I Hate It Here

It’s kinda wild how many people of are still dealing with compensation issues today!

Most companies have a comp strategy the same way most people have a fitness plan...technically it exists, but nobody is really following it.

Haris Ikram, co-founder and CEO of Candor IQ, joins me this week to talk about his founder journey and why compensation is the most misunderstood, most mishandled, and most consequential thing happening inside your org right now.

This one's going to sting a little, but it’ll bring plenty of clarity too, so it’s still worth it!

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0:00:00 - Intro

0:01:54 - Something Haris Believed About Work Early in His Career That he Unlearned

0:03:18 - The Moment Haris Decided to Start a Company

0:06:39 - What Starting a Company Seemed Like vs What it was Actually Like

0:09:49 - Being a Founder vs Being an Executive

0:13:24 - The Hardest Part of Being a First-time Founder That Nobody Tells You About

0:15:45 - The First Mistake Founders Make With Comp That Cost Them Later On

0:19:32 - What Made Haris Want to Solve the Comp Problem

0:30:24 - Why HR and Finance Can't Seem to Get Along

0:41:37 - How Data Alignment Transparency Benefits Employees

0:45:50 - Haris's Advice for Somebody Who Wants to Start a Company

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The Predictive Index behavioral assessment reveals how people work, think, and thrive—so teams can understand each other better and perform at their best.

Because when you truly understand your people, work just works.

Learn more: ⁠⁠trypi.com/ihateithere⁠⁠

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If you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration.

https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/

And if you love this podcast, be sure to check out more episodesfor even more exclusive insider content!  https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here⁠

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Most AI conversations I sit through are either full of hype that doesn't hold up or sooo doom-and-gloom that I leave feeling like I should update my resume and move to a cabin. 

This episode is neither of those things, and that's exactly why I loved it! 

I sat down with Marinus van Driel, a partner at Aon who leads their workforce transformation team, to talk about what's actually happening with AI and workforce strategy in 2026, and more importantly, what leaders are getting catastrophically wrong about it. 

The short version: most organizations are treating AI like a cost-cutting lever when they should be using it to redesign how work gets done entirely. 

The longer version is in this episode, and it's worth every minute!

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Aon’s Human Capital capabilities help organizations make confident workforce decisions by connecting advisory, insights and data across health benefits, talent and retirement.

By aligning people strategies to business outcomes, we enable leaders to drive engagement, manage program sustainability, and build a resilient workforce ready for what’s next.

Learn more at ⁠Aon.com

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00:01:45 - Marinus’s Background

00:03:12 - The Biggest AI/Trends in 2026 (So Far)

00:08:09 - How We Can Prepare for Major Changes in the Workplace

00:14:12 - What Leaders Need to Know so They Can Understand AI More Effectively

00:19:15 - How HR Can Separate Fear-based Decisions into Strategy

00:25:30 - What Leaders Are Doing Differently to Become Forward-thinking Orgs

00:30:53 - What Companies Keep Getting Wrong About AI, and What a Better Decision Looks Like

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And if you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration.

https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/

And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out  https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!

Follow Marinus:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinus/

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef

We have all handed an engagement score to a CEO, watched them nod confidently, say something completely incorrect about what it means, and had to just sit there smiling while dying a little inside. 

Just me? 

…Definitely not just me. 

The number isn't always lying, but the questions we've been asking for the last decade might be!

My guest today is Anne Maltese from Quantum Workplace, and she has spent nearly 20 years watching what happens when people data lands in executive rooms, between the good, the bad, and the deeply cringe-worthy. 

We're getting into new ways to think about engagement, smarter questions to bring your leadership team, and why the disengaged people on your team might not be who you think they are.

Buckle up!

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Quantum Workplace helps leaders build thriving teams that fuel business success. We give leaders at every level a clear path forward—by unlocking critical talent insights across engagement, performance, and development. With clarity and confidence, people leaders can act decisively, scale leadership quality, and strengthen connection and performance. 

Trusted by thousands of people-focused companies, Quantum Workplace makes it easier to keep teams aligned, empowered, growing, and valued on the path to business success.

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠quantumworkplace.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.

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00:02:13 - Something New Anne Wants to Learn This Year

00:05:11 - The Biggest Shift Anne Has Seen Around How Orgs Talk About Engagement

00:11:20 - Is Your Engagement Healthy?

00:16:39 - Smarter Questions to Walk Into an Exec Room With Instead of Just Standard Engagement Scores

00:27:01 - What Does it Mean if Someone is a Top Performer, But Disengaged?

00:34:24 - What Good Data Storytelling Looks Like in Practice

00:38:35 - Does Data Show That HR Leaders are Thriving?

00:42:23 - How HR Should Start Rethinking Measuring and Reporting Engagement

00:48:03 - What Gives Anne Hope For the Future

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And if you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration.

https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/

And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out  https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!

Follow Anne:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-maltese-0b9a876/

Follow Hebba: 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef

L&D gets done dirty constantly and I have been saying this for years!!! 

It's the function that gets underfunded, overcomplicated, blamed for culture problems it didn't create, and somehow still expected to fix everything with a workshop and a Kirkpatrick model.

Hanan Sahourieh got into all of it: why L&D functions fail before they even get started, how ego and power dynamics quietly destroy learning cultures, what trust actually looks like when you have to rebuild it from scratch, and the mistakes learning professionals make without even realizing it. 

Oh, and she wrote a book called Everybody Be Cool which is the most accurate title for an L&D book I have ever heard in my life.

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Quantum Workplace helps leaders build thriving teams that fuel business success. We give leaders at every level a clear path forward—by unlocking critical talent insights across engagement, performance, and development. With clarity and confidence, people leaders can act decisively, scale leadership quality, and strengthen connection and performance. 

Trusted by thousands of people-focused companies, Quantum Workplace makes it easier to keep teams aligned, empowered, growing, and valued on the path to business success.

Visit ⁠⁠⁠quantumworkplace.com⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.

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00:01:42 - Something New Hanan Wants to Learn This Year

00:04:30 - The First Thing Hanan Notices When L&D is a Mess at an Org

00:07:35 - The Story Behind Hanan’s Book Title, Everybody Be Cool

00:13:12 - Why Cross-functional Leaders Keep Over-engineering Stuff That Isn’t Theirs to Run

00:19:44 - Pushing Back on a Senior Leader When They Think They Know Better Than the Learning Team

00:25:52 - A New Idea in L&D Right Now

00:30:29 - How to Build Trust That’s Brand New or Even Lost

00:38:16 - Some of the Most Common Mistakes Learnig Professionals Make Without Realizing

00:42:13 - The Single Most Important Thing HR Should Get Right About Learning in Year One

And if you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration.

https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/

And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out  https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!

Follow Hanan:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hananharb/

Follow Hebba: 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef

Okay so this episode is a little different, because the layers here are a lot. 

Morgan T. Stanley is my guest today, and yes, that is her real name, and yes, we have laughed about it many times. 

We started as peers, then somehow ended up in a manager-direct report situation, then became peers again, and NOW she has my old job!

We discuss everything — how we met, what it was like when the dynamic shifted, what she changed after stepping into the role, and how leadership has genuinely changed her as a person. 

This one felt less like an interview and more like two people who've seen each other grow up in this industry, finally putting it all on the table.

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Quantum Workplace helps leaders build thriving teams that fuel business success. We give leaders at every level a clear path forward—by unlocking critical talent insights across engagement, performance, and development. With clarity and confidence, people leaders can act decisively, scale leadership quality, and strengthen connection and performance. 

Trusted by thousands of people-focused companies, Quantum Workplace makes it easier to keep teams aligned, empowered, growing, and valued on the path to business success.

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠quantumworkplace.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.

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00:00:00 - Intro

00:02:39 - One New Thing Morgan is Learning This Year

00:04:30 - How Hebba and Morgan Met

00:15:59 - How Hebba and Morgan Have Learned From Each Other Over the Years

00:21:44 - When Morgan Stepped Into Hebba’s Old Role

00:36:24 - What Changes Did Morgan Make After Stepping Into Hebba’s Old Role?

00:41:51 - How Morgan’s Relationship With Power and Responsibility Have Evolved

00:48:45 - How Morgan’s Role Has Changed Her

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And if you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration.

⁠https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/⁠

And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out ⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here⁠ for even more exclusive insider content!

Follow Morgan:

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/morgantstanley/⁠

Follow Hebba: 

YouTube:⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos⁠

LinkedIn:⁠ https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef⁠

Twitter:⁠ https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef

Retirement planning is one of those topics that always feels confusing and overwhelming…until someone finally comes along and breaks it down in a way that makes sense. 

In this episode, I'm joined by Melissa Elbert from Aon to talk about why so many retirement strategies are lowkey failing employees, the outdated assumptions driving bad benefit decisions, and what HR and finance leaders should be paying attention to right now, before it becomes a bigger problem later.

If you've ever felt like retirement was a gray area nobody fully explained to you, this might give you a better understanding!

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Aon’s Human Capital capabilities help organizations make confident workforce decisions by connecting advisory, insights and data across health benefits, talent and retirement.

By aligning people strategies to business outcomes, we enable leaders to drive engagement, manage program sustainability, and build a resilient workforce ready for what’s next.

Learn more at Aon.com

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00:01:40 - How Leaders Should Rethink Retirement Decisions

00:03:10 - Outdated Assumptions About Retirement

00:09:16 - How Orgs Can Balance Flexibility and Sustainability

00:13:40 - What Signals Should HR Leaders be Looking to Now to Make Smarter, Long-term Retirement Decisions?

00:20:25 - What Role Should HR be Playing With Finance When Accessing Benefits?

00:24:26 - One Retirement-related Decision Companies Keep Getting Wrong

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And if you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration. https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/

And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!

Follow Melissa:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-elbert-b709b65/

Follow Hebba: 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef

Today, we're talking about a topic that shouldn't be controversial but somehow still is, which is being authentic at work! 

As most of you already know, most workplaces either treat authenticity like a performance or punish you the second you actually show up as yourself. 

I'm joined by Madison Butler, who literally wrote a book about this, and we're getting into why authenticity feels so dangerous, why corporate America says they want it but freaks out when you deliver, and how to practice authenticity without tanking your career. 

If you've ever felt like you're performing a version of yourself at work instead of just existing, you’ll probably relate to this discussion!

Quantum Workplace helps leaders build thriving teams that fuel business success. We give leaders at every level a clear path forward—by unlocking critical talent insights across engagement, performance, and development. With clarity and confidence, people leaders can act decisively, scale leadership quality, and strengthen connection and performance. 

Trusted by thousands of people-focused companies, Quantum Workplace makes it easier to keep teams aligned, empowered, growing, and valued on the path to business success. Visit ⁠⁠quantumworkplace.com⁠⁠ to learn more.

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:04:53) Something New Madison Wants to Learn This Year

(00:09:12) What Prompted Madison to Publish a Book?

(00:14:45) What Authenticity at Work Means in 2026

(00:25:00) Why Does Being Authentic at Work Still Feel Dangerous for So Many People?

(00:30:25) Madison’s Personal “Toolkit”

(00:36:55) Is the Average Exec Constantly Trying to Grow, or Complacent in Their Power?

(00:45:37) Building Authenticity at Work Without Turning it Into Weird Cultural Theater

(00:48:36) How to Practice Authenticity in a Way That is Safe and Strategic

If you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration.

https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/

And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out  https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!

Follow Madison:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bluehairedunicorn/

Follow Hebba: 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef

I'm doing something a little different today and revisiting Season 6 where I asked every single guest the same question: 

“What's one thing HR folks should rethink?” 

And honestly, I've been in this whole new and rethinking era lately, writing about it in the newsletter, talking about it nonstop on the pod, and it just felt like the right time to bring these answers back because, let's be real, we all need the reminder! 

Work is changing faster than it's ever changed before, which means the cadence of how we think about things has to change too. 

Sometimes I genuinely worry that the solutions I built six weeks ago don't even work for today, let alone six months ago! 

So consider this your dose of inspiration, hearing from some of my favorite guests on all the things we should be rethinking. 

Hopefully it sparks something in you, or at the very least, makes you feel less alone in the chaos. 

Quantum Workplace helps leaders build thriving teams that fuel business success. We give leaders at every level a clear path forward—by unlocking critical talent insights across engagement, performance, and development. With clarity and confidence, people leaders can act decisively, scale leadership quality, and strengthen connection and performance. 

Trusted by thousands of people-focused companies, Quantum Workplace makes it easier to keep teams aligned, empowered, growing, and valued on the path to business success. Visit ⁠quantumworkplace.com⁠ to learn more.

00:01:28 - Improving Equitable Operations in Your Org

00:04:01 - Just Be Honest About Your Culture to Candidates

00:13:35 - Embracing People’s Passions Outside of Work

00:16:42 - When Leaders Are a Common Blocker to HR

00:18:52 - Finally Holding Leaders Accountable

00:21:55 - Why HR Should be Thought of as a Creative Department

00:23:27 - Addressing Employee Turnover and Going Back to the Basics

And if you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration.

https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/

And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out  https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!

Follow DeMario:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/demario-bell-7a510994/

Follow Joel:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joellalgee/

Follow Justin:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justingignac/

Follow Morgan:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/morganbwilliams/

Follow Jessica:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicadwinder/

Follow Nikki:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkirap/

Follow Halai:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/halai-shukran/

Follow Hebba: 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef

We're out here constantly hearing that Gen Z is "so different" and Millennials "just don't get it," but nobody ever stops to ask how or why they're different. 

It's not because we're lazy or entitled (though I know that's everyone's favorite narrative). 

It's because we looked at the leadership systems y'all built, said absolutely not, and decided to burn it all down and start over!

Amanda Litman and I got into the leadership myths that are finally dying, why vulnerability isn't a weakness, how social media completely changed what leadership looks like, and why so many of us refuse to let our jobs become our entire personality. 

This episode is for anyone who's ever felt gaslit for having boundaries, anyone who's been told they're "too much" for expecting basic humanity in the workplace, and anyone who knows the way things have always been done is not the way things should keep being done.

Quantum Workplace helps leaders build thriving teams that fuel business success. We give leaders at every level a clear path forward—by unlocking critical talent insights across engagement, performance, and development. With clarity and confidence, people leaders can act decisively, scale leadership quality, and strengthen connection and performance. 

Trusted by thousands of people-focused companies, Quantum Workplace makes it easier to keep teams aligned, empowered, growing, and valued on the path to business success. Visit ⁠quantumworkplace.com⁠ to learn more.

00:05:41 - One New Thing Amanda Wants to Learn This Year

00:15:07 - Why Are Leadership Myths Continue to Persist?

00:20:51 - Seeing More Representation in Entertainment Media and Exec Boards

00:26:41 - What Earned Authority Looks Like Now vs a Decade Ago

00:29:36 - Where Orgs Consistently Misread Next Gen Employees

00:36:41 - How Younger Generations Manage Power Struggles

00:42:46 - How Loyalty is Perceived Among Different Generations

And if you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration.

https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/

And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out  https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!

Follow Amanda:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandalitman/

Follow Hebba: 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef

Why does work feel so empty right now? 

Like…we followed the rules and did the hustle. 

We even swallowed parts of ourselves to survive professionally, and yet, here we are grieving something we can’t quite name.

I often say that the most interesting things about me have nothing to do with my career, and it’s nice when those things have time to shine, y’know?

I sat down with Ayanna Kelly to dig into the hard stuff: why we're all grieving the workplace we thought we'd have, why monetizing our passions sometimes kills the joy, and what it actually means to decenter work from our identity when we've spent our whole lives tying our worth to our job titles.

If you’re looking for new definitions of success that don't require you to sacrifice your entire nervous system, this is for you!

Quantum Workplace helps leaders build thriving teams that fuel business success. We give leaders at every level a clear path forward—by unlocking critical talent insights across engagement, performance, and development. With clarity and confidence, people leaders can act decisively, scale leadership quality, and strengthen connection and performance. 

Trusted by thousands of people-focused companies, Quantum Workplace makes it easier to keep teams aligned, empowered, growing, and valued on the path to business success. Visit ⁠⁠quantumworkplace.com⁠⁠ to learn more.

It’s vulnerable, but somehow still hopeful

00:01:55 - The First Time Hebba Met Ayanna

00:08:40 - Something New Ayanna Wants to Learn This Year

00:11:15 - Why Does Fulfillment at Work Feel so Hard Right Now?

00:17:06 - What We’re Grieving About Work That We Haven’t Talked About Out Loud

00:24:51 - Why Are We Expected to Monetize Our Passions?

00:38:40 - Being Your True Self at Work After Years of Emotional Suppression

00:46:55 - Why Meaningful Work Doesn’t Have to Be Central to Your Identity

00:52:49 - Ayanna’s Advice for Rethinking About Fulfillment

And if you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration.

https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/

And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out  https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!

Follow Ayanna:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayannaskelly/

Follow Hebba: 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef