Olivia: A recent study estimated that workplace stress siphons over $500 billion from the U.S. economy annually. Jackson: Wow. That’s a staggering number. That’s more than the GDP of a lot of countries. Olivia: Exactly. And what if the antidote isn't another productivity app, another management framework, or another top-down mandate? What if it's something as simple, and as ancient, as a shared meal or a silly dance party? Jackson: Okay, now you have my attention. A dance party to solve a half-a-trillion-dollar problem. I'm in. Olivia: That's the provocative idea at the heart of Rituals Roadmap by Erica Keswin. Jackson: And Keswin is no stranger to this. She's a major workplace strategist who's advised companies like the NFL and NASA. The fact this book became a Wall Street Journal bestseller shows just how desperate we are for connection at work, especially now in our fragmented, hybrid world. Olivia: It really does. And Keswin argues the solution starts by understanding the difference between a mindless routine and a meaningful ritual. She points to some fascinating science to back this up, which is where we should probably start.

Jackson: I’m glad you said science, because my skeptical brain is already firing. The word ‘ritual’ can sound a bit… mystical. Olivia: I get it. It sounds soft. But the effects are surprisingly hard. Keswin highlights a brilliant study by a group of Ivy League organizational psychologists to prove this. They wanted to see if a ritual could genuinely reduce anxiety and improve performance under pressure. Jackson: And how did they test that? Olivia: With the most anxiety-inducing activity they could think of for a group of college students: karaoke. Jackson: Oh, that’s just cruel. I love it. Olivia: It’s perfect, right? They took 85 students and split them into two groups. Both groups had to sing the Journey song "Don't Stop Believin'" in front of a stranger. But one group, the control group, was just told to sit quietly for a minute before performing. Jackson: Okay, a moment to let the dread build. Olivia: Precisely. The other group, the ritual group, was given a very specific, and frankly, bizarre set of instructions. They had to draw a picture of how they were feeling, sprinkle a pinch of salt on the drawing, count to five out loud, crumple up the paper, and throw it in the trash. Jackson: Hold on. Sprinkling salt on a drawing made them better singers? That sounds like straight-up superstition. It feels like a placebo. Olivia: That’s what’s so fascinating! It is arbitrary. The actions themselves have no direct purpose. But the results were undeniable. The researchers measured the singers' pitch and volume, and the ritual group sang significantly more accurately. Even more telling, they tracked their heart rates. Both groups’ heart rates spiked, but the ritual group’s returned to normal much faster after they finished singing. Jackson: That’s wild. So what’s actually happening there? Why does a nonsensical sequence of events have such a concrete physical and performance-based effect? Olivia: This is the core of Keswin's argument. A ritual isn't about the instrumental purpose of the action; it's about how it makes you feel. The psychologists define a ritual as a "predefined sequence of symbolic actions." That sequence gives our anxious brains a sense of order and control in a moment of uncertainty. It lowers anxiety, which frees up our cognitive resources to focus on the task at hand—in this case, hitting the high notes on "streetlight people." Jackson: So it’s like giving your brain a small, predictable path to walk down when the bigger path ahead looks terrifying. Olivia: Exactly. And this leads to Keswin's central framework, what she calls the "Three P's of Rituals." She argues that effective rituals create Psychological Safety plus a sense of Purpose, which equals better Performance. The karaoke ritual, as silly as it was, gave the singers a tiny dose of psychological safety—"I'm doing this to prepare"—and a purpose for that moment, which directly improved their performance. Jackson: Okay, I can see how that works on an individual level. It’s a personal mental hack. But how does this scale up to a whole team or a company? Olivia: That’s the million-dollar—or rather, the 500-billion-dollar—question. And Keswin provides some incredible examples of how this plays out in group settings.

Jackson: Okay, so if a small, personal ritual can calm karaoke jitters, I can see how a group ritual could change the dynamic of a team. Where does this show up in the workplace? Olivia: All over, but Keswin argues that beginnings are prime real estate for rituals. Think about the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team and their Haka. It’s this intense, synchronized Māori war dance they perform before every match. Jackson: Right, it’s terrifying and mesmerizing at the same time. Olivia: And it’s a perfect ritual. It connects the players to their heritage—their purpose. It creates a shared, powerful emotional state—psychological safety within the tribe. And it intimidates the heck out of their opponents, which definitely impacts performance. They have one of the highest win percentages in sports history. But you don't need a world-famous war dance to get the benefits. Keswin points to a much more grounded, everyday example. Jackson: Please tell me it doesn't involve chanting. Olivia: No, it involves spaghetti and meatballs. A Cornell professor, Kevin Kniffin, wanted to figure out what made some firehouse teams better than others. These are high-stakes teams where performance is literally a matter of life and death. Jackson: And he landed on… their lunch menu? Olivia: He landed on whether they ate together. He spent 15 months studying different firehouses and found a direct correlation: the platoons that had a ritual of cooking and eating meals together consistently received higher performance ratings from their officers. The teams that ate together, saved lives together, better. Jackson: That’s incredible. It’s not about the food itself, is it? Olivia: Not at all. It’s about the ritual. The act of planning the meal, shopping for it, cooking it, and cleaning up together builds what Kniffin calls "social glue." It’s an informal, repetitive process that requires cooperation, communication, and trust. It’s a low-stakes practice for the high-stakes work they have to do. Jackson: Wow. So in both cases, the ritual isn't the main event. The All Blacks' job is to play rugby, not dance. The firefighters' job isn't cooking. The ritual is a kind of 'stress test' or practice run for the team's core values—fierce unity for the All Blacks, seamless cooperation for the firefighters. Olivia: That’s a perfect way to put it. The ritual reveals and reinforces the culture. And it’s not just about team performance; it’s about finding the right people in the first place. Keswin tells this great story about Zappos, the online shoe company famous for its quirky, customer-obsessed culture. Jackson: I’ve heard about their culture. They once paid an employee to quit just to make sure the ones who stayed really wanted to be there. Olivia: That’s them. And their rituals start before you even get the job. When they fly in a promising candidate for an interview, they send a Zappos-branded shuttle to pick them up from the airport. The candidate probably thinks it’s just a nice perk. Jackson: But it’s not. Olivia: It’s a test. The shuttle driver is part of the hiring team. So are the people at the front desk who offer the candidate a bottle of water. After the candidate leaves, the recruiting team circles back with the driver and the receptionist and asks, "How did they treat you?" Jackson: Whoa. That’s clever. They’re testing for one of their core values, which is "Be Humble." Olivia: Exactly. They found that some candidates would be incredibly charming to the hiring manager but dismissive or rude to the driver. That person, no matter how qualified, would never get hired. The airport pickup is a ritual designed to reveal a person's true character. It’s not about the ride; it’s about the respect. Jackson: It’s amazing how these simple, intentional acts can be so powerful. They’re like cultural x-rays, showing you what’s really going on inside a person or a team. Olivia: Exactly. And these rituals aren't just for doing work. Keswin argues some of the most powerful ones are for not doing work.

Jackson: That feels like the biggest challenge of all in our always-on culture. The idea of a ritual for not working seems almost revolutionary. Olivia: It is! We're conditioned to see breaks as a sign of weakness or slacking. But the science is clear: our brains are like muscles. They're built for sprinting, not marathons. We need to pulse our energy—intense focus followed by genuine renewal. And rituals are the perfect way to structure that renewal. Jackson: So we’re talking about more than just a sad desk lunch while scrolling through emails. Olivia: So much more. Keswin shares some great, simple examples, like the 3 p.m. dance party at LinkedIn or the daily dog walk at the wellness brand Moon Juice. But the most radical example she found comes from the investment firm Motley Fool. Jackson: A financial firm feels like the last place you’d find a culture of unplugging. Olivia: You would think! But they have a ritual that is so counter-cultural it’s almost unbelievable. It’s a mandatory vacation lottery. Jackson: A… mandatory… vacation? You have to explain that. Olivia: Once a month, at their all-hands meeting, the company leaders pull a name out of a hat. The employee whose name is drawn must take a two-week vacation before the next month's meeting. Jackson: They must take it? What if they have a huge project? Olivia: Doesn't matter. They have to go. And here’s the kicker: they are forbidden from having any contact with work. No email, no Slack, no calls. And to make sure they actually enjoy it, the company gives them a $1,500 bonus to spend on their trip. Jackson: That's insane. My first thought is, 'I can't be away for two weeks! Everything will fall apart!' What's the real purpose here? It can't just be about getting a tan. Olivia: It has a brilliant dual purpose. On one level, it forces that one employee to truly disconnect and recharge, which, as we know, prevents burnout and boosts creativity. But the deeper, more systemic purpose is for the rest of the team. Jackson: How so? Olivia: It reinforces one of their core values: collaboration. The ritual is a live-fire drill that proves no single person is indispensable. It forces the team to build resilient systems, to document their processes, and to trust each other to cover the gaps. It’s a ritual that builds both individual well-being and organizational strength. Jackson: That is genuinely profound. They’ve turned a vacation—something that can actually cause a lot of stress and anxiety—into a ritual that strengthens the entire company culture. It’s a public declaration that the team is more important than any individual. Olivia: And that rest is not a liability, but an asset. It’s the ultimate "no-smoke break." It’s a structured, celebrated moment of disconnection that allows everyone to reconnect with more energy and focus when they return.

Jackson: So it seems the 'workplace magic' Keswin talks about isn't some grand, expensive program. It's not about installing a new ping-pong table or offering free snacks, though those can be nice. Olivia: Right. In fact, Keswin tells a story about the New York Times newsroom, where they got rid of the 4 p.m. snack cart, and the staff was crestfallen. It wasn't about the snacks; it was about the ritual of gathering for a few minutes. The loss of the ritual was the real blow. Jackson: It’s about being intentional with the small, human moments—a meal, a greeting, a break. It’s about what one of her sources calls "redesigning the way people interact from an atomic level." Olivia: I love that phrase. It’s not about a massive overhaul. It’s about finding the routines that already exist in your workday and infusing them with a little more intention, a little more meaning. Jackson: And it seems like the test for a true ritual is simple: would you miss it if it were gone? If the answer is yes, you've found something powerful. Olivia: Exactly. And Keswin's challenge to readers, and to us, is simple. What's one routine in your workday you could infuse with a little more intention? It could be as small as taking a five-minute walk without your phone to mark the end of the day, or starting your team meeting by asking everyone to share one small win from the weekend. Jackson: It’s a powerful and, most importantly, an accessible idea. You don’t need a huge budget or CEO approval to start. You just need to be a little more human. Olivia: We're curious to hear what rituals, big or small, you all have at work. Find us on our socials and share one. You might inspire someone else. Jackson: This is Aibrary, signing off.