I used to think that human resources managers were just thepeople I quickly dialed when my paycheck came in the wrong amount,but I've since realized that HR plays a major role in the life andhealth of every organization.

The Society for Human Resource Management 2016 conference inWashington, D.C., was yet another reminder of that fact. Over15,000 attendees came to the nation's capital looking for newtricks and tips to make their offices better for employees,employers and entire businesses.

That can be a heavy order, but with nearly 200 sessions coveringa slew of HR competencies, SHRM offered plenty of solutions forattendees to go home with.

I sat in on discussions with top HR professionals from aroundthe country, and if I'm being honest, I'm excited for the future ofour workforce.

I even learned quite a bit myself. Here is some of what I foundmost interesting:

1. Women dominate HR, but theydon't run it

If I didn't already know that HR is overwhelmingly dominated bywomen, SHRM 2016 made that abundantly clear. Many of theconference's attendees were female, and according to 2014statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor, 76 percent of HRmanagers are women. Despite this, gender bias is very real in theHR industry.

A session entitled “The Art of Executive Presence: AProfessional Women's Guide to Commanding the Room” drew animpressive crowd. Despite arriving 15 minutes early, I ended up inone of the last seats in the large room. Many women who arrivedlater lined the walls or sat on the floor, eagerly takingnotes.

While the session was intended to empower female HR leaders toachieve success, it was apparent that much of what has hinderedthat thus far is because of typical gender gap gripes. A sessiondiscussing men's hair, clothing, jewelry and “RBF” (Google it — andyes, I'm an owner … it's just how my face is) certainly wouldn't beon the docket for conferences in male-dominated industries, letalone have hundreds of attendees overflowing to learn why they haveyet to reach the C-suite.

Even in an industry that belongs to them, women still facefierce gender bias. It's something to consider as more and morewomen come into bigger roles within organizations. While some arerevered for their business acumen (Sheryl Sandberg at Facebook),others (Marissa Mayer of Yahoo and Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes) areoften met with more criticism than their male counterparts.

2. The ACA is confusing ashell

Alright, full disclosure: SHRM didn't teach me that theAffordable Care Act is somewhat muddled; I've known it for a while.But after speaking with Kristin Lewis from Equifax WorkforceSolutions, I have a much better understanding of what makes the ACAso hard to understand.

Cited as the company's resident “ACA expert,” Lewis trulyunderstands the ins and outs of the health care legislation. Itseems she has her work cut out for her, as everyone else —employers, mostly — tries to navigate their way through its manylayers.

Equifax offers ACA management services to allow for betteremployer compliance, but it's increasingly difficult to get to thatpoint. Because of lengthy and sometimes conflicting legislationabout how to categorize employees as full-time, Lewis says thatmany employers don't understand the regulations, let alonecomprehend them well enough to put them into practice. That's whereshe and Equifax come in: offering guidance.

With the prospect of ACA reform on the horizon (the GOP mightrip and replace, Hillary Clinton might alter pieces here andthere), everything employers have done the past few years could befor naught. But Lewis says she finds it hard to believe thatwhoever wins in November would remove everything that's been foughtfor so far.

“I'm expecting some simplification for reporting, but to changeeverything in November for January reporting, I think there wouldbe an uprising,” she says. Not to mention, she adds, that removingthe entirety of the ACA means millions of Americans would be leftwithout insurance (a fact studies have pointed out, most notablywhen Donald Trump unveiled his rip-and-replacehealth care plan).

“Realistically, I think it would be two to four years for apresident to come through with a plan to unravel Obamacare,” Lewissays.

3. People love talkingabout millennials

During the conference, talk about millennials dictated severalsessions, even ones that didn't necessarily hinge on my generation.Many of the discussions that focused on the budding demographicwere devoted to pointing out how different millennials are from thegenerations that preceded them.

Most sessions couldn't help but make jokes at our expense — onesabout entitlement, living in mom's basement, the insistence onacronyms (I finally figured out what “GTS” means!) and emojis asreal communication. I couldn't tell if HR managers love us or hateus, or if like most things, it is a healthy mix of both.

As pointed out in a session titled “The Tidal Wave ofMillennials is Here: Effective Leadership for Managing MultipleGenerations,” millennials are here to stay. We'll be in theworkforce for the next 30 to 40 years, and in less than a decade,we'll be 75 percent of the job market. That means that many of uswill not just be your colleagues, but possibly your supervisors andmanagers.

Cut through the chatter and obvious jokes and the truth is,everyone wants a millennial (or several) on their team. No longeris youth an impediment to a job. Fifteen years ago, my purple hairand tattoos would've made me a job candidate pariah, but nottoday.

In fact, while at SHRM, I was asked how I felt about theovertime rule, student loans, voluntary benefits, health insurance,what I look for in an employer (yes, some asked if my tattoos were“mistakes made at 18,” but that's beside the point since somewere). At first, I thought it was industry small talk, but then Irealized people actually want to know what I thought. It was thefirst time I felt I was part of the conversation rather than justthe topic of it.

And that's the central thing I learned. Millennials are nolonger just data and descriptors in a PowerPoint slideshow aboutjob recruitment. We're the majority, and the way we do things willsoon be the norm. It's important that we consider the implicationsof this shift and hone them, rather than squander them away likebaby boomers and Gen X-ers think we might.

Moral of the story? Let's prove some people wrong,millennials.

4. Vacation or die

A popular sentiment among many American workers is that theycan't take time off.And that's a problem. Nizar Jabara, during asession titled “The Health and Work Productivity of EmployeesTaking Vacation Time,” told the audience, “Work less, take moretime off, you'll be more productive.”

Personally, I do feel pretty guilty when I put in a request forpaid time off (PTO). It's not that I don't think I've earned it,but a part of me feels that my days are meant to be spent at work,not relaxing with friends and family. Fifty-nine percent ofmillennials reportedly feel shame for taking or planning avacation.

Fifty-two percent of people did not use all of their PTO lastyear, leaving an average of 7.2 days unused. That's 169 millionforfeited vacation days.

The value of vacation time isn't just getting out of the officeand feeling refreshed once you're back. Jabara pointed out how PTOhas health effects as well. Heart health for both men and women hasbeen correlated to the number of vacations they take. Men are 32percent less likely to die from heart disease if they take annualtime off. Women who only take a vacation once every six years orless are eight times more likely to develop coronary heart diseaseor have a heart attack than those women who take at least twovacations a year. Also, vacation time improves your sex life, sothere's another point for PTO.

Jabara says it's on HR and managers to overcome the stigma ofthe vacation epidemic. “This movement doesn't have opponents, justbad behavior,” he says.

“Vacation is a solution,” he said. “We're going to save livesthrough vacation.”

5. Pet insurance is coming

“I knew people had pet insurance,” Jack Hanna said, “but Ididn't know what that meant.”

Yes, Jack Hanna. The renowned zookeeper and director emeritus ofthe Columbus Zoo and Aquarium told me that pet insurance is a must.(If Jack Hanna tells you anything about animals, you listen.)

As a dog owner myself, I've spent a great deal of money on thehealth of my dogs, Capone and Bugsy. Studies have shown othermillennials are much like me — forgoing childbearing and opting forpets instead — and thankfully, insurance providers are picking upon that.

Jack spoke about the thousands of dollars he has spent on hispets' health, ranging from wellness care to cancer treatments andeverything in between. I've run the gamut myself, and I know thatas my dogs get older, it's only going to get worse — emotionallyand financially.

Jack's wife also told the group about the importance of petinsurance. Both were brought to tears when they spoke about the twodogs they lost last year. This is the first time in 47 yearsthey've been without a dog in their home, and Jack's wife wasclear: “My pets are part of my family. What I would do for my kids,I'd do for my pets.” (It was then that Jack told his wife that forher birthday next month, he's bringing home a golden retriever. Cuethe “awws.”)

He quickly reminded us, “Get pet insurance. I don't care who youget it from, but get it.”

Based on the number of pet insurance vendors at this year'sconference, I think it's safe to say 2016 and the years to comewill see growing numbers of employers offering the unique benefit.Others I spoke to were confident that it will quickly become a topvoluntary benefit for all employees, not justmillennials.

6. Pundits bring thelaughs

Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson kicked off Tuesday with theirkeynote on the state of this year's presidential election. (You canread my synopsis of the talk here.) I imagined there would be a hurlingof insults and low jabs, but Begala, a liberal, and Carlson, aconservative, managed to keep the discussion civil, and oddlyenough, kind of hilarious. Here are a few of my favorite quips fromthe morning.

“Politics is just show business for ugly people.” — Begala.

“I don't know why you guys haven't bought off Bernie Sanders.Why don't you buy him off with a bag of weed and send him on hisway?” — Carlson.

“Trump is very smart — that's not his problem. He's uncouth,vulgar, he needs to wear Depends around his mouth.” — Begala.

“Bernie is right. The middle class is in trouble.” —Carlson.

“One million Mexicans have gone home. They are leaving andDonald Trump's wall will only slow down their departure. If thatguys wins, I'm leaving, too. My ass is on a beach in PuertoVallarta!” — Begala.

“[Trump] voters love him because he's the only one that doesn'thate them. Seriously! When you hate those voters, you feel goodabout that. But since when is it okay to hate a group of people?” —Carlson.

“Like women? Like POWs? Like the disabled?” — Begala.

(This exchange is in reference to Trump's comments towardJohn McCain's time as a POW, and Serge Kovaleski, a New York Timesreporter that has a congenital joint condition.)

“It's fine not to be PC, but it's not OK to be rude.” —Begala.

The audience asked both Begala and Carlson on who they'dlike to see run for president. Both had surprisinganswers:

“Al Sharpton.” — Carlson.

“Colin Powell.” — Begala.

(Powell was a crowd-pleasing choice. The room erupted inapplause.)