Surprise! Some of you may have already noticed that PFunc Pulse is now landing in your inbox every Tuesday because yes, we’ve officially gone weekly 🎉 Each issue will bring you the HR news and compliance updates you need to know, plus Emma’s perspective on the trends and questions top of mind for her as an HR expert, CEO, and founder. Practical, timely, and designed to help you make better people decisions week by week.

Have thoughts on what you’d like to see in future issues or special one-off editions? Take this survey or reply directly to this email - we’d love to hear from you. And thank you for the support through Year One of PFunc Pulse. Here’s to Year Two (and beyond!).

MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO’S DESK

I’ve been back in the States for less than a week after three weeks in India for my wedding, and one week in the Maldives for my honeymoon. I took off a solid 2.5 weeks, which is completely epic and unheard of for me. I’m a strange mix of relaxed and reenergized, but also deeply disgusted with the country I’m returning to. PFunc Delhi, anyone?! 

Since we’re a consulting company that is focused on billable hours, I have always been in the habit of modeling the behavior I have expected from my team: tracking my client time and my internal PFunc time. I believe leaders should be willing to do the work they expect of their team, and model the behaviors they want to see. Even as my billable hours went from 40+ hours, to 20 hours, to <10, I have kept in the habit of tracking my internal time. But before I left for India, I realized I was modeling something I didn’t mean to. I was grinding out 50-hour weeks simply because I chose to. I was getting things done, but my team was watching. 

I realized that what had started out as being transparent about the way that I was working as a founder, turned into a poor model to replicate. 

Even when I was an employee in previous companies, I was never dazzled or impressed by the conversations about how late people were working. I worked for a toxic #girlboss who lived at work when the truth was she had the autonomy to be there or to go home. No one else in that company had that same autonomy to go home. Leaders often model burnout behaviors to employees who don’t have the same autonomy over their days that we do. We think we’re showing grit. But from the perspective of an employee, here is what we are unintentionally saying:

• The "Slack Lurker" Signal: When you respond to a non-urgent message while OOO, you aren't being "responsive,” you’re telling your team that "true" commitment means never actually disconnecting.

• The Transparency Trap: Sharing your 50-hour work week isn't an "FYI." It’s inadvertently modeling what it takes to be the leader. Is that really what it takes, though?!

• The "Always-On" Cognitive Drain: Building on what we talked about in last week’s PFunc Pulse, the world is heavy right now. When there’s constant global turmoil, it takes a massive physiological toll on your brain. I often (unhealthily) use work as a distraction from my life. When I was stuck in an emotionally abusive marriage (good riddance husband #1), work was the only place I felt good. But that is BAD! By defaulting to long hours during a crisis, you aren't being "steady.” What you’re really doing is teaching your team to ignore their own mental alarms.

• The Hero Complex: If you are the only one who can "save the day" during a fire, you haven't built a resilient company. You’ve built a dependency. Real leadership is creating a system that thrives while you’re halfway across the world. I’m proud to say that we’re building that at PFunc. 

Now that I’m back at work, I’ve stopped tracking and sharing my non-billable hours. I want to model that input isn’t what we’re aiming for - it’s the output. 

As CEOs, founders, and HR leaders, we have to ask ourselves a hard question: Are we leading, or are we just shape-shifting to fit a "hustle" mold? In the long run, "powering through" isn't a strategy. It’s a fast track to a culture that will burn out your team. If you want a team that knows how to rest and do their best work, you have to be the one to put the laptop away first.

I’m still learning how to do that. Major thanks to Celeste, our new VP of Ops, and Adriana, our VP of Consulting. Without them, I never could have taken the time away. And you know what? The business didn't break. It got better because now the person running finally has a clear head.

THE BRIEFING 🗞️

HR NEWS TO KNOW

The latest HR headlines and stories, curated with our perspective.

Private-sector hiring continued to decelerate in January, with just 22,000 jobs added and wage growth holding steady at 4.5% year over year, per ADP’s latest report, following 37,000 jobs added in December.

• ↪️ PFunc’s Perspective: For HR leaders and business builders, this signals that talent strategies must shift from growth-at-all-costs to retention, reskilling, and workforce planning that anticipates slower hiring and ongoing labor market uncertainty.

A new iSolved report found that 62% of HR leaders say outdated hiring practices are driving a self-inflicted talent crisis and 48% cite a self-inflicted skills gap, even as 65% say AI is helping improve efficiency. Read more at HR Dive.

• ↪️ PFunc’s Perspective: Taken together with ADP’s jobs data, the signal for founders and executives is clear: prioritize efficiency and capability over headcount growth by investing in smarter HR systems, reskilling existing teams, and using AI to automate low-value work.

A couple other stories to check out:

• HR Brew: LGBTQ+ inclusion hasn’t disappeared from the Fortune 500, even though participation in the Human Rights Campaign report dropped 65%

• NPR: Starting March 9, changes to federal employment protections will make it easier for President Trump to fire government workers

AI NEWS TO KNOW

What’s happening in AI, and why it matters for HR.

Most companies are investing heavily in AI, but a recent Avature survey found that a whopping 98% of HR leaders don’t trust generative AI with big workforce decisions and mostly use it for simple tasks, such as scheduling interviews.

• ↪️ PFunc’s Perspective: As AI becomes more embedded in the workplace, it should complement - not define - employee skill sets. Overemphasizing AI can drive burnout, and some employees may reasonably choose not to adopt it. The goal is to position AI as an optional enhancer that simplifies work and adds value, NOT a requirement that complicates roles or alienates talent.

COMPLIANCE CHECK

Stay ahead of HR compliance as these latest updates take effect.

• New York City(effective 2/22/26) - Employers must provide a separate bank of 32 hours of unpaid Earned Safe and Sick Time, in addition to the 40 or 56 hours required under the ESSTA, and allow its use for expanded reasons, including caregiving. Additionally, employers no longer have to grant employees’ temporary schedule change requests under the Temporary Schedule Change Act.

• Federal (effective 3/1/2026) - Employers must file Form M-1 with the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) if they operate a multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) that provides medical benefits.

THE OPPORTUNITY EXCHANGE 📈

TALENT SPOTLIGHT

Check out this vetted candidate who is actively seeking a new role. Please reach out directly to the candidate or reply to this email for an introduction.

Nina Bangalore, HRB/HR Generalist - Nina is a New York-based people practitioner with a master’s in HR management and more than five years of experience across executive support, people operations, recruiting, and chief-of-staff work. She began her career in film and TV production, and is now looking for a full-time HR role.

MORE NEWS! Getro helped us launch our job board, and now they’re helping us grow our talent network too - join here! Whether you’re actively job searching or happily employed but open to the right opportunity, Getro will surface your profile to our recruiters when roles align with your experience and career goals.

If you’re interested in being featured in a future “Talent Spotlight,” be sure to join our network and reply to this email to let us know.

ROLES ON OUR RADAR

The PFunc job board is packed with open roles across our client companies, making it easier than ever to tap into our network. Hundreds of opportunities, dozens of companies, and a few standout roles highlighted below.

This week, we’re highlighting roles that pay an annual salary of at least $100,000.

• Bedrock Ocean Exploration, Electronics Assembly Technician - You’ll build, test, and debug complete electronic subsystems for autonomous underwater vehicles, from prototype through production.

• Inspiren, Capital Partnerships Manager - Manage and grow relationships with senior living capital partners through strategic communication, updates, and partner engagement. 

• Radar, Buyer/Planner - The role focuses on inventory optimization, sourcing strategy, and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) accuracy to keep National Provider Identifier (NPI) and production builds on track.

See a role you’re interested in? Reply to this email and we’ll try to connect you with the hiring team. Hiring for an open role yourself? Reply to have your job featured in an upcoming PFunc Pulse issue.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE💡

Check out this resource, vetted and recommended by us.

Cocoon - This HR platform simplifies employee leave by handling compliance, insurance claims, and payroll coordination in one seamless experience. It helps employers support people through life’s biggest moments without the operational chaos (and headache) that usually comes with leave.

INSIDE PFUNC HQ ⋒

WHERE TO NEXT?

Our team is always on the move, popping up at the HR events, conferences, and summits we actually love.

🤖 Countdown to Leading with AI in New York City (and online) (February 10): Today!
People Function team members will be virtually attending the fifth annual Charter Workplace Summit, where executives will share how they’re building long-term competitiveness across business, people, and AI, amid political, economic, and technological uncertainty.

🌐 Countdown to Community Moves 2026 in New York City (February 25): 15 Days
Emma will be joining a panel at Justworks’ one-day conference for small business leaders, where she’ll speak on “Don’t Forget the Human Touch: Culture, Community, and Creating in the Age of AI.” Register today (it’s free!) if you’d like to attend. Justworks is also hosting conferences in Dallas on February 19 and San Francisco on February 26. Learn more here.

✈️ Countdown to Transform 2026 in Las Vegas (March 23-25): 48 Days
Not only are we attending, but we’ll be hosting a few fun, non-corporate side events because we all know the real reason we go to Transform is for the people and connections! Will you be there? Do you want to hang out with us? Let us know!

CHRONICALLY ONLINE📱

For your enjoyment, a recent social media video from the PFunc team.

Join 100,000+ followers across PFunc’s Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn, hailed as “the best HR social accounts online today.” 😉

STAY IN TOUCH 💌

If you’re interested in fractional HR support for your team, reply to this email or contact us to learn more about our offerings, pricing, and how we can support your growing company.

🗣️ Thoughts, feedback, requests? Let us know! 🗣️

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