306. Firing your HR department, restroom lurking and the accidental manager. PLUS! Does Gen Z value purpose over pay? With Dr Jake Tuber

About this episode

The episode discusses workplace trends, HR management issues, and whether Gen Z prioritizes purpose over pay.

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. This week, hosts Al and Leanne Elliott are joined by returning guest, organisational psychologist Dr. Jake Tuber! Together, they tackle the biggest news in business, bust media myths, and solve your trickiest management dilemmas. This Week: Restroom Lurking, Firing HR and The Sales Promotion Trap. PLUS, Does Gen Z Actually Care About Purpose? 🔥 Stories Covered 1. Restroom Lurking: The New Workplace Space Crisis Leanne reveals the latest viral workplace trend: "Restroom Lurking." A Kickresume survey found that 44% of workers admit to using office restrooms to regain composure when overwhelmed. We discuss the deeper issue—the lack of quiet spaces in modern office design. Forbes Article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2026/05/22/restroom-lurking-on-the-rise-as-workers-seek-refuge-from-job-stress/ 2. Tech Firm Fires Entire HR Department Al breaks down the shocking news from checkout software company Bolt, which laid off its entire HR department. The CEO defended the move, claiming HR "creates problems that don't exist." We discuss why this "smoke alarm"…

People in this episode

Hosts: Al Elliott, Leanne Elliott

Guest: Dr. Jake Tuber

Topics covered

• workplace culture
• HR management
• Gen Z values
• office design
• business news

Keywords

• Restroom Lurking
• HR department
• Gen Z
• workplace trends
• business decisions

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bolt, Kickresume, Forbes, CityAM

More episodes of Truth, Lies and Work

• 308. Dark Showering, Google A.I. Interviews and the M&S Cyber Attack. PLUS! Is Experience the Best Predictor of Job Performance? · June 9, 2026 · 57 min
• 307. What skills do leaders actually need in the age of A.I.? With Vince Sanderson · June 4, 2026 · 51 min
• 305. How to go from Founder back to Employee (Without the Shame), with Laurie MacPherson · May 28, 2026 · 42 min
• 304. Al Elliott: "I've just ruined the last three years of my life.", Our co-host talks business, bankruptcy and the meaning of success · May 26, 2026 · 1h 15m
• 303. What can veterans teach us about leadership? With Danny Wareham, Major General (Ret) Matt Smith and James Hardie · May 21, 2026 · 1h 23m
• 302. How Do You Stop Being the Person Everything Falls On? PLUS! Bot bosses, poisoned chocolate and the dumbest Teams call mistake. With Cait Donovan · May 19, 2026 · 58 min