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Have you recently felt disconnected from feeling joy at work?  

Within the context of the past two years, where organizational focus has been primarily on survival, seeking joy took a backseat for many employees. And now, as companies begin to emerge into post-pandemic life, leaders have limited time to facilitate joy again before their people start looking for more fulfilling opportunities elsewhere. 

Research has shown how vital joy is to a person’s overall wellbeing, cognitive functioning and performance at work, as well as their retention.  

To help us better understand the feeling of joy at work, and how to better facilitate it, we spoke to Thomas Cunningham-Fahie, Consultant and Psychologist at Bailey & French.  

Is it possible to lose joy in a job you love?   

Barbara Fredrickson, currently based at the University of North Carolina, is one of the world’s leading researchers into the psychology of emotions. Her ‘Broaden and Build Theory’ is based upon research showing that experiencing more positive emotions broaden our mindset and encourage us to be more creative, explore new thoughts and reach solutions more readily which overtime builds our skills and resources. 

These emotions can gain momentum, creating positive upward spirals that lead to experiencing even more positive emotions.  

In contrast, negative emotions are linked to the ‘fight or flight’ response, which narrows our cognitive capacity. Therefore, it’s near impossible to solve problems and overcome challenges when we are feeling stressed or frustrated… I’m sure this resonates with many of us! 

There are also negative spirals of emotion.  A big risk for losing joy in a job that you love, is if negative emotions caused by an event outside of work spiral and spill into how you feel at work.  

We might also lose joy in a job we love if we stop playing to our strengths. By ‘strengths’, we’re not just talking about the things that we’re good at, but also the things that we enjoy and that energise us. 

Playing to our strengths when executing tasks at work helps us to get into a state of flow. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the psychologist who coined the term flow, defines it as: “the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter”.  

Luckily, we are able to reframe most tasks and skills to use at least one of our top strengths. Therefore, if we do find ourselves losing joy in a job we previously loved, this type of reframing should be our first port of call. 

Whose responsibility is it to facilitate ‘joy’ at work? Leaders or employees? 

We’ve already discussed the Broaden and Build Theory, and how we can find ourselves on upward or downward emotional spirals. In teams and organisations, these upward spirals can spread. This is called emotional contagion, and it has an important impact of people’s wellbeing, resilience, and performance at work. 

There is an old cliché in the management consulting world that ‘culture is everyone’s responsibility’. We would add a nuance to this, and then apply the same thinking to ‘joy’ at work. Doing what you can to make a personal contribution to a positive culture, is everyone’s responsibility. 

Similarly, we are responsible for making the effort to facilitate a more positive, human experience at work. We are not, however, responsible for the emotions themselves of our colleague’s emotions.  

It is about the personal effort we make as an individual within the organization, but ultimately not the outcome.  

Since we know that emotions triggered by events outside of work are likely to spill into how we feel at work, it is not realistic to ask leaders or employees to ensure that their colleagues experience joy in the office.  

What we can, and should, request is that everybody is held responsible for their actions and their intent towards facilitating joy, with the understanding that there will be external factors outside of their control that may ultimately impede the joy their workmates feel daily. 

Taking individual responsibility for contributing to the joyful experience of others can follow two forms: 

By managing our own wellbeing and positive emotions, firstly to help ourselves but also to have a positive knock-on benefit for others through emotional contagion. 

Actively considering how you can help others to experience more positive emotions, through the way you collaborate and interact with them. 

It is everyone’s responsibility to do this, but leaders particularly need to recognise that their position increases the influence that they have over the quality of people’s experiences within an organization. 

Could seeking ‘joy at work’ be considered indulgent or selfish within the context of the last two years? 

Since we have already discussed the benefits of positive emotions for the person experiencing them for their own wellbeing and performance, and for the people around them, the simple answer here is ‘no’.  

More often than not, actively seeking joy and ‘flow’ at work is something that will benefit individuals, the team, and the wider organization, through a variety of different mechanisms. 

One way of mapping out the time we spend at work is by using a Time x Energy Grid. For every task that we perform at work, we can assess how much it benefits us and how much it benefits the organization, then plot it on a 2x2 grid. 

This grid helps us to understand that usually, it is not indulgent or selfish to seek joy at work. The activities in which we are most likely to experience joy falls into either the ‘Peak Performance’ or ‘Booster Time’ quadrants on the Time x Energy Grid. As such, there is either a direct benefit for the organization or an indirect benefit, respectively, since we are keeping our performance and productivity at its best.  

The small caveat here is that, of course, this could become detrimental if too much of our time is spent performing tasks that energize us but are not directly beneficial for the organisation. Nevertheless, these tasks are still a better use of time than those which do not energize us (we would call these ‘Wasted Time’).  

If we are working in a way that is harmful for our colleagues, either by facilitating negative emotions for them or adding to their workload, for example, then we might be considered self-indulgent. However, the antidote to this is an open feedback culture and strengths-based delegation within teams, to maximise the time that each member spends in their own version of peak performance. 

How can we apply these insights to bring more joy to our team? 

With Thomas' insights above we can begin to understand not only the nuances of experiencing joy, but how an organization can help facilitate this emotion for their people. 

Focus your delegations on not only what your team are good at, but also what they enjoy and what energizes them. Playing to these strengths can assist in bringing flow and joy to their work life.  

Rebecca Newton, Organizational and Social Psychologist, finds many of her clients link joyful moments to learning experiences at work. When employees are provided space to pursue learning in subjects that interest or energize them specifically, they can experience more joy at work. 

As Thomas noted as well, home life can easily affect the emotions of employees at work. Looking after your team as ‘whole life employees’ takes empowering levels of empathy (which we delved into in our article Learning to lead with empathy) and involves supporting their overall wellbeing, not just their job performance. 

To assist you and your team in developing a comprehensive workplace wellbeing plan, we have curated a free The search for joy at work playlist of learning resources within the Go1 platform. 

The playlist includes learning content from iAM Learning, Blinkist and Thrive Learning and other mental health providers. If you are already a Go1 customer, you can recreate this playlist in your own LMS or Go1 Platform. If you are not yet a customer, click on the link above to access the playlist. If you're interested in the Go1 Content Hub for your organization's wellbeing and L&D goals, please get in touch with us today. 

Please remember, if you are struggling with your mental health and experiencing significant distress, we encourage you to reach out for immediate support.
Australia: Lifeline 131 114 or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636 
USA: NAMI HelpLine 800-950-6264
UK: Samaritans 116 123 or Shout Crisis Text Line text ‘SHOUT’ to 85258
Global: United for Global Mental Health Regional Directory

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In collaboration with Bailey & French we explore joy at work, how it might be lost and ways that leaders can facilitate more joy in their team.

Rediscovering joy at work

… What if the content you shared with your people helped them to be smarter, better, faster?  

… What if people had access to expertise at their fingertips?  

… What if the business saw L&D for what it is - problem solvers, growing efficiencies, and helping people to get unstuck?  

In a recent webinar, Learning Architect Shannon Tipton explored these very questions, sharing expert insights into how L&D professionals can build their curation skills. Ready to move beyond simple aggregation to quality and impactful sharing? 

Check out some of the key takeaways below. 

Today’s modern learner is overwhelmed, distracted, and impatient. They want learning content that is relevant, focused and succinct, timely, mobile, and engaging. Unfortunately, 41% of their time is spent merely trying to find the right content … yep, 41%! 

So, what does that say about your curation efforts, and how can you be helpful? 

According to Shannon, putting your curation efforts together in an organized effort encourages collaboration and communication, a growth mindset, and most importantly, it encourages a level of learning curiosity that will extend itself outward to your organization.  

Why is curation an important skill?

How do you know good content when you see it? 

People within organizations want to be able to access information that will allow them to learn, grow and improve overall skills - making them smarter, better, faster than the day before. The issue for organizations is that there is an overabundance of information. The ability to filter out quality training content is an ever-growing issue. Shannon explains the important difference between aggregation and curation below. 

The "filtering" issue

The point of curating information is for people to be able to take action. This provides employees with the motivation and direction they need to complete the learning, and continue to improve their overall skills within the organization.

Have a call to action

The importance of knowing your audience - communication is key 

“What if the focus shifted from: look, here's something interesting to, look, here's something incredibly useful.” 

Knowing your audience and segmenting where you're sending your content to is a critical part of any curation strategy. As Shannon explains, when communicating with key stakeholders, the communication piece that goes out them needs to be compelling enough to hook them in and help them break away from any previous biases they have.  

The importance of knowing your audience 

The struggle of modern L&D is not getting people to train, it's about giving them effective learning solutions that cut through the noise. To be able to do so, understanding content curation for workplace training and the benefits it can bring to your organization is key. 

Keen to watch the full webinar? Catch up on the recording here. 

You may also be interested in the following articles: 

💡Why content curation is important for staff training

💡Why content curation is effective for workplace learning

Gain expert insights from Learning Strategist Shannon Tiptonon how to build your curation skills, moving beyond simple aggregation to quality and impactful sharing. 

Curating content with meaning and impact with Shannon Tipton

Gain expert insights from Learning Strategist Shannon Tipton on how to build your curation skills, moving beyond simple aggregation to quality and impactful sharing. 

Over the past decade, digital transformation has been a popular topic in business circles. So popular, in fact, that last year, global spending on digital transformation grew by 10.4%, reaching $1.3 trillion. That’s right, trillion. With a T. In other words, digital transformation is a massive global enterprise that will influence the future growth and prosperity of businesses worldwide, regardless of size, industry, or country.  

This enormous level of investment begs the question, what is digital transformation? If you don’t already know, now is the perfect time to familiarise yourself with digital transformation, as it is likely to increase exponentially in both scope and relevance in the coming years. 

Already, 70% of businesses have a digital transformation strategy or are actively developing one, while companies are expected to invest a further $6.8 trillion in digital transformation initiatives between 2020 and 2023.

To ensure your team can keep up, we’ll take you step-by-step through digital transformation. We’ll start by asking ‘what is digital transformation?’ before analysing the key benefits of digital transformation.

Digital transformation means using digital technologies to create new business models and processes to keep up with evolving customer expectations. In fact, 60% of companies with digital transformation initiatives have already created new business models. As such, integrating new technologies is inherent to digital transformation. 

Digital transformation also requires a company-wide culture shift to move on from old, outdated practices to new processes that make the best use of modern technologies. In many ways, it’s a simple case of modernisation. Out with the old, in with the new. Put simply, digital transformation requires a ‘digital-first’ mindset, integrating technology into all levels of business to deliver more value to customers.

According to CIO, digital transformation “marks a rethinking of how an organisation uses technology, people, and processes in pursuit of new business models and new revenue streams, driven by changes in customer expectations around products and services.” 

The Enterprisers Project expands on this definition, adding, “Digital transformation is the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business, fundamentally changing how you operate and deliver value to customers. It's also a cultural change that requires organisations to continually challenge the status quo, experiment, and get comfortable with failure.” 

To provide a concrete example of digital transformation in action, McDonald’s realised that digital transformation could improve their customer experience. To achieve this, the organisation implemented strategies such as mobile ordering apps to reduce wait times, in-store digital ordering kiosks, and even smart-car drive-thru integrations. As The Power MBA explains, “In McDonald’s case, digital technology such as interactive ordering units, AI drive-thrus, and smart mobile app experiences have helped them reduce that customer experience gap.”

This is just one of many examples illustrating successful digital transformation. Other prominent examples include Netflix transforming from a mail-order DVD service to a streaming giant, and Walmart adopting a cloud platform in 2019 that connects the company’s checkout system to nearly 23,000 point-of-sale devices, allowing for advanced insights into store operations and the customer experience.

Now that we've answered the question 'what is digital transformation', it's time to examine the benefits of digital transformation. As mentioned, digital transformation is already a $1.3 trillion industry, meaning the benefits of digital transformation are far-reaching and multi-faceted. 

One of the key benefits of digital transformation is gaining a competitive advantage. According to McKinsey, 70% of executives implement digital transformation to secure a competitive advantage or keep up with competitors. As a result, 38% of executives plan to invest even more in digital technology to gain a competitive advantage. 

These findings should come as little surprise, given 89% of enterprises are planning to adopt or have already adopted a digital business strategy. Thus, digital transformation is now non-negotiable for many organisations. Without a forward-thinking digital transformation strategy, businesses risk being left behind. 27% of companies say digital transformation is a matter of survival, while 59% of companies who have not yet adopted a digital transformation strategy fear it might already be too late. 

It’s easy to see why companies with robust digital transformation strategies gain a competitive advantage, with one study finding that digital-first companies are 64% more likely to achieve their business goals than their peers. What’s more, a survey of the benefits of digital transformation found that more than one-third of businesses say meeting changing customer expectations is the main benefit of digital transformation. Other popular responses included improving operational efficiency (40%), improving new product quality (26%), and introducing new revenue streams (21%). 

Additionally, Deloitte found that implementing digital technologies can accelerate progress towards enterprise goals such as financial returns, workforce diversity, and environmental targets by 22%. Likewise, McKinsey finds that data-driven companies are 23x more likely to acquire new customers. 

If you’re not already convinced that digital transformation is vital, it also plays a significant role in boosting revenue. According to Forbes, 56% of CEOs say digital improvements have increased their revenue, while digitally mature companies are also 23% more profitable. A similar study by Deloitte found that companies with high digital maturity report 45% revenue growth on average, compared to just 15% for lower-maturity companies. 

Accordingly, digital transformation is no longer an optional extra — it is now essential. By adopting digital-first strategies, organisations gain an array of benefits, including increased customer satisfaction, improved operational efficiency, and even a competitive advantage over less digitally mature organisations. In other words, the question is no longer ‘what is digital transformation?’ but rather, ‘how quickly can my team adjust to digital transformation?’ 

Need support on your digital transformation journey? Go1 can help. Start your free trial today to access dedicated courses on Digital transformation basics, Enabling digital transformation, and many more.

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today.

We’ll take you step-by-step through digital transformation, asking ‘what is digital transformation?’ before analysing the key benefits of digital transformation.

What is digital transformation? 

We’ll take you step-by-step through digital transformation, asking ‘what is digital transformation?’ before analysing the key benefits of digital transformation. 

Since the widespread move to remote learning in early 2020, two big questions have been on our minds. Firstly, what have L&D teams learned from this transition? And secondly, how can they apply this knowledge to benefit learners?

In episode 16 of the Learning with Go1 podcast, Training Manager Francesco Cortese joined host Craig Hamill to discuss these and several other pressing questions. With a particular focus on L&D in retail, Francesco had many pertinent insights to share. 

🎧 Make sure you listen to hear Francesco’s thoughts on:

Delivering impactful training from anywhere

New skills and tools L&D teams have gained since moving to remote learning 

Here are some of the highlights from the conversation. 

Delivering impactful training with less time  

One of the key benefits of the transition to remote learning is that it forced L&D teams to think in new ways and do more with less. As Francesco explains, his team learned to deliver more impactful training with less time. 

In this highlight, Francesco emphasises that no matter where your learning occurs, it must be impactful. As such, learners must walk away satisfied that they achieved exactly what they set out to do. 

Delivering impactful training with less time

Agility in the face of adversity for L&D 

The sudden move to remote learning required agility on a scale that few L&D teams were truly prepared for. As Francesco puts it, “agile means that you are solving a problem in a certain way today, and tomorrow you have the same problem but you have to solve it in a different way.” 

Ultimately, teams that were able to adapt the fastest while still centring learners were the most successful. Listen as Francesco explains the challenges and unexpected benefits his team encountered. 

Agility in the face of adversity for L&D

How has the break from face to face training benefitted L&D?   

Sometimes, a change is as good as a holiday. This saying has been especially true for L&D teams following the move to remote learning. 

While the shift to remote learning was sudden and arduous for most L&D teams, many silver linings have subsequently emerged. 

Below, Francesco talks us through the new tools and skills that L&D teams have gained thanks to the break from face to face training. 

How has the break from face to face training benefitted L&D?

How will L&D influence business strategy in the future?

To answer this question succinctly, Francesco believes that alignment is critical for L&D to be successful. He explains that L&D teams must take more responsibility for business results and align more closely with their organisation’s overall strategy. 

Rather than being seen as a separate entity, L&D must align with business leaders to ensure success. 

Hear Francesco’s thoughts on the future of L&D below. 

We would like to thank Francesco again for joining us on the Learning with Go1 podcast to share his insights into the ever-changing world of L&D. If you haven't already, you can listen to the full episode here. 

We look forward to continuing the rest of the series, with L&D professionals already scheduled to join us from Cyprus, Egypt, Oman, Finland, the Netherlands, Australia, the USA and many more. Stay tuned! 

Want to hear more? Browse the full Learning with Go1 podcast library on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify to help expand your knowledge of all things L&D and hear how other organisations are navigating this ever-evolving landscape.

In Episode 16 of the Learning with Go1 podcast, we were joined by Francesco Cortese to discuss how L&D has benefitted from the transition to remote learning. Catch up on some of the highlights from the podcast here.

What has L&D learned from the transition to remote learning?

In episode 16 of the Learning with Go1 podcast, we were joined by Francesco Cortese to discuss how L&D has benefitted from the transition to remote learning. Catch up on highlights from the podcast here. 

What has L&D learned from the transition to remote learning? 

For many organizations, the past two years have forced a reactive look into how we work. Suddenly shifting focuses and upending workplace structures certainly helped us adapt, but the emotional wellbeing of workers has now become a priority as we look ahead.

Exacerbated by remote working, loneliness has become an increasing concern.  

Three in five working Americans considered themselves lonely in 2020, with time and social distance likely to have increased that number even more.  

Loneliness is when one perceives that they are alone, regardless of how physically close or isolated they may be. It is not the absence of social activity, but rather a lack of high-quality connection and belonging.  

Taking care to combat loneliness in your workforce will not only increase your employee's overall wellbeing but will deliver stronger performance and engagement levels. Lonely workers report being twice as likely to take a sick day and five times as likely to miss a day from stress. Loneliness (or perceived isolation) has also been shown to contribute to lower cognitive performance, executive functioning and ability to adapt to change. 

It can be increasingly difficult to recognize loneliness in our team, particularly when working remotely. Go1 content partner, Mindscaling, explore the importance of creating a calm and judgement free environment in their interactive course Recognize Loneliness at Work (available in our playlist below).

To proactively address the risk of loneliness, let’s focus on quality connection and creating a culture of belonging within our team.  

Much of the responsibility for high-quality connection, based on empathy and interdependence, sits with leaders and direct managers.  

Now, while social isolation has certainly played a role in how widespread loneliness is, the answer is not to simply increase the amount of social zoom calls, team building events or hours spent in check-ins. This can actually have the opposite effect, with low-quality connection proven to increase an employee's loneliness susceptibility.

Prioritizing one-on-one check-ins with your employees, that divert from ‘work-chat' and demonstrate genuine care, can make just as much impact on their connection to the team as achieving measurable KPIs. These lighthearted and compassionate conversations with your team should be seen as a driving force of performance and engagement. 

Consider as well how your distributed or isolated workers are managed and supported. They require a different approach to any centrally based teams. Within our free Loneliness and Isolation content playlist below are two specifically useful courses (Managing Remote Teams Inclusively and The Adventures of the Lone Worker) to assist leaders in managing and connecting with each worker. 

While 85% of employees worldwide report feeling disengaged at work, organizations are beginning to see the impact a lack of belonging can have.  

Hybrid teams in particular can struggle with isolation and a lack of belonging and require an increase in proactive measures to mitigate loneliness. With 52% of workers wanting hybrid work options to continue, fostering belonging and combatting loneliness will continue to remain a workplace priority.

Employee expectations and priorities have also drastically shifted, with happiness becoming up to 12% more dependent upon the feeling of belonging than before.  High levels of belonging are linked to a 56% increase in job performance, a 50% drop in turnover and a 75% drop in days taken off sick.  

In short, belonging mitigates loneliness, increases happiness and empowers workplace performance.

Thrive Learning note the link between belonging, trust and freedom to express your opinions. When a worker is empowered with not only purpose in their role, but the ability to bring about change when it’s needed, they find belonging. 

Lauren Romansky, Managing Vice President at Gartner, recently noted how belonging is a key component of inclusion, also saying, “when employees are truly included, they perceive that the organization cares for them as individuals, their authentic selves.” 

Establishing a foundation of care and inclusion for your workers will allow for increased belonging. This in turn, when paired with high-quality connection, will support your efforts in proactively reducing the risk of loneliness. 

For the month of October, we will continue providing insight and content around mental health subjects and struggles within the workplace. Our articles on burnout and empathetic leadership are also available in this series. 

To assist you and your team in developing a comprehensive workplace mental health plan, we have curated a free Loneliness and Isolation playlist of learning resources within the Go1 platform.  

The playlist includes learning content from Blisspot Wellbeing, Emberin, iAM Learning and other Go1  partners. If you are already a Go1 customer, you can recreate this playlist in your own LMS or Go1 Platform. If you are not yet a customer, click on the link above to access the playlist. If you're interested in the Go1 Content Hub for your organization's wellbeing and L&D goals, please get in touch with us today.  

Please remember, if you are struggling with your mental health and experiencing significant distress, we encourage you to reach out for immediate support. 
Australia: Lifeline 131 114 or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636  
USA: NAMI HelpLine 800-950-6264 
UK: Samaritans 116 123 or Shout Crisis Text Line text ‘SHOUT’ to 85258 
Global: United for Global Mental Health Regional Directory 

To proactively address the risk of loneliness, let’s focus on quality connection and creating a culture of belonging.