Julia Lee, Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, explains her research which seeks to help employees navigate modern workplace challenges. Lee’s work in Relational Self Affirmation and her Reflective Best Self exercise help participants learn about themselves when at their best.

Julia and Jen also discuss the impact of distress, both how it shows up at the workplace and how it is perceived by others. Julia also shares how reframing distress can lead to positive outcomes on competence, promotability, and ability to maintain self-control.

Finally the pair dive into the impact of commuting to and from work. Listen in to understand how Julia Lee’s research can have a positive impact on your organization.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/

Yale professor Amy Wrzesniewski’s research on job crafting and finding the meaning of work has been published in a wide range of top academic journals and highlighted in several popular press outlets, including Time, Harvard Business Review, U.S. News and World Report, The New York Times, and The Economist, as well as bestselling books such as Give and Take by Adam Grant, Drive by Daniel Pink, The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor, Authentic Happiness by Martin Seligman, and The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler.

In this episode, Amy joins Jen to elaborate on her research and how employees shape their tasks, interactions, and relationships with others in the workforce to change the meaning of their job. Amy defines job crafting and its three components; task, relational, and cognitive and sharing how job crafting is already being done, even if it’s forbidden.

Listen in as the pair discuss job crafting’s effects on performance, the limits to job crafting, and how wellness professionals can use this opportunity to redefine what wellness is or could be in their organization.

Pharos Systems, a company founded in New Zealand, infused the unique culture into its workplace, resulting in a company rich in the spirit of acceptance, being open, and truly focusing on the engagement and joy of the worker.

Susy Bordin, who launched the corporate wellness initiative in 2015, shares her approach to creating a culture of wellness that upholds the founders’ philosophy.

Susy and Jen discuss how Pharos Systems’ wellness initiative is outside of, but still in collaboration with Human Resources and its use of incentives. She tells how her experience with the Search Inside Yourself, Google Training led her to co-create a 10-week program to share with Pharos employees.

Susy elaborates on ideas for outside the box Lunch and Learns, building wellness in a way that matters to employees, and how trying new things is important, even if they aren’t a mega-success.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/