A single internal memo reset the week’s mood. As Big Tech reshuffles for AI, pay debates get louder, monitoring gets normalised, and confidence drops. This edition covers the new bargain at work, what it’s doing to retention, and why trust is now the scarce resource.
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Meta's May 2026 restructuring eliminated 8,000 jobs and forced a public reckoning with how Big Tech employer brands sell mission to candidates and then revert to transaction at exit. Here is what the moral premium model gets wrong, and the EB playbook leaders should rebuild now.
Many organisations collect exit interview data, identify the patterns, and do nothing visible with them. A senior EB professional with 15 years of experience explains why retention is only part of the problem and how employer brand is collateral damage.
Low unemployment can still hide a labour crisis. This week: underemployment in plain sight, AI reshaping work without shrinking headcount (until it does), surveillance and “proof-of-work” culture, and the slow slide from careers to gigs. Plus The Cut List.
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AI was sold as leverage. This week, it looks more like a bill. Cuts are being justified as “agentic”, monitoring is creeping into the workflow, and entry-level work is quietly evaporating. We break down what’s changing, what it’s doing to trust, and what to do next.
This article is for Members only
Generic "young, dynamic team" messaging does not work on Gen Z. Five employer branding strategies that address what this generation actually evaluates: proven values, sustainable work, social video, skills growth, and radical clarity on pay and AI.
A single internal memo reset the week’s mood. As Big Tech reshuffles for AI, pay debates get louder, monitoring gets normalised, and confidence drops. This edition covers the new bargain at work, what it’s doing to retention, and why trust is now the scarce resource.
This article is for Members only