The global workforce is a moment of reckoning with the dominant narratives about work — the Great Resignation, quiet quitting, and now, quiet ambition — each a new storyline about other ways of viewing work that have upended the traditional career ladder. It’s in this moment of questioning that internationally celebrated writer, relationship expert, and psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb is bringing a fresh perspective to one of the biggest stories of our daily lives: the one we tell ourselves about work.
It’s also one that we have the most power to rewrite.
Perhaps best known for her bestselling books and as a quick-witted observer of the human condition, Gottleib has experienced many sides of work in her different careers. Before she achieved global acclaim and media punditry, she earned degrees at three top universities, was a film and TV executive, became a single mom by choice, and grew her own practice as a therapist helping people understand themselves and their relationships.
“When people hear the word ‘relationships,’ they think about partners, family, kids, friends, community,” Gottlieb says. “But you also have a relationship with work, especially given how much time we spend there.”
The focus is squarely on that relationship and how tools, products, and services make that balance better the inaugural HP Imagine event, which kicks off today and introduces groundbreaking solutions for work, life, and play, driving sustainable growth, and empowering a thriving hybrid world.
See all the news from HP Imagine.
The slew of new product and services announcements at HP Imagine — from AI-enhanced Managed Collaboration Services, to PCs with an entirely new form factors (the HP Spectre Foldable and Envy Move All-in-One), and a suite of OfficeJet and DeskJet printers with a new sustainable ink cartridge option — comes on the heels of a first-of-its kind survey by HP that revealed some surprising statistics about how people feel about work, the HP Work Relationship Index.
“You can see that expectations have changed significantly,” Gottleib explains. “At this point, 58% of knowledge workers say that their expectations of their relationship with work have increased, and that’s over the past two to three years, so much so that 83% of workers today are willing to earn less to be happier at work. That is a huge shift, but it doesn’t surprise me as a therapist.”
What also doesn’t surprise her: The reframing of work as one of the central relationships of our lives, one that deserves as much attention and care to how we feel about it as any other.
“People don’t talk enough about work,” Gottlieb says. “Whether we’re doing it remotely or in person, no matter what industry we’re in – it’s what most people do for most hours of the day. This conversation is so important to have.”
The Garage sat down with Gottlieb to continue the conversation started with the Work Relationship Index and what it means for employees, managers, and business leadership.
