This week in HR news: AI, company secrets, bad news, and depression

In this week’s round-up of HR news, some leaders believe AI performs better than workers.

Also, LinkedIn’s best company of 2023 reveals their secrets, and we share how to deliver bad news to your team, as well as handle depression at work.

Could AI take your job?

As seen in Human Times’ 20 April bulletin, employers are claiming that artificial intelligence (AI) is better than employees.

A YouGov survey of 1,000 business leaders found that 44 per cent believe AI can perform tasks better than people.

This could be concerning for many who may already be anxious about the capabilities of AI and what that means for the future of their industry.

Some are confident that their roles will remain. Lubna Shuja, president of the Law Society, commented: “Solicitors will continue to need soft skills that AI will not be capable of automating.”

This belief was contradicted by a Thomson Reuters report, which found that 82 per cent of law firms believe generative AI can be applied to legal work.

Others are in favour of this change, as it could boost performance. Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, believes AI could boost productivity by 1.5 per cent, and he  said that 3 per cent of all tasks could be completed by AI.

2023’s best company: What’s their secret?

Herald Sun reported on the company that took LinkedIn’s top company for 2023 spot.

Judo Bank, a small Aussie-owned bank, took the number one position. According to Herald Sun, the criteria for winning were: “ability to advance, skills growth, company stability, external opportunity, company affinity, gender diversity, educational background and employee presence in the country”.

Jessica Lantieri, chief people and culture officer at Judo Bank, said that “teamwork is very much at the heart of the way we work”.

“Our reward program reinforces that — it’s designed to recognise ‘we’ over ‘me’,” she said. “We don’t have individual sales targets. It’s in the way our teams are designed.”

“Thirdly is an owner’s mindset — everyone’s empowered to make decisions,” said Ms Lantieri.

Interestingly, Judo Bank has a policy of five day’s a fortnight, or 50 per cent of workdays, must be spent in the office.

“Flexibility is a non-negotiable in the talent market … We have our ‘Flex at Judo’ framework. We encourage people to be in the office five days a fortnight or 50 per cent of the time,” Ms Lantieri explained.

How to deliver bad news

Harvard Business Review (HBR) discussed “how to communicate a tough decision to your team”.

The article said the three things to avoid doing are:

1. Procrastinating
2. Placing blame
3. Detachment

The six things to make sure you get right are:

1. Don’t tiptoe around it.
2. Pause and let them digest the information.
3. Offer understanding.
4. Show empathy.
5. End with openness.
6. Prove it.

Dealing with depression at work

The Australian Financial Review (AFR) published an article outlining how an executive handles depression.

Cheryl Goodman, senior manager of technical product development and regulatory affairs at supplements and wellness company Wanderlust, was diagnosed with depression during the pandemic.

“When I get into a depressive state, it’s a deep, deep fatigue. Sometimes I don’t have any physical capability to actually interact with people,” explained Ms Goodman.

One of her methods to staying mentally sound is taking a mental health day on at least one of her days off.

“The other thing that I’ve had to get really good at is saying ‘no’. It might be social things. It can be a workload situation,” she said.

Alicia Miltins, director of people, performance and culture at Wanderlust, said wellbeing is a top consideration at the company.

“Our number-one behaviour under our values on high performance is: ‘Take care of yourself. You can’t deliver your best unless you’re at your best.’

“So, we say, ‘What can we do? How can we support you?’ We do make workarounds. It’s short-term pain for long-term gain,” Ms Miltins said.