Blog
Why Getting Good at Your Job Quietly Makes It Boring
Boredom at work usually gets read as a verdict on the job, but the flow research says it's a signal that your skill outgrew the challenge — which makes engagement a staircase you climb, not a state you reach
Curiosity Is the Engine of Engagement, Not a Lucky Personality Trait
Curiosity looks like something you either have or you don't — but the research treats it as a triggerable state with distinct types, and it turns out to be the quiet engine under engagement and self-directed learning at work
The Funniest Thing a Leader Can Do Is Laugh at Themselves
Humor looks like it undercuts authority, but the evidence says it multiplies a leader's influence — as long as the joke points at yourself, not down the hierarchy
Flow and Small Wins Are Two Halves of the Same Engine
Flow says lose yourself in the task; the progress principle says count your wins — they sound opposed, but they're the same feedback engine running on two timescales, with evidence from Csikszentmihalyi, Ilies, Amabile, and Ariely
Amusement and Awe Are Doing More at Work Than You Think
Why the "soft" emotions — joking around and feeling awe — turn out to be cognitive tools, with evidence from Keltner, Fredrickson, Piff, Gottlieb, and the catch that they only work when they're real
You Build Purpose at Work, You Don't Find It
Job crafting at a hospital, Twitter's 140-minute Purpose Statement Workshop, and what the 2022 Workforce Purpose Index says about the relational layer most companies leave unbuilt
Purpose at Work Is Bigger Than Having a Calling
What the research actually means by purpose at work — three orientations, three measurable facets, and eight sources of meaning that change how the question lands
The Seven Problems Happiness Actually Solves at Work
Why happiness at work isn't soft — Dacher Keltner's enumeration of stress, health risk, withdrawal, boredom, self-criticism, incivility, and mishaps
What Zappos Figured Out About Happiness at Work
A 10-year Zapponian on WISHEZ, "deliver WOW" applied internally, and an 8% turnover rate that reframes happiness as infrastructure rather than perks
The Four Pillars of Happiness at Work Spell PERK
Purpose, Engagement, Resilience, Kindness — what each pillar actually means, the research behind it, and why they only work when you stack all four
Happiness at Work Isn't What Most People Think It Is
Researchers reject "perpetual cheerfulness" and "maximized pleasure" — happiness at work is something different, and PERK is how they map it