Hello and welcome. I'm Larry Maguire, Dublin-based work and organisational psychologist. Sunday Letters is my readers' newsletter that focuses on the meaning and purpose of daily work. I write about leadership, well-being and performance at work, technology and its impact on the future of work, and the capitalist and socialist perspectives on work.
The ideas I share are fundamental to doing work that is more than merely transactional, more than trading body and soul for money. If you're dissatisfied, tired, burnt out, and want something more from your working life, subscribe to Sunday Letters and discover a new way to work.
The Truth About Work
Results of a recent study of workplace happiness 1 showed that meaningful work, feeling appreciated by coworkers, and enjoyment of daily tasks significantly predict happiness at work. Happiness at work is important for what might seem obvious reasons.
However, many studies worldwide that report on worker attitudes and well-being show that people are bored, disengaged, underutilised, mistreated, and have little or no sense of meaning and purpose in their work—and that's just the industrialised global north. The exploitation of workers in the global south is another story altogether.
If your own work experience hasn't convinced you there is a problem, here are some statistics that might shine a light on the current state of the modern workplace. Indeed's Work Wellbeing Report 2023 found the following;
- 71% of workers report low to moderate wellbeing at work
- Only 29% of workers are thriving
- 42% of people don’t feel energised
- 40% of people don’t trust their colleagues or employers
- 37% of people don’t feel like they belong
I could go on…the point is that work is, at best, unsatisfactory and necessary for vast numbers of people. At worst, it is an abrasive and unhealthy place. We go there to exchange our physical and emotional energies for money to live, and many do so for less than a living wage. It's a crazy situation, and work psychologists like me attempt to help rectify things. But in the face of the corporate imperative, our efforts are merely a sticking plaster over a gaping wound.
And so the material I share here is my effort to change the status quo, so if you're looking for a better, healthier way to live and work, maybe you'll find it here.
Support The Newsletter
Become a supporter of the newsletter and receive weekly content in your inbox on leadership, well-being and performance at work, technology and the future of work. You'll also be helping to promote independent thinking and writing. Support this work below, or read and share only if you prefer.
How Do You Feel About Daily Work?
This is a topic in which I am deeply interested. My research suggests that many adults are at odds with their work. Work seems transactional and soulless, a means towards an ultimate end. Yet, others are fully engaged with daily work. How does daily work make you feel? Can you take 2 minutes to tell me? Your responses help shape the content here on the site.
Article Categories
Creativity
Performance
The Podcast
Sunday Letters is the audio newsletter accompanying the weekly written members' newsletter that has been going now for over five years. We host on Substack and publish on all major podcasting platforms. Subscribe via your favourite player below.
Sunday Letters Podcast
The Sunday Letters Newsletter is available on audio too, and you can get it with every essay published.
Apple | Radio Republic | | Spotify | Google | Pocketcasts