Human Times
The latest business Intelligence for HR professionals and people managers everywhere
Sign UpOnline Version
Human Times Logo
North American Edition
23rd March 2026
Together with


Industry Slice Icon Logo

THE HOT STORY

ICE to be at airports starting Monday

White House border czar Tom Homan has said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will be deployed to airports across the country Monday to assist TSA officers with security at entrances and exits where lines have been particularly long in recent weeks. Hundreds of thousands of homeland security workers, including from the TSA, U.S. Secret Service and Coast Guard, have worked without pay since Congress failed to renew DHS funding last month. In an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union,” Homan said that he is devising a plan with Tedd Lyons, acting director of ICE, and Ha Nguyen McNeill, acting administrator for TSA, to determine where agents would best fit at airports across the nation. Everett Kelley, the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents TSA agents and other federal workers, said the agents' deployment presented security concerns for passengers. “Our members at TSA have been showing up every day, without a paycheck, because they believe in the mission of keeping the flying public safe . . . They deserve to be paid, not replaced by untrained, armed agents who have shown how dangerous they can be.”
Industry Slice Icon Logo

HR TOOLKIT

Editable 30/60/90 Day Plan Template for Clear, Goal-Driven Onboarding

Are your new hires drowning from information overload or wondering what they should be doing? This editable 30/60/90 Day Plan template from Rival gives your onboarding program structure and helps new hires feel confident, aligned, and ready to make an impact.

It includes role-specific guidance for each 30-day block, built-in SMART goal prompts and check-in cues, a key connections section to help new hires navigate your org, and tips for managers and HR to collaborate effectively. Set every new hire up for success from day one.

Get It Now

 
Industry Slice Icon Logo

TECHNOLOGY

AI users fear unreliability of chatbots

Interviews with more than 80,000 users of Anthropic’s Claude chatbot across 159 countries provide one of the most detailed snapshots yet of how people use AI. The report found that AI in the workplace to automate tasks was one of the biggest use cases of the technology, although some people said they feared they would lose cognitive abilities in the process. Nearly half of lawyers interviewed said they had encountered AI unreliability firsthand, but they also reported the highest rates of realised decision-making benefits of any profession. Over a quarter (27%) of respondents said they were concerned about AI making poor or incorrect decisions, and 22% said they were fearful about the technology's impact on jobs and the economy.  Users in North America, Western Europe and Oceania were worried more about governance gaps, regulatory failure, and surveillance; those in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and South Asia were much more positive about AI.

Trump administration unveils national AI policy framework

The Trump administration has issued a legislative framework for a single national policy on artificial intelligence that aims to create uniform safety and security guardrails around the nascent technology while preempting states from enacting their own AI rules. "We need one national AI framework, not ​a 50-state patchwork,” Michael Kratsios, science and technology adviser to Trump, told The Daily Signal. "And I think one of the ​key provisions of it that will make it all work and come together is really focusing on the bipartisan consensus around protecting America’s ‌children." Daniel Cochrane, a tech policy expert at the Heritage Foundation, said the preemption could stymie states in addressing harms that “would endanger our kids and disable responsible AI governance essential for human flourishing . . . States remain the American people’s first and best line of defense against Big Tech.” 
Industry Slice Icon Logo

REMOTE WORK

World’s energy watchdog urges people to work from home

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is encouraging workers to work from home to combat soaring oil prices and impending fuel shortages caused by the conflict in the Middle East. The world's energy watchdog has made 10 recommendations to help households and businesses prepare for protracted disruption to energy markets, including reducing highway speed limits by at least 10 kilometers per hour, and avoiding ​air travel if other means of transport are available. "Today's report provides a menu of immediate and concrete measures that can be taken ​on the demand side by governments, businesses and ​households ⁠to shelter consumers from the impacts of this crisis," said IEA executive director Fatih Birol.
Industry Slice Icon Logo

WORKFORCE

World Bank targets AI-resilient sectors to boost jobs

The World Bank has identified tourism, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, agriculture and renewable energy as the most AI-resilient sources of employment, as the lender adjusts its approach to account for the potential impact of the technology on workers as it seeks to boost job creation amid a deepening global jobs crisis. The Washington-headquartered bank said it is working with the private sector to create jobs, as research shows that 80% of employment needs to come from the private sector. World Bank Chief Knowledge Officer Paschal Donohoe said in an interview: “We are now looking at how we can engage with governments in projects in those areas . . . We believe on balance actually that in those kind of sectors, AI will not be the challenge to job creation that it could be in the economy overall.” An estimated 800 million people worldwide lack adequate employment, Donohue said.
Industry Slice Icon Logo

HEALTH & WELLBEING

Employees try ‘microshifting’ to reclaim their personal lives

So-called "microshifting" is seeking to transform traditional work schedules by enabling employees to manage their time in short, productive bursts. This flexible scheduling method is gaining traction because it prioritizes work-life balance, while experts such as Kevin Rockmann, a professor of management at George Mason University's Costello College of Business, also observe that such autonomy in scheduling can enhance motivation and productivity. However, while microshifting can improve personal relationships, it is feared that it could strain professional ones, because it prioritizes individual needs over team collaboration. Effective teams are committed to working together collaboratively, but "the whole idea of microshifting is taking care of yourself,” Rockmann says. “It's not that taking care of yourself is bad. It places the emphasis on the individual, not the relationships.”

JPMorgan deploys tech to monitor junior bankers’ working hours

JPMorgan Chase is seeking to guard against overwork by scrutinizing whether the hours junior investment bankers claim to work match up against activity electronically logged by the bank’s IT systems.
Industry Slice Icon Logo

STRATEGY

Goldman Sachs to make performance-based job cuts in April

Reuters reports that Goldman Sachs plans to ​cut a small number of underperforming ‌staff in April. "Regular, consistent headcount management is nothing out of the ordinary for a public company. We ​are constantly assessing our performance and ​talent across divisions," a Goldman Sachs spokesperson said ‌in ⁠a statement.
Industry Slice Icon Logo

LEGAL

BP locks out more than 800 union workers at refinery

BP has locked out over 800 union workers at its Whiting, Indiana refinery after failing to reach a contract agreement with the United Steelworkers Local 7-1. Eric Schultz, president of USW Local 7-1, said: “We presented British Petroleum with an offer [Tuesday] that included accepting several of their proposals - only for them to reject that after just four hours and serve us with a lockout notice.” BP said the lockout was a result of the union's rejection of critical proposals necessary for the refinery's sustainability. The company has offered a revised six-year contract that includes job restructuring affecting 20% of employees and cuts to lump sum payments. Union leadership claims the revised offer limits their ability to strike and undermines bargaining rights. As tensions rise amid increasing gas prices, BP insists that production will not be disrupted during the lockout.
Industry Slice Icon Logo

ECONOMY

U.S. consumers fuel surge in service spending, keeping inflation elevated

Americans are spending heavily on services such as pet care, beauty treatments and healthcare, enabling businesses to raise prices without dampening demand and contributing to persistently high inflation above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Strong wage growth, low unemployment and wealth gains - particularly among higher-income households - have supported robust demand, while labor shortages and rising wages in service industries are further pushing costs higher. Service price inflation remains broad-based, with notable increases in areas such as pet services, healthcare and personal care, even as some consumers begin cutting discretionary spending. The trend is complicating the Fed’s policy outlook, as resilient inflation limits scope for interest rate cuts despite signs of a cooling labor market.
Industry Slice Icon Logo

INTERNATIONAL

Accor denies involvement in child trafficking following report

French hotel operator Accor - whose brands include Sofitel, Novotel, and Ibis - has launched an investigation following a report by short-seller Grizzly Research that questioned the group’s human rights practices. The short-seller said it is betting against Accor, alleging some of its hotels ignored red flags strongly suggestive of child trafficking when making bookings in “an obvious sexual context.” Accor said it denies “involvement in the alleged systemic exploitation of human or child trafficking,” adding that it will take “all appropriate measures” and could prosecute parties involved if the allegations are confirmed. Employees and partners working under its various brands are trained to detect and combat sexual trafficking and the exploitation of children, Accor said.
Industry Slice Icon Logo

OTHER

Generational divide emerges as some Americans question billionaire wealth

A growing minority of Americans believe it is morally wrong to be a billionaire, with younger generations, particularly Gen Z, far more likely to hold that view, according to a Pew Research survey. While 18% see extreme wealth as unethical, most Americans either view it as morally neutral or acceptable. The generational gap is stark: roughly one-third of Gen Z respondents consider billionaire wealth morally wrong, compared with far lower shares among older groups. Despite this divide, concern over wealth inequality is widespread, with large majorities saying the wealth gap is a serious problem and supporting higher taxes on the ultra-wealthy. Data shows the concentration of wealth in the U.S. has grown significantly, with the richest households holding an increasingly large share of total assets. The findings highlight rising unease, especially among younger Americans, about extreme wealth and its broader social impact, even as opinions remain mixed on its moral implications.
 
Industry SLice Logo

The Human Times is designed to help you stay ahead, spark ideas and support innovation, learning and development in your organisation.

The links under articles indicate original news sources. Some links lead directly to the source material. Others lead to paywalls where you may need a subscription. A third category are restricted by copyright rules.

For reaction and insights on any stories covered in the Human Times, join the discussion by becoming a member of our LinkedIn Group or Business Page, or follow us on X.
Follow us on FacebookFollow us on XFollow us on Linkedin

This e-mail has been sent to [[EMAIL_TO]]

Click here to unsubscribe