How do you rebuild trust when your systems scream control? This week we cut through RTO threats, AI scoreboards, and hiring mazes to show the path to real performance.

This week’s Paper Cut slices through the spin to give HR and employer brand leaders the insight they actually need. No fluff, just facts.

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📌 Sources & Links:

Trust Theater vs Control Creep

https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-workers-rto-warned-emails-fired-office-attendance-2025-10

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/ford-hr-head-admits-we-have-failed-in-amid-confusion-over-return-to-office-emails/articleshow/124386719.cms

https://www.hindustantimes.com/trending/it-takes-screenshots-every-10-minutes-employee-shocked-by-new-office-software-101759737902421.html

https://m.economictimes.com/magazines/panache/employees-checkmate-management-after-their-bathroom-breaks-were-secretly-tracked-rs-44-lakh-faced-by-company/articleshow/124385019.cms

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/08/google-adds-limits-to-work-from-anywhere-policy-that-began-in-covid.html

AI Skills Gap: Adoption or Audit

https://www.hcamag.com/asia/news/general/hr-leaders-lack-faith-that-managers-are-ai-skilled/552446

https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-tracks-employees-ai-use-creates-game-to-boost-adoption-2025-10

https://hbr.org/2025/10/5-critical-skills-leaders-need-in-the-age-of-ai

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelwells/2025/10/08/3-ai-certifications-you-need-to-put-on-your-resume-in-2025/

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/08/how-ai-is-poised-to-disrupt-the-job-market.html

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/man-embraces-ai-at-work-replaced

Candidate Experience Whiplash

https://hbr.org/2025/10/4-organizational-red-flags-that-turn-off-job-candidates

https://fortune.com/2025/10/07/goldman-sachs-interview-process-hiring-sharran-srivastaa-39-interviews/

https://www.inc.com/kit-eaton/remote-employees-remain-highly-productive-a-new-survey-says/91248497

https://fortune.com/2025/10/07/hiring-managers-gen-z-ready-for-work-careers-jobs-unemployment-ai-skills-based-us-college-degree-crisis/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelpeachman/2025/10/08/meet-the-worlds-best-employers-2025/

Change Narratives That Work

https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/change-management-how-to-avoid-the-hero-trap/

https://hbr.org/2025/10/the-power-of-metaphors-when-introducing-change-initiatives

https://hbr.org/2025/10/when-authentic-leadership-backfires

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#EmployerBrand #HRStrategy #FutureOfWork #AI #Hiring #Leadership