Hi friends,

It’s been a busy month at B+E! We’ve been knee-deep crafting values-driven pay structures (how can a feminist lens apply to pay?), writing progressive policies (can self-determined teams avoid layoffs through voluntary benching?), helping hyperscaling startups (yes, they still exist) ensure their people structures keep pace, and planning a fun event for fall (stay tuned!)

With all that going on, we still connect with each other via our shared love language: links. Here are some of our favourites right now.

Nora

Google Canada, after firing a pregnant employee, is arguing in court that pregnancy is not a protected ground. Okay then.

Employees are using AI to research their compensation pre-negotiation, and often coming back with inflated or incorrect information. We’re seeing this day to day in our own work, and the solution is always to have a clear, transparent and defensible compensation philosophy (don’t have one? See our guide)

The vibe in tech: hustle-bro startups are embracing “996” working cultures (that’s 9am-9pm, 6 days a week), the New York Times agrees that it’s a “shut up and grind era”, and most organizations (Meta included) are shifting compensation (and remaining employed) to more ironclad performance standards. Meanwhile, those who haven’t made the cut, along with floods of comp-sci grads, are working entry-level service jobs.

There’s a lot of headlines blaming AI for the lack of jobs for tech grads, but many think the issue is partly an effect of "everyone must have a degree” culture and the stampede towards studying tech, combined with the general downturn in the space and employers caring more about skills than degrees these days (I generally agree with this take).

This tech company does have a job opening… for a dog.

Many artists are becoming therapists.

Uber drivers have unionized in BC.

Quiz: Could you have landed a job at Vogue in the 90’s?

Younger people are finding community in unions.

An exceptionally honest piece by Medium’s CEO about how they turned the product and company around and out of failure.

Kind of a brilliant remote work hack.

Draw a fish.

Bright Jobs ☀️

Every issue, we’ll share a curated list of exciting jobs at Bright + Early partners. Bright + Early organizations are all committed to building human, inclusive places to work. Note that we’re not involved in hiring– please apply directly.

• Member Success Manager – Council of Canadian Innovators
  Work with one of Canada’s most prominent innovation advocacy groups (who are also very lovely people) to help grow and support their membership base.

• Director, Growth Marketing – The Logic
  Join (and help grow) an independent, made-in-Canada media company that values quality journalism.

• HR Generalist– Data Sciences
  A one-year contract supporting an innovative digital data team.

Coming Up 👀

• August 26 is Women’s Equality Day (U.S.)

• Sept 1 is Labour Day (U.S. & Canada: Usually a stat holiday)

• September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day

• September 18 is International Equal Pay Day. Check out our open-source guides to crafting equal pay structures.

• September 21 is International Day of Peace

• September 22-24 is Rosh Hashanah

• September 23 is Bi Visibility Day and International Day of Sign Languages

• September 30 is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation/Orange shirt day (Canada)

• We’ll be at the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH)’s annual conference in Montreal (October 28-30), talking about building intentional workplaces in the nonprofit space.

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