INTRODUCTION

Anne’s bright, modern office features contemporary art, art deco lighting, and a sleek glass desk with a beautiful white orchid on the corner. As I walked in for our coaching session, I was struck by how she stood out in contrast to her vibrant surroundings. Her mouth pinched tight, her shoulders stooped forward as though she was typing on a computer. As I looked into her eyes, they shocked me—flat, lifeless, absent their usual spark. The look was eerily familiar.

I listened as Anne described her work as a corporate attorney, her service on the local city council, parenting a teenage daughter, and trying to fit in the ever elusive “me” time. Anne had attended one of my webinars on email management and was thrilled that she had implemented most of the strategies. She opened her laptop to show me that there were less than 100 messages in her inbox.

Anne’s eyes brightened as she told me she no longer worked 60-hour weeks and had attended her favorite Pilates class twice last week. This week she had incorporated 10 minutes of quiet time into her mornings using the app Headspace. A photo from her family’s spring deep-sea fishing vacation completed the picture of a woman who seemingly had it all.

“I imagine you are wondering why you are here,” Anne said.

“Yes, I am.”

“Well,” she said, “I’m using your tools and strategies to help me be more productive and get more done, but something is missing. I am more efficient, but so what? I used to be very goal oriented. I would set goals, and push and strive to achieve them. Each accomplishment became another notch in the armor of my success. Now, when I wake up in the morning, I feel a heaviness in my chest. Not because my work can be challenging or my days too long and full, but there is an emptiness inside. I feel like I am sleepwalking through my days.”

Searching for a way to connect to what she needed, I recalled Anne’s answer to a question I had emailed her before this session: “What is currently not working well at work?”

She had written: “Getting through all the emails and calls in order to get to the impactful work.”

That was it—the impactful work. Anne wanted to achieve something more substantial than simply getting through her workday. She longed to discover how to bring more meaning to her work and how to be more fulfilled and engaged in her work.

I shifted quickly, asking, “What’s at stake if you do not get through all the emails and calls and don’t get to the impactful work?” Anne paused, thinking for a minute. Then, she said, “A disadvantaged youth in our city won’t have choices. He will be limited to a path that leads to a life of unemployment, incarceration, and unrealized potential.”

As she uttered these words out loud for what may have been the first time, Anne’s eyes welled with tears. Her deeply rooted pain, frustration, and uncertainty flowed down her face. Anne’s body intuitively understood that what she desired was much more significant than efficiently and effectively getting work done.

This moment in Anne’s office solidified for me what I had been seeing and hearing from more and more of our clients. When they moved beyond frenetic busyness and overwhelm and were more productive, what remained was a desire for more from their work and their life. My clients wanted to advance their career, be recognized, and love their work. They wanted their work to have value, meaning, and purpose. They wanted to make a living and enjoy their life. And they were not alone.

A disengagement epidemic is consuming the workplace. According to Gallup’s 2019 State of the American Workplace report, 65 percent of the United States workforce is disengaged. Just look around your office. Six out of ten of your colleagues are unhappy and dissatisfied and probably experience the “Sunday night scaries,” dreading the thought of Monday morning. Too many of us hit snooze on our alarm so many times we lose count because we don’t want to get out of bed and go to work. Many of us count down the days until the weekend or our next vacation.

For you and me, the costs of the disengagement epidemic are extraordinarily high. You watch your dreams disintegrate in front of you as you find yourself without the autonomy and support to advance in your career. You realize that what you have been laboring for, striving for while giving up your nights and weekends, lacks purpose and meaning for you. You recognize that your manager’s values don’t align with your values. It’s the self-doubt and slow erosion of your self-worth as you are passed over for a promotion or not selected for that high-profile strategic initiative. You have the devastating thought that this just might be all there is to work and life. You feel—and believe—that you are powerless to change to anything.

In this state, your body suffers. As you experience more workplace stress and have fewer sources of pleasure at work, your body is taxed by high levels of cortisol. You seem to catch whatever is going around the office, and when everyone else is on the mend, you’re still filling up your trash can with tissues. You’re always tired, and your pants are getting tighter and tighter no matter how many days you go to the gym and avoid the snacks in the breakroom. Your head begins to throb the minute you pull your car into the office parking garage.

Something has to give.

Through our training, consulting, and coaching programs and my first book, Work Simply, my team and I have helped hundreds of thousands of people improve their productivity. I was proud of our work. But it was not enough.

Looking back, I now realize that the conversation with Anne was my tipping point. When I returned to my car, something had shifted in me. I could not have one more conversation on the side of the soccer field, in a coaching session, or in the hallway of a client’s office where I only sympathized with the anguish of being discouraged and unfulfilled at work. Empathy was no longer enough.

It was time for action. I had a new purpose: find the solution to the disengagement epidemic that consumed the hearts, minds, and souls of the American workforce. And I started where I always start, with research.

To confirm what I’d heard and observed with our clients, and just about everyone I met, I conducted a research survey with more than 1,500 global professionals. More than 53 percent of them stated that their primary goal at this point in their career was being happy at work. But happiness is fleeting. It’s an emotion. Happiness is too narrow a yardstick to measure the richness and complexity of your work. What they really want is to be fulfilled at work. The survey respondents told me that they wanted the following:

•  “More autonomy in my job to structure my time, where I work, and what I work on.”

•  “Clarity around the mission, purpose, goals, and big picture of the organization so I can align my skills and know my work matters.”

•  “More collaboration and relationships at work.”

•  “To be recognized and rewarded for my knowledge, skills, and contributions at work.”

•  “The opportunity to develop new skills and knowledge at work. I want to grow in my career.”

•  “The opportunity to be creative and innovative at work.”

•  “To receive feedback on my work and the support to achieve my goals.”

•  “The opportunity to use my knowledge and skills at work.”

•  “To be compensated for the work that I do.”

The pieces of the disengagement epidemic puzzle started to come together. Gratification, purpose, and joy are possible when you can clearly see how your tasks and projects align with and support the organization’s mission—a mission for the greater good of our world. It is fostered through meaningful work when you understand how your personal attributes, interests, and values contribute to the work of the organization. Fulfillment is possible when your work is recognized and appreciated for what it is—the full expression of your humanity.

You want to connect with others in a meaningful way and believe that your time and efforts contribute to and positively impact the attainment of the company’s goals. You want to know the significance and relevance of your work and to feel that your job contributes to society, a specific community, or a cause. You want to be engaged and fulfilled at work. However, the problem is the current approaches to address and solve the disengagement epidemic are not effective.

For example, one of our clients offers its employees free tickets to sporting events and to our local amusement park, has a beer fridge in the breakroom, and has an unlimited vacation policy. Google, Tito’s Vodka, and Mars, Incorporated, all allow team members to bring their dog to work. And let’s not overlook the Ping-Pong tables, nap pods, or on-site massages that are provided in numerous offices.

If higher salaries, bonuses, benefits, “perks,” or custom-designed office spaces were the antidote to the disengagement epidemic, more than 35 percent of the United States workforce would be engaged. In my work with our clients and in my research, I’ve identified that the root causes of lack of fulfillment, connection, and purpose at work are much deeper than compensation, benefits, and perks. These are mere surface approaches to a complex, multifaceted, and deeply personal issue.

Your dream job requires much more than a paycheck, free tickets to an amusement park, or a nice office. Perhaps roller coasters make you vomit, you’ve never liked Ping-Pong, and dogs make you sneeze. These perks are temporary, impersonal Band-Aids. What’s missing from the relationship with your employer is YOU.

As you know from relationships with family, friends, and significant others, both people in the relationship have expectations of each other, and both of you are responsible for the health and vitality of the relationship. All relationships are based on give-and-take. They are social contracts. The relationship with your employer is no different. However, you probably don’t think about your relationship with your employer this way. Your knowledge, skills, and experiences are valuable contributions you give to your employer. It takes two to create a vibrant, beneficial, and meaningful relationship. You are a strong and equal partner in your relationship with your employer.

It is time for you to acknowledge and use your power so you can make any job your dream job. You have everything you need inside of you to own, love, and make your job work for you. You just need a map to show you the way. Let this book be your guide.