Hey citizens of the world,

Quiet quitting, great resignations, worker strikes across every industry from education and healthcare to coffin makers and writers - it’s got us thinking, is the way we work in 2023, working?

The pandemic turned the old rules of work upside down, and now there is an unparalleled opportunity for us to harness the forces of technology and narrative to drive cultural and economic change.

With disruption and digitisation, workplace cultures that focus on metrics rather than meaning will struggle to respond strategically as AI and machine learning emerge. We need leaders who take a long, hard look at the current operating environment and say, “we can do better.”

The key that opens the door to organisational success is the same one that drives progress for people and the planet - we have to be willing to create more value than we capture.

What percentage of your job can you hate?

This is a question our resident Healthcare Humanist, Rhea Mercado has been diving into with ‘The Intelligent Rebellion.’ Rhea is on a mission to tackle our current climate of “work-ism” by showing people how to recover their identity outside of work and reclaim their full life selves.

Good news you probably didn’t hear about

Scotland is planning to move to a four-day work week for civil servants. It will join a growing list of that are jumping on board the global trend, including Australia.

Oman recently passed a new labour law that increases paid maternity leave from 50 to 98 days, guarantees one hour per day of nursing for one year from the end of maternity leave, and explicitly states that termination of employment due to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding is considered arbitrary. Migrant Rights

USAID, the largest official aid agency in the world in terms of dollars, just announced a new policy on LGTBQI+ inclusion. 'USAID is incredibly proud to champion LGBTQI+ inclusive development and the human rights of LGBTQI+ people through our work. We stand for nondiscrimination, for empathy and for inclusion.' Washington Blade

Japan's Supreme Court has ruled that its trade ministry violated a public service law by banning a transgender woman from using the women’s bathroom at work. The decision sets an important precedent, requiring employers in Japan to develop policies and practices that allow individuals to use a bathroom aligned with their gender identity. HRW

In the past five years, the Gulf countries–Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait–have made genuine progress on women's rights, healthcare, labour market reforms and education. There are still deep inequalities, and so much injustice, but the list of reforms detailed in this piece is surprisingly long. Arab News

Something funny in under 2 minutes

Still searching for ways to look busy?

1. Listen to one of our favourite podcast episodes this year: Tim Ferriss and marketing guru Seth Godin chatting about the pursuit of meaning, the power of choosing your attitude and what it takes to drive positive change.

2. Read Seth Godin’s latest book ‘The song of significance’ and if you haven’t read it already, ‘The 4-hour Work Week’ is definitely worth investigating.

3. Quote this the next time you hear someone talking about the ‘future of work’:

That’s it for another edition!

We’re heads down at FC HQ right now preparing our new keynote which we’ll launch at SXSW. We’ll be sharing all the topic details and a sneak-peak at some of the content next month!