Happy Thursday, everyone. I'm Frank Richardson, an organisational psychologist observing the workplace with curiosity and care. Each week, I share insights to help HR leaders better understand the people behind the processes and build cultures where both individuals and organisations can thrive.
This week in workplace whiplash 🌀
Another week, another round of workplace plot twists that make you wonder if anyone is actually steering the ship:
📚 Supreme Court Case Could Reshape HR Compliance
An upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case on presidential power over federal agencies could have major flow-on effects for HR, shaping how employers manage compliance, federal oversight and regulatory risk.
👉SHRM💬 Women Leaders Report Steep Decline in Wellbeing
New research shows women in leadership roles are significantly more likely than men to report low wellbeing, and are also less likely to receive or access employer-provided support. A reminder that representation does not guarantee the conditions required to thrive.
👉HR Daily⚖️ SHRM CEO Says DEI Pullbacks Are Fueling Workplace Lawsuits
Business Insider reveals internal unrest at SHRM, where employees have described a punitive culture, confusing DEI signals and mounting frustration with CEO Johnny Taylor’s leadership. It is a messy plot twist for the world’s biggest HR association.
👉Business Insider🛠️ Fixing Bad Workplace Behaviour Requires Courage, Not Time
Fresh commentary from HR Daily argues that entrenched behaviour problems do not resolve with time or optimism. They improve when leaders act early, set boundaries and stop ignoring patterns that everyone else can see.
👉HR Daily
It is fitting, really. A week full of mixed messages and blurred boundaries, leading straight into our main piece on the strange, slippery world of modern job titles.
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The other night I watched a TikTok from Ben Askins talking through the absurd job titles floating around lately, starting with “Growth Ninja.” The comments made it worse: “Director of Digital Disruptions.” “Senior Happiness Evangelist.” “Director of First Impressions.” It was a perfect snapshot of how unhinged job titles have become.
And honestly, it tracks. LinkedIn has turned into Instagram with blazers. The humblebrag culture, the perfectly lit “new chapter” announcements, the “Honoured to share that I am now…” posts that read like mini TED Talks. Just like Instagram made us want better holidays, LinkedIn now makes us want better job titles.
And companies are playing along. Instead of offering genuine progression, many hand out titles that look impressive in an update but barely shift the actual work. A survey covered by HR Dive found that most employees believe inflated titles are being used to dress up stagnation. The same pattern shows up globally. Reporting in The Straits Times describes junior staff with “manager” titles and no managerial scope, and recruitment teams like Coburg Banks now track titles so abstract they require a glossary.
🧠The behavioural science lens
It is easy to laugh at these titles, but the psychology behind why they exist, and why they cause so much frustration, is surprisingly well documented:
Titles act as identity shortcuts: People use them to figure out who they are at work, how much influence they have and what everyone else expects from them. When the title actually matches the job, people feel grounded and connected. When it does not, it creates that uncomfortable sense of “this doesn’t feel like me.” Research in the Journal of Business and Psychology shows that accurate titles boost belonging and performance, while inflated or vague ones do the opposite.
Companies use titles as low cost rewards: A new title is the cheapest reward a company can offer. This is one reason inflated titles have become so common. Research covered by Pearl Meyer found that most employees believe organisations use title changes to avoid offering raises. Symbolic recognition rarely replaces the impact of tangible development, support and compensation, and people quickly sense the difference.
Employees now interpret titles as signals instead of information: Workers are increasingly sceptical of elaborate titles and often treat them as clues about workload or organisational chaos rather than seniority. People may enjoy the status boost of announcing a dramatic title online, but once the update fades, the title still needs to function inside the real structure, and that is where the problems appear.
🚀What this means for leaders
Treat job titles as part of your operating system, not your branding: A title should clarify how work moves through the organisation (not decorate it). When titles are coherent, people know who decides what, and how to collaborate.
Rebuild role clarity from the inside out: Define the work first, then the responsibilities, then the title. This sequence creates far more stability than retrofitting a fancy label onto an undefined role.
Anchor titles to capability pathways rather than cosmetic upgrades: Tie every title to clear competencies, scope and contribution. People stay motivated when they understand what a level means and how to grow into the next one.
Use titles to strengthen meaning rather than avoid hard conversations: Inflated titles often appear when budgets, structure or workloads are unresolved. Leaders create far more trust when they fix those conditions and use titles to communicate purpose instead of distraction.
💬 Final thoughts
If we are honest, people often enjoy a fancy title. It gives them something shiny to announce, a moment of recognition and a chance to feel a little more put together than they did last quarter. But the audience on LinkedIn isn’t the audience in the team meeting. One rewards performance, the other relies on clarity.
A title works when it satisfies both. It can be confidence-boosting, sure, but it also needs to anchor scope, expectations and growth. When it only works online, it eventually stops working at work.
How's the depth of today's edition?
If something here speaks to you, I’d love to hear it.
Until next week,
Frank
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