The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

Working Your Way to Happiness

May 18, 2020

In this engaging discussion, Amy Wrzesniewski, a Yale management professor, shares insights on how we can redefine our work experiences. She highlights the concept of 'job crafting' that encourages individuals to reshape their roles for greater fulfillment. Listeners learn that happiness at work often outweighs financial gains, as illustrated by an exterminator who finds meaning in his job. The episode also emphasizes the importance of viewing work as a calling, transforming low-status roles into sources of pride and satisfaction.

33:53

Creator website

Episode guests

Amy Wrzesniewski

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Money and Job Satisfaction

01:05

Job, Career, or Calling Perspectives

00:59

The Need for Rewards in Motivating People

01:00

Intro

3min

Redefining Job Satisfaction: Lessons from Pest Control

6min

Beyond the Paycheck: The Paradox of Job Satisfaction

7min

Rethinking Work Motivation

7min

Finding Fulfillment in Work

7min

Finding Purpose in Cleaning

8min

Transforming Work Through Job Crafting

5min

Marty kills rats... but if you asked him what his job is he'd say it was "solving problems" and "helping people". How we view our work can contribute greatly to our daily levels of happiness - far more than money or status.

Dr Laurie Santos examines how we all came to ignore the importance of job satisfaction and hears from Professor Amy Wrzesniewski about "job crafting" - the reframing skill that happy people like Marty use to see their careers as more than just a way to make money.

For an even deeper dive into the research we talk about in the show visit happinesslab.fm

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