Jackson: For the last two decades, corporations have poured billions of dollars into a single goal: boosting 'employee engagement.' The result of all that spending? Engagement levels have barely moved from a pretty dismal 30%. Olivia: It’s a staggering amount of wasted effort. And it points to a fundamental misunderstanding of what actually motivates people. We’ve been trying to solve the wrong problem. Jackson: Exactly. It feels like we’ve been watering the leaves, hoping the roots will grow. Olivia: That’s the perfect analogy. And today, we’re diving into a book that gets right to the roots: Put Happiness to Work by Eric Karpinski. He argues that we have the entire equation backward. Jackson: I’m intrigued. Who is this guy, and what’s his big idea? Olivia: Well, what’s fascinating is that Eric Karpinski isn't just a theorist. He’s a scientist with a Wharton MBA who has spent over a decade as a core member of Shawn Achor's GoodThink team. He’s been on the ground implementing these ideas at massive organizations like NASA, Facebook, and IBM. Jackson: Okay, so he’s seen this in action. That’s some serious credibility. So if chasing engagement is the mistake, what’s the right answer? Are we just supposed to hand out free pizza and hope for the best? Olivia: That’s the trap most people fall into! Karpinski makes it clear that the answer isn't just generic 'fun.' It’s about understanding that happiness, a specific kind of happiness, is the cause of engagement, not the result of it.

Jackson: Wait, hold on. My entire career, I've been told the opposite. You work hard, you get the promotion, you achieve the goal, and then you feel happy. You’re saying that’s wrong? Olivia: That's precisely what Karpinski challenges. He points out that if you ask an employee, "Do you want to invest your personal energy in becoming more engaged at work?" the response is usually lukewarm. But if you ask, "Do you want to invest your energy in being happier?"—well, over 80% of people in his informal surveys say yes. Happiness is an intrinsic human goal. Engagement is a corporate one. Jackson: Huh. When you put it like that, it’s so obvious. We’re naturally wired to seek happiness, not to fill out a survey with higher scores. Olivia: Exactly. The book defines happiness not as a constant state of bliss, but as the experience of positive emotions. And the very root of the word 'emotion' is 'motion'—emotions move us to act. The problem is, companies often focus on the wrong kind of happiness. Jackson: What do you mean, 'wrong kind'? I thought happy was happy. Olivia: Karpinski draws a great distinction. There's 'hedonic' happiness, which is about pleasure and comfort. Think of the free snacks or the ping-pong table at a tech company. It’s nice, but it doesn't create deep motivation. Jackson: Right, that’s the pizza party happiness. It wears off pretty quickly. Olivia: It does. Then there's 'eudaimonic' happiness, which is about meaning, purpose, and growth. This is the kind that truly fuels us. Karpinski’s work focuses on what he calls 'activated positive emotions'—things like joy, interest, pride, and inspiration. These are the emotions that don't just make us feel good; they make us want to do good work. Jackson: So it’s the difference between feeling content and feeling energized. Olivia: Precisely. And the results are stunning. He shares a case study about the BSO division of Cemex, a massive global company. They implemented a training program called the Orange Frog, which is all about boosting these activated positive emotions. Jackson: And what happened? Olivia: Their engagement scores shot up by 20 percent. It was the largest increase of any division in the entire 50,000-employee company. They didn't change the work, the pay, or the managers. They just changed the emotional landscape. Jackson: Wow. A 20% jump is almost unheard of. And it came from focusing on feelings, not just metrics. That’s a powerful reframe. It makes you wonder why more companies aren't doing this. Olivia: I think it’s because it feels too simple, or too 'soft.' But the data is clear. At a major insurance brokerage, the same training led to a 50 percent increase in sales and a drop in attrition that saved them over a million dollars a year. Even at a hospital system, Genesis Health, that was facing layoffs and financial crisis, this approach turned a $2 million loss into an $8 million profit. Jackson: That’s incredible. It’s not just a feel-good initiative; it’s a direct line to business performance. Okay, I'm sold on the 'why.' But this still feels a bit abstract. How does a regular manager, on a stressful Tuesday morning, actually do this?

Olivia: And that’s the beauty of the book. It’s not just theory; it’s a toolkit. Karpinski lays out seven concrete strategies. Let's talk about two of them that are incredibly powerful. The first is Strategy 1: Hardwire Authentic Appreciation. Jackson: 'Appreciation.' That sounds simple enough. "Good job, team." Done. Olivia: Ah, but that’s where the nuance comes in. It’s not about generic praise. It’s about an active, intentional, and specific expression of gratitude. And the story he uses to illustrate this is one of the most moving I've read. It’s about Dr. Lisa Hagel, a superintendent of a school district in Flint, Michigan. Jackson: Flint, Michigan. That’s a community that has been through so much already. Olivia: Exactly. And this was in March 2020. The pandemic hits, and her 2,000 staff members are sent home, terrified about the virus, their jobs, and how to educate kids who were already dealing with the trauma of the water crisis. Jackson: That sounds like an impossible situation. What did she do? Olivia: She started a nightly ritual. Every single night, she sent an email to her entire staff. But it wasn't a corporate memo. It was a message of hope. She shared stories of incredible teamwork she was seeing, she offered tools for well-being, she was vulnerable about the challenges. She also created 'WOW boards' where staff could post notes of appreciation for each other, and they even had these 'orange superhero capes' that were passed around to recognize people going above and beyond. Jackson: A superhero cape. I love that. It’s playful but also deeply meaningful. Olivia: It was. And the result? Two months into this crisis, Lisa looks out her window and sees a parade of cars driving by her house. It was her staff. They had organized a drive-by parade just to say thank you. They were holding signs, honking, and cheering. She created such a powerful culture of appreciation that her team felt compelled to give it right back to her. Jackson: Wow. That gives me chills. That’s not employee engagement. That's human connection. It wasn't about a bonus or a performance review; it was about feeling seen and valued during the darkest of times. Olivia: That's the core of it. And Karpinski gives practical advice on how to do this without it feeling forced. He says to be incredibly specific—don't just say "great job," say "the way you handled that difficult client call with such patience was amazing." And he warns against "comparison praise," like calling someone "the best." It just creates competition. Focus on the action, not the rank. Jackson: That makes so much sense. But let's be real, the book has to address more than just the good stuff, right? Work is stressful. You can't just appreciate your way out of a looming deadline or a tough project. Olivia: You are absolutely right. And this is where the book gets really interesting and challenges conventional positive psychology. Strategy 3 is called 'Put Stress to Work.' Jackson: Put stress to work? That sounds like putting a wild animal on your team. Stress is the enemy, isn't it? It’s what causes burnout. Olivia: That’s what we’re taught. But Karpinski, drawing on research from scientists like Alia Crum, explains that our mindset about stress is what determines its effect. Our body has two primary stress responses. There's the 'threat response,' which is what we usually think of—fear, anxiety, tunnel vision. It happens when we believe the demands of a situation outweigh our resources. Jackson: Okay, I know that feeling well. It’s the 3 a.m. wake-up call of pure dread. Olivia: But there's another response: the 'challenge response.' This happens when you believe you have the resources to meet the demand. Physiologically, it’s very different. It releases hormones that increase focus, energy, and motivation. It’s the feeling an athlete gets before a big game—nervous, but ready. Beyoncé has said she channels that nervous energy into her show. Jackson: So it’s the difference between stage fright and pre-show jitters. How do you flip that switch from threat to challenge? Olivia: Karpinski provides a five-step framework called ASPIRe. It stands for Acknowledge, Shift your mindset, Purpose, Inventory your resources, and Reach out. Jackson: Let’s break that down. 'Acknowledge' is just admitting you’re stressed? Olivia: Yes, just saying "Wow, I am feeling the stress right now" can take away its power. 'Shift' is a simple mental trick, like telling yourself "I am excited" instead of "I am calm." It reframes the jittery energy as excitement. 'Purpose' is about connecting the stress to something you care about. Stress is often a sign that something meaningful is at stake. Jackson: I like that. The stress of a presentation is there because you care about the outcome. Okay, what about 'Inventory' and 'Reach out'? Olivia: 'Inventory' is listing all the resources you have—your skills, your team, your support network. It reminds you that you're not alone. But 'Reach Out' is the most counter-intuitive and powerful one. When you're in a threat response, your instinct is to withdraw and protect yourself. Jackson: Definitely. You want to hide under a desk. Olivia: But Karpinski says the antidote is to reach out and help someone else. This activates what’s called the 'tend-and-befriend' response. It releases oxytocin, which promotes empathy, connection, and courage. It physically moves you out of a threat state and into a challenge state. Helping someone else literally makes you braver. Jackson: That is a complete paradigm shift. The cure for your own stress is to be of service to others. That’s not just a workplace tip; that’s a life lesson.

Olivia: It really is. And when you put these two strategies together—authentic appreciation and putting stress to work—you start to see the bigger picture Karpinski is painting. Jackson: Yeah, it’s not about eliminating bad days or forcing everyone to be cheerful. It’s about becoming an emotional architect for your team. You’re intentionally building these small moments of genuine appreciation while also giving people the tools to reframe their inevitable stress into fuel. Olivia: Exactly. It’s about building resilience, not resistance. The book is highly rated by readers for this very reason—it feels real. It acknowledges the messiness of work. Some critics of the broader "happiness at work" movement worry that it puts too much responsibility on the employee to just "be happy." But Karpinski’s approach is different. It’s about leaders creating the conditions for happiness to emerge. Jackson: It’s a system, not just a sentiment. It’s about building habits. Olivia: That’s the key. And if there's one thing to take away, it’s that this isn't about grand, expensive gestures. It’s about small, consistent actions. Maybe the one thing a listener could try this week is to find three specific, authentic things a colleague did well, and just take a moment to tell them. No fanfare, just a genuine observation. Jackson: I love that. It’s a simple experiment. And it makes you wonder, what is one small way you could shift the emotional current of your own team tomorrow? What tiny change could you make to move the needle from threat to challenge, or from invisible to seen? Olivia: A powerful question to sit with. Jackson: This has been fantastic, Olivia. A really practical and profound look at something we all deal with every day. Olivia: This is Aibrary, signing off.