In a recent episode of Apple TV+’s Severance (spoiler alert), the innies participated in a two-day "Outdoor Retreat and Team-Building Occurrence” (ORTBO), an activity their employer, Lumon, designed in response to the disastrous “Overtime Contingency” at the end of the previous season.

“I almost had a hard time laughing at it, because it’s, like, so close to what I’ve seen so many companies do,” said Glassdoor’s new chief worklife expert, Adam Grant. “Like, ‘We’re gonna go [to] an off-site and do trust falls.’”

The Severance episode comes as new Glassdoor research finds employees are deprioritizing workplace relationships, potentially impacting their own well-being and productivity. Work has long been a place where adults seek and nurture relationships, but a survey of 800 US professionals in January suggests workplace connections are waning.

For more on how the deprioritization of workplace relationships may impact well-being and performance, keep reading here.—AD

Since starting his second term, President Donald Trump has made many swift changes.

On his first day, he signed a flurry of executive orders, some of which impact HR and the workplace. One in particular ends remote work in the federal workforce, requiring all employees to work in their respective offices five days a week. More than half (54%) of the federal government’s “civilian” 2.3 million employees already work in person, NPR reported, while just 10% work entirely remotely.

While the mandate only extends to federal workers, it could send a signal to private-sector employers about how they can handle an RTO.

“There is definitely this polarizing trend where we go from one extreme to the other, and now we’re on this other pendulum side of the extreme,” said Susan Leger Ferraro, founder and chief curiosity officer of professional training and coaching firm G3 Works.

For more on what signal the government’s RTO mandate may send to private employers, keep reading here.—MC

Overseeing a company’s DEI strategy these days is no walk in the park. But imagine overseeing your company’s DEI strategy, as well as that of your clients’ temp or contract workforces.

That’s just part of Rebecca Perrault’s job at contingent workforce management platform Magnit. As global VP of culture, diversity, and sustainability, Perrault handles culture, diversity, and sustainability initiatives for Magnit’s hundreds of clients’ one million contingent workers. It’s a responsibility other HR execs are often reluctant to handle with contingent workers.

“In the past, it’s been kind of left off. Those workers have not been included as a part of those journeys,” Perrault told HR Brew. “It’s been very exciting over the past five years to bring them along, to be an advocate for them, and to make sure that we’re thinking about the culture for them [and] enabling them to thrive and contribute fully to an organization.”

For more on how Perrault leads diversity and culture for one million temp workers, keep reading here.—PM

Identifying and addressing pay equity problems within a company can be challenging. An employment lawyer explains why companies must act now to ensure fairness and compliance—and how HR can help.