In this week's episode, Nick and Geoff tackle the question every HR leader dreads: when a layoff is coming, what is the right way to communicate it? A World Cup roster cut gone sideways offers an unexpected lesson in delivering bad news. They also discuss two new surveys that reveal just how wide the gap has grown between what employees expect to earn and what they are actually getting.

Key Takeaways

• There is no good answer to layoff communication, only tradeoffs, and the WARN Act sets the legal floor
• Advance notice creates transparency but also triggers productivity loss, politicking, and security risks
• US Soccer coach Pochettino cut 29 World Cup hopefuls via email, a reminder that efficiency in delivering bad news often comes at the expense of the human element
• More than half of overemployed workers say they would need a 21% to 50% raise to give up their second job, and the average US worker expects roughly $33,000 more than they are currently earning
• Return to office has an underappreciated side effect: requiring in-person attendance a few days a week makes holding two full-time jobs significantly harder to sustain