work handle the schedules that keep your business running
In a world increasingly driven by AI, the traits that once defined success—IQ and even EQ—are being eclipsed by AQ, the Adaptability Quotient. Jeff Bullas argues that as automation reshapes industries, the key to thriving lies in our ability to learn, unlearn, and reimagine ourselves. Unlike IQ, which measures logic, or EQ, which measures empathy, AQ captures how we grow amid uncertainty—how fast we pivot, evolve, and stay human in an era of intelligent machines.
For HR leaders, fostering AQ is no longer optional—it’s essential. Building adaptable cultures means creating systems that reward experimentation, unlearning, and emotional agility. The future workforce won’t just need to work with AI—they’ll need to dance with it.
Key Takeaways:
🔄 AQ is the new competitive edge: Adaptability—our ability to evolve faster than the world changes—is emerging as the top predictor of success.
💡 Unlearning is a super skill: Letting go of outdated knowledge and habits is as vital as learning new ones in the AI era.
🧭 HR must build adaptive ecosystems: Cultures that reward curiosity, iteration, and resilience empower teams to thrive in flux.
❤️ Emotional agility fuels adaptability: Helping employees regulate emotions and view uncertainty as opportunity strengthens long-term performance.
The traditional 9-to-5 workday is on its way out, replaced by “microshifting” — a flexible model where employees work in short, focused bursts that fit their personal lives. Rather than clocking fixed hours, workers now structure their days around energy levels, family time, or side projects. According to Owl Labs, 65% of employees want more scheduling flexibility, while many would trade nearly 9% of their pay for it. This shift redefines productivity and signals that trust, not time-tracking, will power the future workplace.
For HR leaders, this evolution demands a cultural shift — from managing attendance to managing outcomes, fairness, and well-being. Microshifting empowers workers to prevent burnout, support caregiving, and stay creative — all while fueling engagement and retention in a hyper-flexible era.
Key Takeaways:
🕒 Flexibility beats rigidity: Microshifting lets employees design their workday around life, boosting productivity and satisfaction.
🤝 Trust replaces tracking: Managers must focus on results, not hours, to sustain engagement and autonomy.
💻 Tech should enable, not control: Invest in AI-driven scheduling and collaboration tools that make flexibility seamless.
🌱 Equity is essential: HR must design flexibility for all roles — from knowledge workers to frontline staff — to ensure inclusion.
The bottomline
The workplace is transforming faster than ever, but the human element remains at the center. As AI accelerates change and employees demand autonomy, HR’s mission is clear—build organizations that adapt, not resist.
Whether it’s empowering teams to microshift, cultivating adaptability (AQ), or guiding ethical AI adoption, the future belongs to leaders who embrace flexibility and continuous growth. Let’s not just keep up with the shift—let’s lead it.
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