Most organisations pour money into wellbeing programmes and still end up with teams that are flat, disengaged, and just getting through the week. The problem isn't the programme. It's the target.

Behavioural neuroscientist Dr. Paul Zak has spent 30 years studying what actually makes people - and teams - thrive. His research shows the brain has a measurable mechanism for the value it gets from experiences, trackable second by second. And when you know what that data looks like across your organisation, the engagement survey starts to look like a very blunt instrument.

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess sits down with Dr. Zak to dig into the neuroscience of thriving teams, and what leaders can actually do about it.

What's covered:

Why wellness is too low a bar, and what the thriving brain actually looks like The neuroscience of psychological safety, measured, not surveyed
What the data says about remote work, in-person, and where your team actually thrives
Why autonomy and communicating the "why" separate high-immersion workplaces from everyone else
"Train extensively, delegate generously" — and why most leaders only do one

If you're responsible for building a team that doesn't just perform, but actually thrives, this one is for you.

Wired to Work with Jess Chapman. Watch or listen wherever you get your podcasts! https://www.wiredtowork.castos.com/

Join our Patreon Community! https://patreon.com/WiredtoWork?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_fan&utm_content=copyLink

• (00:00:00) - How to Build a Well-Being Brain
• (00:00:40) - Wired to Work: Trust in the Workplace
• (00:01:41) - Immersion and the Way it Matters for Work
• (00:08:07) - Back to Work: The Case for Personal Time
• (00:09:46) - The Key Moments of Life
• (00:12:31) - Employee Wellbeing and Work
• (00:16:18) - The importance of meeting people in person
• (00:21:50) - The Future of Working From Home
• (00:23:20) - Key Moments on the Six app
• (00:27:51) - The Key Moments of the Workforce
• (00:28:54) - Have You Asked Your Boss About High Stress?
• (00:30:37) - High-Immersion Businesses: The Need for autonomy
• (00:36:39) - How to talk to an employee about their job
• (00:39:52) - What Do Organizations Need to Know About Employee Well-Being
• (00:45:06) - E3CA: Working In The World of Work