July 20, 2026

Presented By

Welcome back! The World Cup is officially over. No more gathering around the break room TV, whispering cheers when a team scores or…trying to figure out how to work the office TV in the first place.

In today’s edition:

🤖 Tech disconnect

🌎 World of HR

📈 In recovery

—Mikaela Cohen, Kristen Parisi, Eoin Higgins

HR STRATEGY

Two sides of a coin

Illustration of a woman with brown hair wearing a blazer working diligently at her laptop, while her robot counterpart sitting next to her is clearly glitching out.

Niv Bavarsky

Is AI working out well in your organization?

The majority (81%) of business leaders think AI has increased employee productivity in the past year, a recent report from BambooHR found. But it’s also caused more career instability and stress for employees, leading to “AI brain fry,” or burnout from using and overseeing AI tools, HR Brew previously reported.

This disconnect between how leaders think about AI’s impact and how workers are actually feeling it is called “dignity debt,” BambooHR CEO Brad Rencher told HR Brew. Leaders, he said, are telling employees to use AI in the name of productivity, but they’re not extending the transparency, trust, and authenticity that employees need to feel secure in their futures with these tools.

“The top down: ‘Hey, use AI, use AI,’ if that was ever effective, that time has passed,” Rencher said. “Now, it’s about enlisting people in the work…It’s time for us to redesign the work…How do we change the factory to bring the humans in, but to change how the work gets done?”

For more on how HR can address this disconnect, keep reading here.—MC

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Get the full story

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Start building a deep people data foundation.

COMPLIANCE

Where’s the proof?

a globe with symbols of office life floating above

Morning Brew

It’s about to get a lot more difficult for workers in Germany to take a sick day.

Where in the world? Last month, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz introduced a new rule requiring workers who request sick leave to provide their employer a doctor’s note on the first day of their illness, according to Yahoo. Workers were previously required to provide a doctor’s note after three days of sick leave. During the Covid-19 pandemic, employees were allowed to obtain a doctor’s note from a telehealth appointment; now they must do so in-person.

Germany has historically been known for its generous time-off practices, including up to six weeks of fully paid sick leave. However, it has seen sick leave skyrocket in recent years, with the average worker taking 19.5 sick days in 2025, the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) reported.

Satellite view. The US federal government does not mandate paid sick leave, and just 18 states require private employers to offer it to their employees, HR Brew reported previously.

For more on paid sick leave around the world, keep reading here.—KP

RECRUITMENT & RETENTION

That’s positive

BOSTON, MA - MARCH 10: Nearly empty desks at the Fuze office in Boston ...

Getty Images

Tech unemployment dropped again in June, a potential sign of the industry recovering after months of uncertainty.

That’s of little surprise to tech hiring platform Dice, which recently published research that found hiring in the sector has shifted across industries and roles, primarily in the financial services sector, which saw a 47% rise in job postings year over year, and AI and machine learning, which increased 173% in the same period.

Art Zeile, CEO of Dice parent company DHI Group, told IT Brew that he sees the current job market as a reflection of an AI boom that the New York Times noted has fueled “a $3.2 trillion deal-making frenzy” in 2026. Enterprises that want to enable AI for their businesses need help.

For more on the state of the tech labor market, keep reading on IT Brew.—EH

Sponsored By Radancy

Did AI really fix hiring? Radancy will host senior HR and talent acquisition leaders for a live discussion on connecting AI, automation, and hiring workflows into one system that can deliver. Learn how top organizations are improving speed and quality while building strategies that scale. Join the live and interactive discussion.

work perks

A desktop computer plugged into a green couch.

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: More than half (56%) of workers in the fashion industry say they’re actively looking for a different job in the sector. (Fashionista)

Quote: “These layoffs and cuts are not difficult decisions, but simply profit being put over the people that make this company run.”—a petition from 4,500 Google employees to CEO Sundar Pichai, requesting layoff protections as AI threatens jobs (the Guardian)

Read: Blue Origin is increasing compensation in an effort to compete with SpaceX for talent. (Fortune)

Close the gap: Connect an employee’s entire journey with Leapsome Recruitment. With AI built on a deep foundation of people data, HR leaders can study how candidates perform from interviews to engagement. Learn more.*

^{*A message from our sponsor.}

EVENT

Perks pending

Morning Brew Inc.

Turns out free coffee isn’t a long-term retention strategy. Join HR Brew on September 17 as HR leaders unpack how they’re rethinking compensation, benefits, and employee expectations without requiring a second budget. Your CFO may not hug you afterward, but they might stop emailing question marks.

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Written by Mikaela Cohen, Kristen Parisi, and Eoin Higgins

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