June 18, 2023 Hi, I’m Matt Turner, the editor in chief of business at Insider. Welcome back to Insider Today’s Sunday edition, a roundup of some of our top stories. I’ll be spending the day with my three-year old daughter. Happy Father’s Day to anyone else celebrating today.   On the agenda: Finland residents roll their eyes at its ranking of “world’s happiest country.” China’s economy is way more screwed than anyone thought. Amazon is furiously working to take advantage of the generative-AI boom. Oracle laid off hundreds in its $28 billion Cerner health unit. But first: Many WFH workers really don’t want to return to the office. More on that below.

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DISPATCH Return-to-office fight Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google. Courtesy of Google   Would you take a pay cut to work from home? As more and more companies start forcing employees back to the office, that’s becoming a real-life question for many.  Google, for example, has told staff they’re expected in the office three days a week, and has now said that those who don’t keep to that schedule could see their performance reviews impacted. Googlers are not happy about it.  Amazon, Snap, and Meta are among the other companies that are requiring workers to return to the office. Workers who don’t want to return are faced with the prospect of landing one of a dwindling number of remote jobs, with no guarantee that these jobs will pay as well. In a survey of 1,000 respondents, Schwab asked which better described wealth: having the flexibility of working where and how they wanted, or having a higher salary. 60% picked flexibility over more money.  And in a recent post on Fishbowl, one user asked how much of a pay cut people would take to work from home or have a minimal commute. Many said they’d choose a pay cut, with some saying they’d take a 15% reduction. How about you? I’d love to hear from you. Let me know at insidertoday@insider.com.

THIS WEEK'S STORIES Secrets of the 'happiest' country

Jussi Nukari / Lehtikuva / AFP via Getty Images Finland has once again been ranked as the “world’s happiest country.” One reason could be its high levels of social trust: most Finns expect their wallet to be returned to them if they lose it. Another could be the country’s focus on work-life balance.  However, when Insider’s Beatrice Nolan spoke to locals about the ranking, many were exasperated by it. Others were annoyed. Some even rolled their eyes or sighed. "We don't agree with it — it's just not real for us," one local said. In fact, many Finns say the problem might be that we’re confusing happiness for something else.  Read the full story.  China’s economy is screwed

iStock; Rebecca Zisser/Insider Entering 2023, the relentless drumbeat of Wall Street consensus was pounding out one consistent rhythm: China is back. After years of lockdowns and suppressed output, economists and investors cheered the economic boom that was sure to follow. But six months into the year, disappointing industrial production, slowed trade, and a private sector that’s running scared are turning Wall Street's dreams for the country into a nightmare. The old China is gone — and that’s a problem for the US.  The end of China's economic miracle.   Also read:

China plans big stimulus jolt and looser property rules as Beijing reaches for stronger measures to revive economy

Amazon's AI scramble iStock; Insider When ChatGPT took the world by storm, Amazon rushed to come up with ideas on how to leverage the chatbot. Some of those ideas were shared in an internal document that listed 67 potential use cases for ChatGPT. The document covered everything from auto-generating software code and marketing materials to providing better customer support. "Amazon must be really scared about being late on all of this," an Amazon employee told Insider. "Everything is 'ChatGPT' and it feels incredibly rushed.