165: Bree Groff on Making Work Fun

Overview

When we ask ourselves, what is the role of work in our lives, there are often two camps: Work is just work or find your passion in your work.

But most of us want to find the middle ground between those extremes. Work does play a fundamental role in our lives and can and should be meaningful. But that won’t look the same for everyone.

I wanted to revisit the question of the role work plays in our lives, and how we can make work work better for us. Workplace culture expert Bree Groff joins me to talk about how we can bring more humanity and fun to our work. After all, we spend so many hours of our lives working, why shouldn’t we be enjoying it? In our conversation, Bree helps us learn how.

Listen below or on your favorite podcast player.

More About Our Guest

Bree Groff is a workplace culture expert and author of Today Was Fun: A Book About Work (Seriously). She has spent her career guiding executives at companies such as Microsoft, Pfizer, Calvin Klein, Google, Atlassian, and Hilton through periods of complex change. She is a Senior Advisor to the global transformation consultancy SYPartners and previously served as the CEO of NOBL Collective. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and holds an MS in Learning and Organizational Change from Northwestern University. Bree lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How to avoid the “all struggle” or “follow your passion” extremes and find a healthier middle ground

• How to find pockets of joy in your day, even if your job isn’t “fun”

• Simple ways to bring more humanity into your workplace 

• How “micro acts” of connection and mischief can transform your workday

• Tips for leaders and teams to foster joy, trust, and creativity at work

Learn more about Bree Groff:

• Today Was Fun: A Book About Work (Seriously)

• Website

• Instagram: @bree_groff

• Substack: What Work Should Be

• Connect on LinkedIn

Resources Mentioned

• 157: Moe Carrick: Designing Workplaces Where People Thrive

• 158: Erica Meade: Expanding the Definition of Work for a More Sustainable Life

• 153: Cheri Magid on Feeding Sustainable Ambition in Her Creative Work

• 142: The "Good Enough Job" and Shaping Broader Identities with Simone Stolzoff

• The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work, Simone Stolzoff

Thanks for Listening!

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