Why Wellbeing at Work Is an Organizational Problem — Not an Individual One

In most workplaces “wellbeing” means something like: the individual employee is coping adequately with the conditions of their work. Wellbeing at work isn’t just a nice-to-have or a soft priority.  Canadian organizations are facing a growing crisis of disconnection which affects the bottom line. The Scale of the Problem: Burnout and Disconnection in Canadian Workplaces […]

How do I make creativity my job? (And Should I?)

Quite a few people have shared with me that they long for creativity to be their central, sustaining effort.  My sense is that folks are feeling transactional and burned out in their current employment.  Much of traditional work, and employer-employee relationships more generally, aren’t working for them.  They’re looking for something more balanced, respectful, human-centred, […]

Building Better Habits: it’s not all about you

The idea of developing good habits is de rigueur these days.  Personally, I am a “general” fan of personal habits.  I like some good predictability and structure in my days.  I brush my teeth every morning, I get outside every day, I eat my veggies.  Habits help me free up my thinking for more pressing […]

Calling it Quits?

Some thoughts on decision-making, grit and knowing when to quit Quitting often gets a bad rap.  We usually associate greatness with grit, stick-to-it-iveness, persistence.  And of course, grit can be useful.  But we often overlook the importance of knowing when and how to shift gears and steer towards a new path. Public thinker and former […]

Burnout is not an individual problem: it’s cultural

The way we think and talk about burnout needs to change.  As individuals we feel it.  And we often think the solutions need to be individual too (more resilience training, anyone?).  But it will take a cultural shift to really address burnout, and create sustainable workplaces that are integrated and even connected parts within our […]