Category: EntertainHR

Posts focus on what not to do in the workplace, based on examples from television, film, and other popular media.

Best of EntertainHR 2024

HR leaders can learn plenty from pop culture, be it through sports scandals, TV dramas, celebrity squabbles, and more. HRDA’s EntertainHR column breaks down recent news to shed light on best practices in the corporate space. While we don’t know what 2025 could entail, leaders can learn from past entertainment news. Let’s take a look back at HR […]

EntertainHR: Mr. Monk Doesn’t Pay His Employee

There is something interesting about watching an old, beloved show for the first time years after the release of its final season. You miss the excitement of watching new episodes contemporaneously with other fans. But if the show you’ve chosen months or years after the fact is indeed worth watching, you should enjoy it just […]

Beyond Friends: EAP Lessons from Matthew Perry’s Legacy of Helping Others

As family and friends recently paid tribute to Matthew Perry on the one-year anniversary of his untimely passing, I considered honoring his memory with a throw-back post about one of my favorite Friends episodes. But the beloved sitcom star repeatedly made clear that he wanted to be remembered for far more than his work in […]

Entertain HR: Double Dribble—The Popularity of Women’s Basketball No Match for Potential Work Stoppage 

Sunday night was a sports lover’s dream. Game 6 of the National League Championship series pitted a team from New York against a team from Los Angeles (and by virtue of the latter’s victory, a World Series appearance against the other New York team). Sunday night football between the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers featured two […]

Big Brother: An Experiment on Maintaining Peace and Harmony in the Workplace

Nearly twenty-five years ago, one of the most revolutionary shows premiered. Now in its 26th season, Big Brother remains one of the most controversial shows on television. The show follows a group of contestants, known as “House Guests,” who are isolated from the outside world, and forced to live in a house, outfitted with 94 […]

Beetlejuice: The Horrors of Workplace Romances and Unconscionable Contracts

Spooky season is nearly upon us, appropriately heralded in by the much-anticipated sequel to the original Beetlejuice film from 1988. The latest film, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, welcomes back fan favorites Michael Keaton as the titular character Betelgeuse, Winona Ryder as former goth princess Lydia Deetz, and Catherine O’Hara as everyone’s favorite stepmother, Delia Deetz.  It also adds […]

From Office Romance to Courtroom Drama: Lessons from ‘Presumed Innocent’

Raymond Horgan, the District Attorney of Kindle County, declares “it’s Rusty’s case,” in the premier of Apple TV+’s legal thriller, Presumed Innocent. The “case” concerns the brutal murder of Carolyn Polhemus, a respected prosecutor who had an affair with her coworker—the Rusty Sabich. Rusty justifies his assignment based on merit (i.e., he “is better” than […]

EntertainHR: Twisters Reminds Employers to Be Weather (and Employment Law) Aware

Twisters was a great summer movie. It had action, the hint of romance, subtle nods to original, questionable science and Glen Powell in a cowboy hat. What more can you ask for? I’m an employment lawyer living in the heart of tornado alley. So, I know a thing or two about tornados and what to […]

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EntertainHR: Helping Haverford – What Parks and Recreation Teaches Us About Employee Terminations

Parks and Recreation is a beloved mockumentary sitcom that focuses on the lives of several employees of the fictional Pawnee, Indiana’s Parks and Recreation Department. One of those characters is the sarcastic and entrepreneurial Tom Haverford, played by Aziz Ansari. Throughout the series, Tom embarks on several business ventures. One of his business ventures, Rent-A-Swag, […]

Don’t Let Unions Sink Their Teeth into Your Property Rights

July is the best month of the year. It’s warm everywhere, even in Chicago. I look forward to the al fresco dining, outdoor concerts, neighborhood block parties, cookouts with family, and the beach. And sharks. July seems to be synonymous with this apex predator. Whether it is because the movie Jaws took place over the Fourth of July or […]