In “Other Duties as Assigned,” HR Dive Lead Editor Kate Tornone weighs in on employment trends, compliance best practices and, of course, the situations that require you to go above and beyond your normal duties. Today: explaining human resources to the newest humans.
With Take Your Child to Work Day approaching, HR professionals may need to plan some activities for their temporary junior co-workers.
Below are three books, approved by this editor’s kids, that tackle themes related to a range of HR work.
Diversity, equity and inclusion
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DEI can be a very accessible HR topic for kids; they can see differences between themselves and their peers, and still be great friends.
“Small Saul” by Ashley Spires tackles this topic in the most unlikely of worksites — a pirate ship. It tells the story of a pirate who loves his job, but faces skepticism from others because he looks different and doesn’t act like a typical pirate.
Being tough like his co-workers “just wasn’t in his nature.” Instead, he spends his days cleaning the ship and cooking delicious food. The captain tosses him overboard, only to quickly realize life is much worse without Small Saul. The pirates rush back and apologize. Small Saul forgives them and returns to being a pirate in his own way.
The publisher offers a download complete with questions for your crew and a printable maze for your tiny treasure hunters.
Labor relations
The labor themes in “Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type” by Doreen Cronin might go over the heads of your youngest visitors, but it’s a fun read nonetheless.
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The story follows a group of cows who (via typing on an old typewriter, hence the title) demand better working conditions.
It’s cold in the barn, and the cows say they won’t provide any more milk unless their demands for electric blankets are met. The farmer initially refuses, so the cows recruit the hens to their strike, cutting off the farmer’s access to eggs, too. The farmer can’t run his business without milk and eggs, so an agreement is eventually reached.
Among the book’s printable activity pages are name tags, a coloring page and a crossword puzzle.
Conflict resolution
Like DEI, conflict resolution also may be a familiar concept for little ones. “Little Blue Truck Leads the Way” by Alice Schertle explains the idea in a way that will resonate with anyone who spends time on a playground.
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In this sequel to the instant classic Little Blue Truck, the protagonist pickup truck finds himself in the big city, among a lot of vehicles who think they’re the most important and thus should have the right of way. The result is gridlock, of course, with no one getting anywhere.
Little Blue Truck advises the vehicles to take turns and soon traffic is moving smoothly, with some of the trucks even offering to let others go first.
Available activities span the Little Blue Truck series.