Actor Mika Austin, who will star in the upcoming sketch comedy “H.R. The Musical #2: Things Just Got Personnel”, is a former corporate lawyer and senior HR executive. Photo \/ Andi Crown<\/p>\n
Originally conceived as a one-off, sketch-based musical by writer\/producer Amy Mansfield, the original H.R. The Musical, which is about to announce its Australian premiere, pokes fun at corporate jargon, email etiquette, and mansplaining bosses through song, dance and sketch.<\/p>\n
But, as material continues to pile up in today\u2019s political and workplace climate, we realised the first show merely scratched the surface of corporate nonsense.<\/p>\n
So now, as another year of Government cost-cutting and corporate purges draws to a close, I am currently bracing myself for the organised frivolity of the compulsory office Christmas party.<\/p>\n
You know the drill: karaoke\/mini golf + cheap drinks + Secret Santa tat + highly flammable Look Sharp accessories. (What\u2019s that, you say? Sure, half the team being fired last month was kind of a buzzkill, but don\u2019t worry, you will have forgotten them by mid-January \u2026)<\/p>\n
Amy Mansfield, writer\/producer for “H.R. The Musical” and “H.R. The Musical #2: Things Just Got Personnel”. Photo \/ Michelle McLennan<\/p>\n
Enter, fresh musical sketch-comedy, H.R. The Musical #2: Things Just Got Personnel. Just in time for the silly season, we\u2019re back with CEO Dick, and his band of generic employees (human resources, if you will) to explore 2025\u2019s corporate culture trends \u2013 from pay equity injustices, weaponised engagement surveys and sidelined DEI initiatives, to the very real challenge of leading mass executions, sorry \u2026 restructures. <\/p>\n
As seemingly endless public sector layoffs and corporate \u201crealignments\u201d leave workers waiting for the hammer to fall, who, I ask you, spares a thought for the bullying firing manager, as explored in the new song I Can\u2019t Make You Resign?<\/p>\n
In HR, learning about people\u2019s experiences is a perk of the job. For H.R. The Musical #2, Mansfield has crowd-sourced audience work tales to highlight even more real-life, outrageous stories. Heard the one about the woman who, following a restructure and having just had a hysterectomy, needed to reapply for her own job from her hospital bed? Classic corporate LOLs!<\/p>\n
As if the workplace weren\u2019t ripe fodder enough, recently James Nokise, Kiwi comedy stalwart and winner of this year\u2019s 2025 Topp Prize in comedy, laid down a wero to New Zealand comedians in his award acceptance speech. \u201cPoliticians in this country are ridiculous. Don\u2019t be afraid to point that out and make material about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
So we watch, as senior political leaders channel Marie Antoinette, building gilded boardrooms, flaunting their personal wealth, and claiming rates relief on luxury beach houses. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, furloughed and fired essential workers queue at food banks and strike for scraps in the face of tree-toppling storms. For them, the new show\u2019s bluesy Public Sector Spiritual is a workplace reality, \u201cI work in the public sector \/ I\u2019m a pretty upstanding dude \/ But every time the government changes there\u2019s a 50\/50 chance I\u2019ll get screwed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wearing my HR hat, I recently reminded a large group of senior business leaders that it was not up to female employees to subsidise their businesses through unequal and unfair pay. <\/p>\n
If only the Government felt the same way about historic pay equity claims for our female public sector workers. Perhaps there will be more cut-through on stage in H.R. The Musical #2, where this year\u2019s legislative chicanery and the failings of parliamentary procedure are set to pop music, a la the Pet Shop Boys, in Pay Me Like A Man.<\/p>\n
To the apparent irritation of our most senior Ministers, yes, work is very much political. And what of the newest inductee to the team, ChatGPT? As a junior litigator, I learned the job, in part, poring over endless discovery documents and drafting court briefs from scratch. Now, as four generations compete for too-few jobs, AI is barrelling through the employment sector \u2013 Coming, ready or not! \u2013 while low-level and graduate positions are disestablished, replaced by bots. <\/p>\n
While the junior litigator in me would be thrilled at the efficiency, today, the junior litigator in me might also be unemployed. Cue: an epic rap battle between AI and a beleaguered human employee, with the winner picked by the audience on the night. \u201cWill the real live humans please stand up!\u201d<\/p>\n
Stand up and be counted with your fellow humans at H.R. The Musical #2, connecting over shared experiences, office nonsense, and a bloody good laugh. Now that\u2019s worth leaving the office for.<\/p>\n
Mika Austin is an actor and former corporate lawyer and senior HR executive. She appeared in the original H.R. The Musical, and will reprise the role of CEO in H.R. The Musical #2: Things Just Got Personnel at Q Theatre, Auckland, from November 25 to December 6. <\/p>\n
Tickets available at www.qtheatre.co.nz\/shows\/hr-musical<\/a><\/p>\n