Stop Wishing Away Your Days. Start Designing Them. | How to Make Work Feel Human

In this episode, Nate Bagley and Bree Groff unpack how to design work that feels human, energizing, and worth your days. We dig into the real drivers of performance (recognition, meaning, and momentum), why so many teams misread burnout, and a practical “magic ratio” you can use this week to change culture. If you’ve ever caught yourself wishing away weekdays, this conversation offers concrete ways to redesign your day, your team habits, and your leadership playbook.

Topics covered

• Why “work should be fun” is a serious performance principle

• The unseen work trap: wishing away days and treating people as resources

• Recognition as a love language and the behaviors that make it land

• The 20:1 magic ratio and why praise-to-corrective balance matters

• Psychological safety vs. aliveness and how to cultivate both

• How leaders can give better feedback and model the right habits

• Meeting hygiene, daily design, and micro-changes that compound

• Rethinking burnout: what most teams get wrong and how to fix it

• Metrics that matter: from output obsession to sustainable performance

• Practical scripts and experiments to try with your team this week

Timestamps
00:00 Intro and why work should be fun
02:10 The unseen work trap and wishing away your days
06:25 Recognition as a love language
10:40 The 20:1 magic ratio explained
15:05 Psychological safety vs aliveness
19:30 Feedback that motivates without fear
24:15 Meeting hygiene and daily design
29:00 Burnout, misdiagnosed
33:20 Metrics that actually move performance
38:10 Leader scripts and experiments to try now
42:45 Audience takeaways and next steps