Who will I be in this role? Why work isn’t working and what we can collectively do better.

I think we all recognize that a seismic shift occurred with the pandemic. People were taking stock of their lives and what they wanted in an unprecedented way. And since that time the deeply transactional nature of the relationship has been laid bare: when they needed labor organizations embraced flexibility, higher pay, diversity and inclusion. When those things became inconvenient less than 5 years later, they were abandoned. Burnout and disillusionment grew more common, organizations returned to the same, playbook: wellness points, investments in leadership persuasion techniques, mindfulness apps. But as it turns out, you can’t ‘meditation challenge’ your way out of a broken job.

You Can’t ‘Meditation Challenge Your Way Out of a Broken Job: What Transformative Work Design Really Demands

The real issue isn’t that people lack resilience. It’s that their work wasn’t designed with their humanity in mind.

Recent writing on Transformative Work Design have resurfaced something that resonates with workers in their bones: the very structure of our jobs—how they’re shaped, experienced, and evolved—has far more impact on well-being, identity, and even personality than most leaders realize.

Here are four findings you may not have heard before—and what they mean for how we need to think about the future of work.

1. Work Doesn’t Just Reflect Who You Are—It Changes Who You Are

Most job descriptions assume personality is static. But the research is clear: your daily work experiences shape your traits over time. Repetitive, low-autonomy roles can erode openness and proactivity. Jobs that foster mastery and trust can make people more conscientious, more resilient—even more extraverted. Work also inherently provides an opportunity to interact with people, ideas and challenges we would otherwise not encounter.

How we should use this information: Redesign job roles with developmental intent. Use job rotation or micro-stretch projects not just to build skills, but to support whole-self growth. Ask: “Who will this person become if they do this job for five years?” “Who do they want to become and how can we together provide the right opportunities?”

2. Employee Involvement Isn’t a Bonus—It’s a Core Requirement of Successful Redesign

Top-down redesigns often fail because they treat people as passive recipients of change. But participatory models show that when employees co-design their work, outcomes improve dramatically—not just for performance, but for identity alignment and sustainability. Simulated job redesign research as far back at the 70s consistently show that employees will rate a change better when they had a part in designing it. 

How should organizations use this information: Implement participatory work design teams during major changes. Don’t just survey—create real influence. Employees should be shaping the structure, not just responding to its effects.

How should employees use this information: Advocate for and participate in working groups around significant change as a strong model for the mutual benefits of sound change management. Use the avenues available at your organization to challenge HR leaders to find ways involve employees in the ever-increasing number of redesigns being deployed. 

3. Job Crafting Works—Especially When the System Is Built to Support It

Job crafting is often framed as individual empowerment. But research shows that without structural permission, psychological safety, and manager support, crafting stalls—or becomes a form of quiet resistance rather than meaningful change. So many of our efforts to drive inclusion, like employee resource groups and sustainability groups, can also be avenues for employees to craft purposeful experiences into their jobs, but instead become check-the-box markers of ‘measured participation’. 

How should organizations use this information: Create job crafting pilots, and instead of asking employees to craft their jobs on their own time, institutionalize job crafting. Provide shared language, peer examples, and dedicated time during team planning cycles. Reward proactive reshaping, not just output.

How should employees use this information: Advocate for and participate in job crafting opportunities. Where this format doesn’t exist institutionally, create your own path to designing a fulfilling workday by taking advantage of opportunities to work with your organization’s volunteer initiatives, resource groups, and seek out opportunities to learn and participate in new technology or projects that interest you. 

4. Algorithmic Management Is Rewriting Work Design—Often for the Worse

As AI and platforms infiltrate task design, workflow scheduling, and performance management, the human elements of discretion, feedback, and growth are being stripped out. Research calls out the depersonalization and surveillance risks of algorithmic management.

How should organizations use this information: When implementing algorithmic systems, design for explainability and correctability. Ensure workers can challenge opaque metrics and understand how decisions are made. Human-centric AI isn't just ethical—it's better for performance and trust.

How should employees use this information: Use your own experiences and data to push back on unrealistic timeframes. Advocate for more human-centric approaches, and raise your hand as able to participate in trials to test diversifying task assignments, job rotations, and participating in a gig or stretch assignment. 

Reframing the Real Work of Work

The uncomfortable truth is that many organizations still treat job design as a structural afterthought. But as workers we all know it’s not. Our jobs are where we spend a 1/3 of our adult life, and it has the capacity to be one of the primary ways we experience meaning, build identity, and develop the capacity to grow.

The future of work will not be won by those with the best engagement survey or the or the most in-office social hours. It will be won by those who understand that attending to how people work best is not just an HR afterthought, but a core element of a successful business plan.

So no, you can’t ‘meditation challenge’ your way out of a broken job. But, you can design your way toward something radically better.

Looking for help redesigning your next season of work? Connect with me! Let’s work together to envision and realize your dream career!