Hello Sifted reader,

This week many of us have strolled back into work, flicked off the out of office and got back to the daily grind.

But for serial entrepreneur Russell Dalgleish, we're doing it wrong, and should think of scrapping OOOs for good. Today, he declares his case against them.

Also from the Sifted newsroom:

— Kai, reporter & Amy, editor

📉 The best of the worst: how European public stocks fared across 2022. After a tricky year of layoffs and market closures for car marketplace Cazoo, 2023 has brought no good fortune for the once-upon-a-time UK tech darling. Yesterday, the New York Stock Exchange suspended trading its warrants and started delisting proceedings.

But Cazoo is far from alone in its woes, and a number of European tech stocks — like electric vehicle manufacturer Arrival and telehealth giant Babylon — took a battering on the public markets in 2022.

Sifted finds out which tech companies have fared the worst — and which have fared a little less worse.

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🔥 December’s hottest seed rounds. The last month of the year saw seed-stage deal count figures drop from the 210 deals in November — but there were still some gems in there. From a startup reducing the carbon footprint of coffee to one working on AI-assisted retail therapy, Sifted rounds up last month's most interesting seed rounds.

🇫🇷 What’s next for French tech in 2023? 2022 wasn't a bad year in France, as the country overtook Germany to become Europe's second biggest tech ecosystem — and it minted 25 unicorns. So, how are things shaping up for 2023? Sifted turned to founders and investors to find out.

🌱 What’s in store for climate tech in 2023? Despite the tech slowdown, 2022 was a record year for climate tech funding in Europe. But is 2023 looking as positive? Sifted asked operators, founders and investors to gaze into their crystal balls and tell us what they see.

🚀 Nuclear fusion: The bet that Europe should have won. Europe is falling behind the Unites States when it comes to nuclear fusion — and that's "a scandal and a real shame", according to president of the Joint European Disruptive Initiative (JEDI), André Loesekrug-Pietri. Here's why progress in the US is a kick in the teeth for Europe.

🏝️ The case against OOO: why we should stop announcing breaks. Communicating when you're not working just reinforces the idea that it's reasonable for the sender to expect an immediate response when you are working — that's just asking for stress, says serial entrepreneur Russell Dalgleish. He shares how to set boundaries, and why we should be okay saying goodbye to the OOO.

🏅 How to reward employees. Rewards are an essential tool to boost morale at any company — and ensure the brightest and best stick around. But it doesn't need to cost much, says Kamran Kareem, senior director of total rewards and payroll at trading platform Bitpanda. Here are his top tips for rewarding employees without breaking the bank.

🇸🇪 Sweden topped the EU innovation scoreboard in 2022. Will it stay there in 2023? Here's what it needs to do to hold onto that top spot. (Sponsored by Business Sweden.)

📉 Four top qualities of startups defying the downturn — what startups need to do to convince VCs to open their wallets during hard times. (Sponsored by Silicon Valley Bank.)

🤝 Why global collaboration is the answer to medtech and biotech’s biggest challenges. From data privacy to regulatory hurdles, medtechs and biotechs face a whole load of challenges — here's why collaboration is key to overcoming them. (Sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Innovation.)