HR Works: The Podcast for Human Resources

HR Works Podcast: Kindness, Civility, and Leading Through Change with Jim Link

·23 min·2 clips

U.S. workers witness over 171 million instances of incivility daily, with 40% happening at work.

Jim begins with an early break that sounds ordinary until it isn't. As an undergraduate intern at General Electric, he landed inside a large manufacturing plant, writing a weekly plant newsletter and answering first-step union grievances. That combination pulled him toward human resources through communication and union relations. Bianca keeps the pace steady. Her questions let Jim move between career history, workplace civility, and the leadership work HR has in front of it now. Civility gets the most room. Jim talks about the interest coming from human resources leaders, business leaders, government officials, celebrities, small shops, and major corporations, but he keeps dragging it back to practice. People want to know how to make work feel more civil, and what expectations, tools, and resources help. SHRM's civility index gives the conversation a concrete reference point. It lets Jim talk about civility as something SHRM is tracking and pairing with recommendations and resources. Then the tone loosens. Bianca mentions Al Roker's session, and Jim lights up over Roker's humor and plainspoken points. The funny part has weight, too. Roker's comments about low expectations resonated with Jim because of his economically challenged upbringing. Grit and determination come in naturally, as part of a story about rising past other people's assumptions. By the end, Jim brings the thread back to talent, technology, leadership, inclusion, and civility. The episode feels like practical HR service work: warm, specific, and grounded in stories instead of slogans.

As heard by us

Civility is framed as a workplace expectation.

Jim Link's path into HR begins with an undergraduate internship at General Electric, where weekly plant newsletters and first-step union grievances gave the conversation a practical grounding in communication and labor relations.

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Why you'd press play

Your workplace could use a civility reset, clearer expectations, and a little accountability.

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