What Should HR Say When CEOs Talk Tough?

Author

Nicholas Baily
July 25, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 16 minutes

Remember the days when CEOs spoke honeyed words about the irreplaceability of great talent? When they promised to shield workers from burnout and grinding daily trips to the office?

Now, however, the tone of employee relations has changed. One after the other, CEOs march through our news feeds, declaring that employees are acting entitled, resistant to change, and dispensable. 

Reddit’s CEO says employees aren’t working hard enough. Uber’s CEO joined others in demanding a return to the office. Amazon’s Andy Jassy ordered five-day office weeks, warned AI will cut jobs, and urged teams to get more done with fewer people. Shopify’s CEO told staff not to request new hires unless AI can’t do the job.

With prominent CEOs going rogue from the chorus of empathy, how can chief HR officers adapt to the new tone? To some degree, CEOs are being transparent about new economic realities. But when executives are feeling like they can shrug off pressure to consider worker well-being or make good on prior commitments, what is a CHRO to do? 

This is where CHROs can be caught in the middle. Their role is to help promote organizational success, but part of that mission is to make their company a great place to work. CHROs occupy a vital role in the C-suite, serving as liaison between employers and the employed, and as a result, a cooperative CHRO-CEO relationship is required. In fact, a change in CEO leads to the exit of nearly three-quarters of CHROs, said Rosanna Trasatti, CEO at Eleva Executive Leadership Advisory, during Fortune’s recent Workplace Innovation Summit.

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For the newest generation of CHROs, part of the job is making top executives palatable to employees and to the public. The head of HR is “one of the few people at an organization who has both the legitimacy and the duty to provide feedback to the CEO when their behavior goes against stated organizational values,” Alex Kirss of Gartner told From Day One Contributing Editor Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza. Kirss, who leads the CHRO-effectiveness research team in Gartner's HR practice, added: “The CHRO’s role is not to be a disciplinarian, but rather a coach to help their CEO be the best version of themselves.”

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