Joy Works

CHAPTER 9Social Justice and Joy

In the past few years, since we started studying joy at work, we've seen themes that started out small and increasingly grew bigger, like Pac‐Man. We started with joy at work. But joy led to justice, mission, purpose, and sustainability.

Even as we continue to see the bitter evidence of endemic injustice, there is hope for the future, and there is human aspiration. There will be great joy in achieving true justice and equity.

In this chapter, we'll think about the relationship between social justice and joy. My view: You can't even begin to think about joy until you have a baseline sense of justice. My message: There will be no joy without justice.

As I mentioned in the introduction, I think of the fundamental ABCs as allyship, belonging, and culture. They lead to each other. And the more these three things are harmoniously and authentically executed, the more teams can take on big challenges. Having a strong team changes everything. It steels you against challenges, and it primes you for joy, even during hard times.

Let's think about how we can drive more joy, starting with justice.

Joy and justice for all

WHO DESERVES JOY?

First, I want to share a fascinating conversation I had with Ingrid Fetell Lee. Ingrid is a designer who is known for her exploration of joy. She wrote a book called      Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness. When I first met her in 2019, well before COVID was a possibility ...