Meaningful Work Matters

In this episode of Meaningful Work Matters, host Andrew Soren is joined by Stanford design leader and life design pioneer Bill Burnett for a conversation about what it means to build a meaningful life, and why that question is bigger than work alone.

Bill brings a design thinking lens to the topic meaning: how do we move beyond transactional living and create a life that feels psychologically rich, connected, and fully alive? Together, he and Andrew explore a set of practical mindsets that can help us approach our lives with more curiosity, flexibility, and intention.

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In this episode, Andrew is joined by psychology and philosophy researcher Joffrey Fuhrer to explore the critical role of self-transcendence and positive impact in experiencing meaningful work.

Drawing on his empirical research into well-being and morality, Joffrey challenges the modern, highly individualized pursuit of happiness, arguing instead that true meaning requires an outward focus and a tangible contribution to others.

Together, Andrew and Joffrey examine how the historical drift from collective well-being to self-centeredness has impoverished our experience of work, and how reintroducing pro-sociality and service can act as an antidote to existential burnout.

A Note Before You Listen

We are sharing this episode in memory of Dr. Isaac Prilleltensky, who passed away on May 7, 2026. Isaac was a giant in the field of positive psychology — a scholar, a humanist, and a tireless advocate for fairness and well-being. He touched the lives of tens of thousands of students, researchers, and practitioners around the world, and his influence on this podcast, and on our work, runs deep. We are grateful this conversation exists, and we hope it introduces him — or reintroduces him — to a new generation of listeners.

About This Episode

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In this episode, Andrew is joined by Dr. Rodney Schmaltz, a psychology professor at MacEwan University, to explore what the evidence actually says about productivity, meaningful work, and how we structure our days, and where the popular advice gets it wrong.

Rod's perspective is shaped by two research streams that turn out to have more in common than they first appear: studying how people thrive at work, and studying why people believe things that aren't supported by evidence. That combination gives him an unusually clear-eyed view of the productivity myths and workplace assumptions that so many of...

In this episode, Andrew moderates a live panel hosted by the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC), a professional association representing over 1,800 IP lawyers, patent agents, and trademark agents across Canada, now celebrating its 100th year. The conversation brings together three IP professionals to explore what thriving actually looks like inside a demanding, high-stakes profession, not in theory, but in the day-to-day realities of the work.

IP professionals face real and familiar pressures: billable hours, client expectations, collaboration across competitive environments, and the challenge of finding meaning in highly specialized, often invisible work. This episode grew out...

This is part two of our conversation with Dr. Joel Vos. If you haven't listened to part one yet, we recommend starting there first.

In this episode, Andrew and Joel pick up where they left off, moving from the taxonomy of meaning at work into some of the harder questions about what happens when meaning goes unrealized, and what that costs individuals and societies alike.

Joel draws on Albert Camus, his own clinical experience with radicalized individuals, and a systematic review of over 600 studies to make a case that extremism and polarization are, at their...

In this episode, Andrew is joined by Joel Vos, researcher, philosopher, and psychotherapist, to explore where our ideas about meaningful work actually come from, and how the broader economic and historical context shapes what people seek from their jobs today.

Joel approaches meaningful work from the outside in. Rather than starting with the workplace, he starts with evolutionary psychology, philosophy, and centuries of social history, and uses that vantage point to explain why the very question "what does my work mean to me?" is a uniquely modern one.

Together, Andrew and Joel examine how we...

In this episode of Meaningful Work Matters, host Andrew Soren finds himself in the hot seat. Dr. Llewellyn E. van Zyl, positive psychology pracademic and a returning guest of the show, steps in as interviewer to explore the story behind our host and what happens to the person underneath when they keep becoming someone new.

Andrew has moved across a wide range of roles over his career: theatre producer, marketing professional, executive coach, organizational designer, and now Executive Director of the International Positive Psychology Association.

Together, they trace what each transformation cost, what it left...

In this episode, Andrew is joined by Kathy Miller, a former senior operations executive whose career spans large-scale manufacturing, unionized environments, and global operations leadership. Kathy brings a rare perspective shaped by decades of leading under intense performance pressure, followed by formal training in positive psychology.

Rather than approaching meaningful work as a matter of motivation or engagement tactics, Kathy focuses on how work is designed, how standards are held, and how leaders relate to people when conditions are demanding. Her experience “on the concrete,” not just in offices, grounds the conversation in the realities many leaders face...

In this episode, Andrew is joined by Steve Taylor, professor of leadership and creativity at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Business School, to explore how art, aesthetics, and sensory experience shape meaningful work.

Steve brings a rare perspective as both a leadership scholar and a practicing playwright. Rather than treating leadership as a set of competencies or frameworks, he invites us to see it as a craft, one that develops through judgment, reflection, and lived experience.

Together, Andrew and Steve examine how we come to know work not only through ideas and analysis, but through...

In this episode, Andrew is joined by Sue der Kinderen, organizational health psychologist and researcher. Rather than focusing only on how people feel at work, Sue invites us to pay closer attention to what people actually do.

Drawing on her research into eudaimonic well-being at work, Sue introduces a behavioral view of meaningful work, one rooted in personal growth, pursuit of purpose, and positive relationships. Together, Andrew and Sue explore how these behaviors show up in real organizational settings, why context and culture matter so much, and how leaders can create environments that support reflection, courage, and...

Work does not happen in a vacuum. It happens in spaces that shape how we feel, think, connect, and grow.

In this episode, Andrew sits down with Jenna Mikus to explore what it means to design for human flourishing. Jenna brings a rare interdisciplinary lens that bridges architecture, wellbeing science, organizational design, and philosophy. Together, they unpack the concept of eudaimonic design and what it looks like in practice, from homes and workplaces to educational and community environments.

Key Takeaways

In this episode, Andrew speaks with Bree Groff about why our days at work deserve protection on their own terms and how leaders can build healthier, more human team environments.

Together, they explore why burnout often signals a deeper business issue, how time becomes the most undervalued resource in the workplace, and what it looks like to create systems that support real people rather than extract from them.

Bree Groff is a workplace culture expert and author of Today Was Fun, with a career spent guiding leaders at companies like Microsoft, Google, Pfizer, and Memorial...

Healthcare workers enter their roles with deep values and a desire to help others, yet many find themselves in systems that constrain their ability to act on those values. In this episode, Laura Holford and Anu Gorukanti explore how community, creativity, and spirituality give clinicians a way to restore agency and reconnect with their humanity.

The trio discuss moral distress, moral injury, and the heavy emotional load that comes with caring for people inside profit-driven institutions.

Laura and Anu describe how their work at Introspective Spaces creates room for vulnerability across hierarchy, rebuilds trust among...

In this episode, philosopher Kevin Aho joins Andrew Soren to explore how modern life has turned meaning into measurement. Together, they examine how neoliberal values have reshaped higher education, the wellness industry, and even our sense of self.

Kevin and Andrew discuss how the culture of busyness and the commodification of well-being have left many people feeling unmoored, and why rediscovering our shared humanity might be the most important work of all.

Kevin Aho is Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Department of Communication and Philosophy at Florida Gulf Coast University. His work explores...

What can Aristotle teach us about meaningful work today?

In this episode, Andrew Soren sits down with Marcel Meyer, professor at the School of Economics and Business at the University of Navarra, to explore how virtue ethics can help us navigate modern leadership and organizational life.

Drawing from Aristotle’s concept of eudaimonia (human flourishing), Marcel shares how cultivating character, wisdom, and purpose allows leaders to create workplaces where people thrive individually and collectively.

Key Takeaways

What makes people feel they truly matter at work? In this episode, we talk with Dr. Beverly Kaye, a trailblazer in career development, employee engagement, and retention. For more than 50 years, Bev has shown that the small things leaders do, like noticing and naming what they see, can have the biggest impact on whether people grow, feel valued, and choose to stay.

In their conversation, Andrew and Bev explore why growth is more than climbing the ladder, how everyday conversations shape engagement, and what it means to lead with an “opportunity minded” approach.

Key Takeaways

This week, we’re celebrating a milestone: the 50th episode of Meaningful Work Matters!

Over the past two years, we’ve spoken with more than 50 researchers, thinkers, and practitioners who are reimagining what makes work meaningful.

To mark this moment, we are doing something different. Instead of an interview, Andrew shares his own reflections, based on an article co-written with his mentor and friend, Dr. Carol Ryff. Together, they explore what it means to see work not only as a driver of productivity or advantage but also as a moral commitment and a way of recl...

What makes work worth doing?

In this episode, Andrew sits down with Jennifer Tosti-Kharas and Christopher Wong Michaelson, co-authors of Is Your Work Worth It? and The Meaning and Purpose of Work. Jennifer is a psychologist and Christopher is a philosopher, and together they bring complementary perspectives to one of the most important questions of our time: how do we define meaningful work, and what are the risks and responsibilities that come with it?

Their dialogue touches on everything from the double-edged sword of calling, to the ethical obligations of organizations, to what AI and...

What does it really take to understand well-being?

In this episode, Andrew Soren speaks with Llewellyn van Zyl, a positive organizational psychologist and data scientist who is rethinking how we measure and design for human flourishing.

Llewellyn shares why traditional “top-down” models of well-being often fall short, and introduces a bottom-up, person-centered approach that treats every individual as a unique case. From there, he explains how artificial intelligence and machine learning might help scale these insights, and where we need to be cautious about over-reliance and ethical risks.

Key Takeaways

In this episode of Meaningful Work Matters, we speak with Lesley-Ann Noel, Dean of Design at OCAD University and author of Design Social Change. They explore how design can be a radical, joyful act of agency that shapes the world we want to live in.

From understanding your own positionality to deeply listening to others, Lesley-Ann shares how embracing both joy and anger can fuel social transformation. She also introduces the “abolitionist mindset,” a way of identifying when systems are too harmful to improve incrementally and must be dismantled entirely.

Key Takeaways

In this episode of Meaningful Work Matters, host Andrew Soren sits down with Danish philosopher and entrepreneur Morten Albæk, founder of Voluntās and author of One Life: How We Forgot to Live Meaningful Lives. With a career spanning from senior executive roles in banking and wind energy to launching the first firm to measure meaningfulness, Morten brings a rare mix of philosophical depth and business acumen to the question of what it means to live, and work, meaningfully.

Together, they explore what Albæk calls the “greatest paradox of our time”: while many metrics of progres...

How can caregiving, especially the kinds we rarely talk about, become a powerful form of leadership?

In this episode, Andrew Soren speaks with Terrance L. (T. L.) Boyd, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Management and Leadership at Texas Christian University.

T.L. brings both personal insight and academic rigor to a conversation about non-traditional caregiving. His research explores how responsibilities outside of work, often overlooked or undervalued, can shape the way people lead, connect, and grow. As a scholar deeply committed to representation and equity, T.L. centers the lived experiences of historically marginalized communities...

What does it mean to live, and work, a life worth living?

In this episode, Andrew Soren speaks with Dr. Alan Waterman, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at The College of New Jersey and one of the earliest psychologists to empirically distinguish eudaimonia from hedonia.

Al shares how a life grounded in self-realization, rather than external rewards or fleeting happiness, can guide our career choices, work orientations, and even our understanding of motivation. Drawing on decades of research and philosophical inquiry, he challenges common assumptions about flow, passion, and the role of virtue in modern work.<...

What does it take to grow into a new professional identity—especially when the role doesn’t yet feel like your own?

In this episode of Meaningful Work Matters, Andrew is joined by Dr. Latika Nirula, Director of the Centre for Faculty Development at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Latika supports healthcare professionals as they step into the role of educator (often for the first time) and helps them navigate the inner conflict that can arise when their identity doesn’t yet align with their responsibilities.

This conversation reflects on the ro...

What if a good life (or a good job) isn’t just about pleasure or purpose—but about complexity, depth, and surprise?

In this episode of Meaningful Work Matters, Andrew is joined by Shige Oishi, Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago, to explore his research on psychological richness. Shige challenges the longstanding view that happiness and meaning are the primary ingredients of well-being, and makes the case for a third dimension that’s often overlooked.

Together, they unpack what can make life feel full: curiosity, variety, a willingness to stray from the expected, and the ability to make sense of it all.

Shige shares how this idea applies not just to li...

Has work ever felt like dodging a storm of flying bricks?

In this episode of Meaningful Work Matters, Andrew is joined by Jordan Friesen, occupational therapist and President of Mindset Mental Health Strategy. Jordan draws on both lived experience and years of consulting with organizations across Canada to challenge a common assumption: that workplace mental health is something employees should manage alone.

Together, they explore why many well-being efforts fall short, what it means to take a systems-based approach to mental health, and how leaders can build environments where people aren’t just coping—but actu...

What is purpose, and how do we discover, develop, and sustain it—especially in a world full of distraction and complexity?

In this episode, Andrew is joined by Kendall Cotton Bronk, Professor of Psychology at Claremont Graduate University and a leading expert in positive youth development. For over two decades, Kendall has studied how purpose emerges across life stages, why it’s essential for well-being, and how character and virtue help ensure our purpose serves the greater good.

Together, they explore the evolving nature of purpose—from adolescence to older adulthood—what role families and organiza...

What does it mean to live well—and does that definition change depending on where you’re from?

In this episode of Meaningful Work Matters, Andrew Soren is joined by Dr. Mohsen Joshanloo, a cross-cultural psychologist and social scientist based in South Korea. Mohsen’s research challenges dominant Western models of well-being and explores how culture shapes our experiences of happiness, autonomy, and purpose.

Grounded in both theory and global data, Mohsen shares how our understanding of "meaning" is not only culturally shaped but deeply connected to our motivation, mental health, and resilience.

The co...

In this episode, Sara Wolkenfeld, Chief Learning Officer at Sefaria, joins Andrew to explore how ancient Jewish wisdom can guide our relationship with emerging technologies like AI.

Drawing from traditional texts and her experience making Jewish wisdom accessible through digital tools, Sara offers insights on maintaining our humanity while embracing technological progress.

Key Takeaways:

In this episode of Meaningful Work Matters, Andrew sits down with Petra Kipfelsberger, Associate Professor for Leadership and Organizational Behaviour at BI Norwegian Business School. Andrew and Petra explore how leaders can inspire meaningful work through authentic communication and visionary leadership while avoiding behaviors that diminish employees' sense of purpose.

Key Takeaways:

In this episode of Meaningful Work Matters, host Andrew Soren sits down with Rob Baker, founder of Tailored Thinking and a leading voice on job crafting. They explore how individuals can shape their work to better align with their strengths and values, making small but meaningful changes that measurably boost performance, well-being, and job satisfaction.

Key Takeaways:

Collaboration and generosity are essential for meaningful work, but what happens when they become too much of a good thing? Could saying yes too often be holding you back?

In part two of our conversation with Reb Rebele, we explore the hidden costs of collaboration and generosity in the workplace. Building on last week's discussion about personality dynamics, Reb shares why organizations face ‘collaborative overload’, how helpful employees often burn out first, and what individuals and teams can do to reclaim their time and energy.

Reb shares practical strategies for balancing helping others with protecting our...

What if your personality isn't as fixed as you think?

In this Meaningful Work Matters two-part episode, psychological scientist and organizational behavior expert Reb Rebele joins Andrew to explore how understanding personality dynamics can help us navigate meaningful work more effectively.

Drawing from research at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Melbourne, Reb challenges common assumptions about authenticity and explains how different aspects of personality can be intentionally adjusted to meet goals while maintaining sincerity.

Key Takeaways:

In this episode of Meaningful Work Matters, host Andrew Soren sits down with Dr. Adam Murry and Alvan Yuan from the University of Calgary to explore Indigenous perspectives on meaningful work within settler institutions, particularly in post-secondary settings across Western Canada.

Key Takeaways:

In this episode of Meaningful Work Matters, Andrew explores the complex relationship between perfectionism, meaningful work, and personal fulfillment with Sonya Looney, a world champion mountain biker, podcast host, and positive psychology researcher.

Through her personal journey from achievement-focused athlete to purpose-driven leader, Sonya shares insights from her research on how perfectionists can find deeper satisfaction by focusing on social impact rather than just personal accomplishment.

Sonya also discusses her research on perfectionism, goal attainment, and mattering, and offers a fresh perspective on how high achievers can break free from the cycle of perpetual dissatisfaction.<...

This is a special crossover episode where we're sharing a recent conversation between Andrew Soren and Sonya Looney from her podcast, The Sonya Looney Show.

In this episode, Andrew takes the guest seat as Sonya interviews him about the complex relationship between meaningful work and well-being, exploring why work that feels deeply important can sometimes lead to exploitation or burnout.

Key topics discussed:

In part two of her conversation on Meaningful Work Matters, Dr. Anne Brafford explores Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and its profound implications for creating meaningful work environments.

[Click here to listen to Part One, where Anne discusses identity and meaning in the legal profession]

As both a former Big Law equity partner and organizational psychologist, Brafford offers unique insights into how understanding and supporting basic psychological needs can transform workplace cultures. Through research-backed explanations and practical examples, she shares how motivation develops on a continuum from amotivation to various forms of extrinsic motivation to intrinsic autonomous...

In this first installment of a two-part conversation, Andrew explores the complex intersection of identity, ethics, and meaningful work with Anne Brafford, a former Big Law partner turned well-being consultant and researcher.

Drawing from her two-decade career as an employment lawyer and subsequent academic work, Brafford shares her insights about how personal values, professional identity, and moral courage shape our experience of meaningful work.

Brafford illuminates how lawyers find meaning in their work beyond the traditional narrative of public service, highlighting the importance of moral exemplars and ethical decision-making in corporate law. She also shares...

In this episode of Meaningful Work Matters, Andrew sits down with Dr. Gitima Sharma to explore the intersection of purpose, well-being, and meaningful work through both Eastern and Western perspectives.

From her early years in India grappling with family mental health challenges to her current role as leading purpose researcher and coach, Sharma shares how Buddhist philosophy and academic research have shaped her understanding of purpose as something that rises above the pursuit of happiness towards creating positive change both within ourselves and society.

Through personal stories and research insights, she introduces her five-part model...