Is burnout simply the cost of doing business? What responsibility do employers have for the health and well-being of their workers? Jeffrey Pfeffer, the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business and author of Dying for a Paycheck and 7 Rules of Power, says that the connection between workplace stress and negative health outcomes is as strong as the link between smoking and cancer — and may contribute to as many as 120,000 deaths annually in the U.S. alone.

So what do we do about it? 

Pfeffer’s answer isn’t just surprising — it’s a radical critique of the way we work today.

This episode features Sundance Scardino, a retired para-rescue specialist, firefighter, and paramedic.

Is it time to rethink the way we work? Email us at ifthenpod@stanford.edu. 

Related Links:

• Jeffrey Pfeffer faculty profile
• “The Workplace Is Killing People and Nobody Cares”
• “We Have 30 Extra Years”: A New Way of Thinking About Aging
• Why “Copycat” Layoffs Won’t Help Tech Companies — Or Their Employees

This conversation was recorded on September 10, 2024.

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