HR that holds up — for the business, and for the people in it.
I’m Michael Baumgartner, founder and principal consultant of Work-Life Survival Center LLC. I started the practice in September 2024 to work directly with companies that need senior HR help and a straight answer about what to do next.
The short version
I have spent 25+ years building and transforming people operations in technology, aviation, logistics, fintech, and startups. I am, in the useful sense, a recovering HR executive: I’ve sat in the big chairs, and I still tell the truth about how this work actually gets done.
The through-line is simple. Ask better questions. Put in processes and systems that hold up. Treat HR as a way to help the business and its people succeed together — not as theater, and not as a department that exists to justify itself.
I work remotely, and I am based in Spokane, Washington.
Why this practice exists
After more than two decades inside large organizations, I wanted a practice where I could bring that operating experience to companies that are still designing their people function — or rebuilding one that no longer fits. Work-Life Survival Center LLC is that practice: fractional leadership, transformation, and team effectiveness, delivered hands-on.
The name goes back further. I previously hosted JobCast Radio under the Worklife Survival Center name. I still believe the same thing I said then: in our work, we trade our life for money. That is the essential foundation of a job. So the people side has to be worth the hours you never get back.
A long time ago, my sister gave me the best career advice I ever received: be paisley. Not everyone will like the way you work. That’s fine. Find the people who do, tell the truth about who you are, and get on with it. That’s still how I work — and how I advise companies to hire.
Selected roles
Work-Life Survival Center LLC — Founder & Principal Consultant
September 2024–present
Fractional HR leadership, HR transformation, and team effectiveness for growth-stage companies, described on the Services page.
Centific — HR Operations Consultant
August 2026–present
HR operations and process improvement consulting.
Amazon Air — Director, People Experience & Technology
2022–2024
Led HR across 15 global sites, supporting three VPs, 231 managers, and 17,000 employees.
Amazon Japan — Head of HR, Japan Operations
2019–2022
Led HR for 24 facilities, 118 delivery centers, and corporate headquarters. The HR team grew from 8 to over 130 professionals.
AWS Japan — Country Head of HR
2018–2019
Built and scaled HR for 4,000+ employees in Japan and Korea through a 40% workforce expansion.
Amazon — Senior Global Leader, HR Technology & Assessment, and Senior HR Regional Leader, North America Operations
2014–2018 and 2011–2014
In the technology role, I cut time-to-hire from 23 days to 3.
Credentials
- MBTI Certified Practitioner through The Myers-Briggs Company
- SPHR (1999–2008), HR Certification Institute (HRCI)
- B.A., Business Management / Theater, Florida International University
- Certificate in Employment Law (CA, FL, Federal)
- Certified Instructor, HR Principles in Business
- Certified Professional Analyst, Psychological Type