HR News: CEOs Get Paid Less, the Boozy Business Lunch Makes a Comeback, the Battle Royale of RTO v. WFH, HR Makes the Onion, and More

This is a weekly roundup of the latest in HR News.

Let's start with the good Human Resources news: While this week saw many layoffs, they were smaller and not as splashy as other recent weeks. Still, Accenture, USAA, and Morgan Stanley are making headlines. 

In addition, CEOs are earning less, thanks to fluctuation in the market and economic uncertainty. Even though restaurants in some cities hailed the return of the business lunch, based on their sales and observations, the return to office (RTO) versus work from home (WFH) debate rages on, according to reporting. It's one of many contradictions in this VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) era. Another major change that surfaced this week is the realization that job seekers are not moving for work. Finally, HR gets the last laugh as the Onion pokes fun at corporate culture and greedy execs. 

CEO Pay Is Down 

The Wall Street Journal offers a nuanced, detailed picture for compensation wonks on CEO pay in the last year. Clearly, no one is feeling sorry for these folks because they're still making millions at a time when American families are struggling with inflation and layoffs. However, the big takeaway is this: 

"Overall, the median pay package for S&P 500 CEOs declined to $14.5 million in 2022, down from a record $14.7 million the previous year, with median cash compensation of $3.7 million," according to WSJ. "The decline marks the first time in a decade that compensation for top executives at the biggest U.S. companies didn’t reach new highs."

Readers go on to learn that performance also plummeted in 2022 with about two-thirds of companies recording negative shareholder returns. Still, about half got raises. And Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet (the parent company of Google), Michael Rapino, CEO of Live Nation, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, Peter Zaffino, CEO of AIG, and Hock Tan, CEO of Broadcom top the list of highest paid CEOs respectively. 

WATCH: Do Your Employee Benefits Packages Meet the Expectations of Your Future Workforce?

Employers Still Not Getting Their Way with RTO

The news from last week's roundup about how New York City is seeing fewer people coming to the office compared to last year sparked more conversation about the RTO versus WFH battle that continues. Employers tend to want people to work in person, whereas employees want to carry on after having proved they can work from home during the pandemic. Major cities, however, are seeing more pushback on RTO and fewer people joining their colleagues in person. 

Therefore, CNBC shared an interesting article about what companies can do to entice a return. These are more detailed suggestions than previously shared. And free food is not going to cut it! 

READ: 3 Ways to Get People Back into the Office

The Business Lunch Makes a Comeback

People in big cities are taking lunch again. They are dressing more casually, drinking more alcohol, and staying longer and spending more, according to restaurant owners as reported by CNN Business. This could be a positive sign that people are socializing again, and relationship builders will be the big winners in business. Or is this bad news because it could be a bad look as employers argue that work from home allows for less monitoring, more flagrant behavior, and less productivity? Maybe HR can do lunch and decide!

The Onion Pokes Fun at HR

The satirical website, the Onion, ran a headline, HR Clarifies That Any Breast Milk Pumped On Company Time Must Go Directly To CEO, which featured a fake news brief that essentially critiqued CEOs for being spoiled and HR for allowing their behavior, while highlighting the discrimination of women, particularly those who are moms. While this is a funny news article (and most in HR will get a good chuckle), it provides a chance to consider the divide between CEOs and employees and the treatment of women at work. 

GUIDE: What Does HR Need to Know about Women at Work?

Layoffs at Accenture, USAA, and Morgan Stanley

Layoffs continue at U.S. companies, but the ones that happened this week impacted fewer people and none of them dominated media attention - or LinkedIn feeds. Accenture and USAA. Accenture is letting go of more than 500 people, and USAA around 300. At press time, word was that Morgan Stanley is also planning layoffs. On the heels of a banking crisis and rising tension between the United States and China, Morgan Stanley is planning to cut 40 jobs in its Asia-Pacific investment banking arm, according to Forbes. 

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