Podcast

SPOS #980 – Tamara Myles On Making Work Actually Matter

Welcome to episode #980 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Tamara Myles is one of the world’s leading experts on meaningful work, with a career that bridges research, leadership consulting, and positive psychology. She’s the author of The Secret To Peak Productivity, a sought-after speaker and advisor to companies like Microsoft and KPMG, and one of the first 600 people in the world to earn a master’s in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. In her new book, Meaningful Work – How To Ignite Passion And Performance In Every Employee (co-authored with Wes Adams), Tamara brings both scientific rigor and real-world empathy to one of the most pressing challenges of our time: how to make work feel like it matters. In this conversation, Tamara shares the results of her multi-year study – the first of its kind – on how leaders influence meaning in the workplace. She introduces the three core drivers of meaningful work: community, contribution, and challenge, and explains why they’re more relevant than ever in a world grappling with burnout, disconnection, and shifting values around work. We also talk about the lasting impact of the pandemic, the rise of employee apathy, and how social media has warped our collective expectations about fulfillment. Tamara, who teaches at both the University of Pennsylvania and Boston College, blends her academic insight with a deeply human perspective – reminding us that meaning is not just a nice-to-have, but a business imperative. Whether you’re leading a team or trying to reconnect with your own sense of purpose, this episode offers a much-needed compass. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 58:29.
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Here is my conversation with Tamara Myles.
Meaningful Work – How To Ignite Passion And Performance In Every Employee.
The Secret To Peak Productivity.
Applied Positive Psychology.
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Chapters:

(00:00) – Introduction to Positive Psychology and Meaningful Work.
(02:58) – The Importance of Meaning in Work.
(05:57) – The Misconception of Meaningful Work.
(09:03) – The Role of Leaders in Creating Meaning.
(11:59) – The Impact of the Pandemic on Work Meaning.
(14:58) – Transactional Work vs. Meaningful Work.
(18:10) – The Dual Responsibility of Leaders and Employees.
(21:04) – Hiring for Meaning in Organizations.
(24:13) – Common Sense vs. Common Practice in Work Meaning.
(26:59) – Expectations and Realities of Work Today.
(31:46) – The Impact of Social Media on Expectations.
(34:33) – Generational Perspectives on Meaningful Work.
(37:47) – Work-Life Balance and Productivity.
(39:08) – The Loneliness Epidemic Post-Covid.
(43:39) – Creating Meaningful Work Environments.
(46:58) – AI’s Role in the Future of Work.
(50:15) – Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace.
(52:28) – Overcoming Apathy in the Workplace.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #980.

Before you go… ThinkersOne is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.