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A quiet Thanksgiving plan turns into a high-stakes HR story: 20-plus fake employees on a real payroll, deepfake executives on urgent video calls, and wire transfers that vanish because the faces on the screen weren’t human at all. We pull the thread on ghost workers, AI-powered impersonation, and the ways remote hiring can be gamed, then rebuild a safer, saner system step by step.

We walk through the modern fraud playbook—deepfakes that mimic CFOs, ghost payroll profiles collecting salaries, third parties secretly doing the job, and criminal networks using “employees” to launder money or open backdoors to sensitive data. Then we get tactical. Identity verification needs more than an I‑9 snapshot: add live checks, secure video verification, and consistent FaceTime during onboarding; align with IT for least-privilege access, device compliance, and anomaly detection; and implement dual approvals with known-key phrases for any financial movement. Trust becomes a process, not a vibe.

Hiring still has to feel human. We take aim at clunky ATS flows that drive away great candidates. Keep applications as quick as placing an online order, avoid duplicate data entry, and use clear timelines and text follow-ups to prevent ghosting on both sides. At the same time, weave in light-touch anti-fraud checks and reference pathways that rely on authentic networks rather than easily faked profiles. The result is a pipeline that respects candidates and protects the business.

We close with practical scripts, small cultural habits, and a reminder to teach basic AI literacy at home and at work. When a request feels “off,” it’s okay to slow down and verify through a second channel. Layered verification, clear communication, and smarter access design take the drama out of hiring and keep your holidays—and budgets—intact.

If this conversation helped, follow the show, share it with your team, and leave a quick review so more HR pros can find it. What safeguard will you add to your onboarding this week?

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A Florida beach meltdown, a nationwide cloud outage, and a truly awful Halloween costume walk into a workplace. What sounds like a joke turns into a sharp look at how culture, tech, and judgment collide where people get paid and policies get real. We return from a short break with fresh stories and hard lessons: how a single AWS failure rippled into payroll panic, why “it’s just a costume” can become a harassment case, and what classic scenes from The Office still teach us about influence, uncertainty, and keeping teams steady when the headlines aren’t.

We share candid travel moments that morph into a discussion about public decency and liability, then pivot to an organizational behavior assignment featuring Michael Scott’s surprising competence and Jim’s cooler strategy. The contrast sets up a bigger point about leadership: sometimes you stabilize by dialing in the work; other times you intentionally break the tension. Knowing which move to make is culture management in action.

From there, we unpack real HR mechanics. Outages expose how reliant we are on a handful of cloud rails and how unglamorous continuity planning saves actual paychecks. We talk tokenized mobile payments, vendor dependencies, communication trees, and the simple power of a backup plan. On the talent side, we challenge a common salary myth: it’s not that people never negotiate, it’s that strong recruiters pre‑close early. We walk through pay ranges, must‑have trade‑offs, and how clearer expectations prevent messy last‑minute asks that sour the relationship before day one.

Finally, we lean into the Halloween talk: blackface is never okay, “terrorist” costumes are unacceptable, and sexualized gags at the office invite risk. If you want festive without fallout, set guardrails that are simple, inclusive, and enforced. We keep it snarky, but the aim is practical—help you avoid the next viral moment and build a team that can laugh without crossing lines.

If this mix of real talk and useful tactics helps you navigate your own WTF moments, follow the show, share it with a colleague who needs it, and leave a quick review so others can find us. Which topic should we dig into next?

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A Halloween throwback with teeth: we revisit the moments that make HR feel haunted and explain how to handle them without losing your cool. We kick off with a real company memo that tied election outcomes to potential layoffs and unpack where employer speech ends and voter intimidation begins. The difference between context and coercion matters, so we walk through how to communicate policy risk without turning paystubs into campaign flyers or unraveling trust.

From there, we shift to the customer side and the Expensify CEO’s mass political email. Using a product mailing list to advocate a candidate is a masterclass in how to torch goodwill. We talk data stewardship, opt-in norms, and the reputational cost when brands push beyond the purpose of their channels. Then we lighten the mood with remote Halloween ideas that don’t create HR nightmares, and we draw hard boundaries around costumes that cross into racism, sexual content, or glorified violence. A little guidance in advance can spare everyone a lot of pain later.

We also roll up our sleeves for real management work: coaching a leader through their first termination when a remote contractor misses deadlines, hijacks meetings, and submits shaky timesheets. You’ll hear the exact steps we use to document performance, run a clean meeting, and close the loop when someone “resigns” after being let go. And yes, we poke at HR’s own monsters: job titles that confuse more than they clarify. Fun is fine, but titles should map to market norms so candidates, comp, and compliance stay on solid ground.

If you enjoy candid HR insights, practical scripts, and a few spooky laughs, hit follow, leave a review on your favorite podcast app, and tell us your best workplace costume disaster or haunted-office prank. Your stories might make a future show.

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Welcome to Jaded HR, where we say everything you’re thinking out loud.

This week, Warren and Cee Cee dive deep into the cesspool of professional absurdity. We tackle everything from the shocking politicization of HR to a debate so ill-conceived it smells like a dumpster fire.

What We Raged About This Week:

• SHRM’s $1,300 Blueprint to Hell: We try to stay apolitical, but SHRM is forcing our hand by hosting a debate between CNN's Van Jones and Heritage Foundation's Robby Starbuck, who calls DEI "communist" and a "poison." Is this an earnest discussion or just a desperate, badly timed publicity stunt? (We lean heavily toward the latter.)
• SHRM’s Identity Crisis: Why does the world’s largest HR organization keep acting like a political lobbying group instead of a resource for practitioners? Cee Cee even details the generic form letter she got after canceling her membership.
• Faith-Based Hypocrisy: Warren shares a schadenfreude story about a "true believer" business owner who lost a massive contract on day one, thanks to a well-deserved morality clause and a whole lot of cussing. We love to see it.
• The HR Rights of Passage: We create a cynical checklist of the things all true HR professionals must deal with, including the inevitable hygiene talk (and how the smell of vanilla body spray combined with old ashtray smoke can break a man).
• The Gen Z Stare & Mama’s Helper: Is the new generation of job candidates okay? Cee Cee recounts a chilling, soul-empty experience with a grocery store worker, while Warren's daughter has to deal with applicants whose moms are sitting in on the interview. (Seriously, go practice your active shooter drills instead.)
• COVID-19 Wednesdays: We share a bonus story about an affinity group we are not going to start: the work-from-home Wednesday Orgy club. Don't worry, the drama was captured on a corporate laptop.

Join us as we help you survive HR, one "what the f*ck" moment at a time.

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Ever wonder what secrets lurk in your coworkers' desk drawers? Our jaw-dropping opener explores a workplace nightmare when maintenance unlocks a former employee's desk to find multiple journals explicitly rating female colleagues' appearances. This disturbing discovery raises complex questions about hostile work environments, liability after employment ends, and the hidden behaviors that can poison workplace culture.

The conversation shifts to the fascinating dual lives employees lead outside the office. We share a story about concert-going medical professionals in full goth makeup expertly handling an emergency, reminding us that our colleagues contain multitudes beyond their workplace personas. This juxtaposition of professional capability and personal expression highlights the rich diversity hidden beneath corporate exteriors.

We dive deep into the ongoing return-to-office debate, examining a troubling new trend: companies offering buyouts to employees who refuse to return to physical workspaces. Is this short-sighted during a hiring crisis? We explore generational differences in work preferences, with Gen Z surprisingly pushing for more in-office time while millennials champion remote flexibility. The discussion reveals how career stage, rather than generation, might better explain these preferences - early-career employees crave mentorship while mid-career professionals prioritize work-life balance.

The episode closes with thoughtful analysis of how hybrid policies often create unintentional favoritism, with high performers receiving more flexibility than others. When employees notice these double standards, trust erodes. Our candid, sometimes irreverent exploration of these workplace dynamics offers both entertainment and valuable insights for navigating today's complex professional landscape.

What workplace mysteries have you uncovered? Share your stories and join our growing community of HR professionals who find humor and solidarity in the daily absurdities of organizational life.

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Every HR professional knows there's a stark difference between what appears in the employee handbook and the wild, messy reality of managing workplace behavior. In this jaw-dropping episode, we dive into what might be the most bizarre workplace investigation we've ever covered—one that begins with rumors of cocaine use and strange "sounds of pleasure" coming from the women's restroom.

Our special guest Bill shares his firsthand account of unraveling this workplace mystery, which takes a sharp turn when a clueless manager decides to directly question female employees about masturbating in the bathroom. The investigation ultimately reveals one employee responsible for both the drug use and inappropriate behavior, culminating in a confrontation that perfectly demonstrates why HR professionals need nerves of steel and impeccable judgment.

But the workplace madness doesn't stop there. We explore the dangerous trend of employees documenting confidential work procedures on social media, including a store manager who essentially created a security breach tutorial by filming herself accessing safes, handling cash, and showing security credentials—all before being caught napping on her own recording.

We also tackle the frustrating phenomenon of "job tourists"—candidates who collect positions like souvenirs without developing real expertise, leaving hiring managers struggling to find qualified talent amid inflated resumes. This leads to a spirited debate about resume gaps and whether employers have the right to question candidates about periods of unemployment.

Throughout it all, we embrace our "four walls rule"—creating a safe space where HR professionals can vent about the absurdity of workplace situations without judgment. Because sometimes, you just need to laugh at the unbelievable scenarios that land on your desk when you work in human resources.

Have your own wild HR story to share? We'd love to hear from you and possibly feature your experience on an upcoming episode. After all, in the world of HR, truth is always stranger than fiction.

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LINKS for context:
https://youtu.be/9vGQ1VvylS8?si=to_V9RELAhvz4Gnm

https://www.reddit.com/r/ThatsInsane/s/rrCihdYAtK

Ever witnessed management decisions so shocking they leave you speechless? This episode dives into three workplace scenarios that'll make your jaw drop – and your blood boil.

First, we discuss why water parks might be the worst team-building venue imaginable. As Warren shares from his experience managing one, "I've seen more tail today than I'd see in an aquarium" isn't exactly the feedback you want from your company outing. We break down why swimwear and colleagues simply don't mix, no matter how fun the slides might be.

The conversation takes a serious turn as we analyze a viral confrontation between an Alaskan resort employee and management. When managers barged into employee housing demanding sick workers show up, one bartender decided to record the interaction. What follows is a masterclass in how NOT to handle workplace conflict – from false accusations to the dismissive "you're just a bartender" comment that ultimately ignited a termination. We unpack the racial microaggressions, power dynamics, and management failures that turned a fixable situation into a PR nightmare.

Most disturbing is our final story about a 19-year-old special needs employee at Meijer grocery who was arrested for eating approximately $110 worth of food over three months. Rather than addressing this through coaching or compassionate conversation, management monitored him for months before involving police – a decision that speaks volumes about their values. As HR professionals, we're outraged by this callous approach to managing vulnerable employees.

These stories highlight critical workplace issues around power, dignity, and proportional responses to problems. Whether you're in HR or management, these cautionary tales demonstrate why leading with empathy isn't just morally right – it's essential to functioning workplaces.

Subscribe, share your thoughts, and join us in exploring the sometimes jaded world of human resources – where we say everything you're thinking but can't say out loud.

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Have you ever thought about whether you're experiencing the "good old days" of your career right now? That question frames this week's exploration of workplace dynamics, leadership expectations, and what makes HR professionals stay or leave their roles.

The conversation kicks off with Warren and CeeCee sharing the chaos of packed schedules and the surprising speed at which the year is passing. CeeCee reveals insights about her company's new podcast initiative focused on generative AI—highlighting how audio content has become a powerful learning delivery method that meets employees where they are. This innovative approach represents a shift in how companies engage their workforce and deliver professional development.

The hosts then dive into a hilariously awkward workplace situation at Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop headquarters, where bathroom etiquette became a company-wide conversation. This springboards into a deeper discussion about leadership communication styles and how executive behavior sets the tone for organizational culture. When leaders discourage even simple acknowledgments like "thanks" or discourage feedback, what message does that send?

At the heart of the episode is a thoughtful breakdown of "24 Reasons Why HR Quits," examining how HR professionals often face impossible expectations: fix toxic cultures without authority, implement changes without resources, and take the blame while receiving none of the credit. Warren and Cece offer candid perspectives on these challenges, sharing personal experiences that illustrate the very real frustrations HR faces when positioned as scapegoats rather than strategic partners.

The most poignant segment comes when both hosts reflect on their career journeys and realize they may be experiencing their "good old days" right now. This rare moment of professional contentment—working with brilliant colleagues, feeling valued and recognized, and doing meaningful work—stands in stark contrast to past experiences where effort went unacknowledged or where colleagues deliberately made work appear more difficult than it was.

Whether you're in HR or any professional role, this episode offers valuable perspective on recognizing and appreciating positive work environments, understanding what truly drives employee satisfaction, and knowing when you've found your professional home.

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