30+ years1,500+ keynotes2 million+ people20+ countries
Let me say the quiet part out loud!
Joy at work is a business strategy, and the research agrees with me!!
Joy at work is the steady feeling of being safe, valued, connected and growing in a job that matters to you. Teams that have it are more engaged, more productive, better at sales and far more likely to stay. Amanda Gore is a joy keynote speaker who has taught leaders and teams how to build it for 30+ years.
I’m Amanda Gore, and I’ve spent 30+ years on stages in more than 20 countries, in front of more than 2 million people, asking one cheeky question: what would happen if work felt good? Not "fun Friday with a pizza" good. Properly, deeply, I-actually-want-to-be-here good!
Here’s what I’ve learned. Strategy matters. Systems matter. But the thing that decides whether your people stay, sell, create and care is how they feel. And joy is the feeling that holds all the other good ones: safe, valued, connected, trusted, hopeful, excited about tomorrow!
So grab a coffee, and let me share with you what joy at work is, why it pays, what it does for burnout and resilience, and the small things you can do every day!
What is joy at work?
Joy at work is the feeling that you’re safe, you matter, that how you do what you do matters, you belong and you’re growing, while doing work that means something to you.
It’s not the same as happiness! Happiness is a mood. It turns up when the sun shines and leaves when the printer jams. Joy goes deeper. It comes from the inside, from a strong sense of who you really are (that’s why my book is called Joy Is an Inside Job!), and it stays with you when the day gets bumpy. It’s a sense of deep peace and calm, as well as the jumping-for-joy kind!
Fun fact: joy has been a verb since the 1300s! To joy means to feel great delight, and also to gladden other people, to make their day brighter. So the real question for any workplace is: who are you joying today? I love that!!
Does joy at work really pay? Yes, and here are the numbers!
I’ve never met a CFO who didn’t perk up at this part!
Read those again! Fewer people walking out the door, more getting done, more deals closed. Joy turns out to be very good for business!!
Sources: Gallup Q12 Meta-Analysis, 11th Ed.; Shawn Achor, The Happiness Advantage (2010).
People leave bosses, not jobs
You’ve heard it, and I say it everywhere: people leave bosses, not jobs!
Think about your best boss ever, or your favorite teacher. Picture their face. How did you feel around them? In every country and every industry, I get the same answer: safe, seen, believed in. They made you feel extraordinary, so you were!
That’s brain science, not magic. When people feel threatened, the brain puts survival first, and creativity, teamwork and good decisions take a back seat. When people feel safe, they open up, speak up and do brilliant things. People change at the speed of safety. Not at the speed of a new KPI framework or a strongly worded all-staff email!
So here’s the question I’d love every leader to sit with: how do people feel after five minutes with you? If the answer is "not sure", that’s a wonderful place to start, and it’s exactly where my Radiate Joy keynote begins!
Joy at work, burnout and resilience
Let’s talk about the elephant in the break room! I walk into client conference venues all over the world and see the same thing: people who are tired all the time, doing more with less, juggling hybrid work and constant change, and feeling oddly disconnected even when surrounded by colleagues. Or on their fifth Zoom call of the day!
That’s why From Burnout to Joy became my most requested keynote!
Burnout creeps up like the frog in the pot: the heat goes up so slowly nobody notices. Fear is one of the biggest drivers. When your nervous system is on high alert day after day, it wears you down. The good news is that small daily habits turn the heat back down, and joy is the fastest one I know!
Resilience is built the same way, in small daily choices. The resilient people I meet everywhere:
- Choose joy on purpose, first thing in the morning
- Watch their own thinking and stop the thoughts that create stress
- Stay present instead of living in the past or the future
- Focus on what they can control
- Ask for help when they need it
- Stay connected to other people (hug a human!)
- Find something to be grateful for, in everything and everyone
And if burnout feels heavy or has been around for a long time, please talk to your doctor or a professional too. Asking for help is a strength!
Want the whole thing? My A to Z for going from burnout to joy is on the From Burnout to Joy page: B is Breathe, D is Daylight, K is Kindness, L is Laugh a lot, T is Ta-das (arms up, big smile!) and Z is Zooties, my mum’s gift to the world, which I’ll explain when I see you!
Looking for a resilience keynote speaker for a team running on empty? Have a look at my Joy, Burnout & Resilience keynotes and workshops.
The 12 ingredients of a joyful workplace
Over the years I’ve found that joy is made of twelve things. Every one of them is also a leadership skill!
- Gratitude
- Compassion
- Hope
- Reverence (treating people as precious!)
- Generosity
- Listening
- Laughter
- Energy and vitality
- Forgiveness
- Cheerful enthusiasm
- Love
- Equanimity (calm in the middle of the chaos)
Notice anything? There isn’t a spreadsheet on that list! These are feelings, and feelings run everything. Money matters, of course, and people deserve a fair wage. But once that’s sorted, almost everything else about performance comes down to how people feel. The most important thing in life is how you feel about yourself. The second most important thing in life as a leader is how others feel around you.
10 ways to make your workplace more joyful this week
You don’t need a budget. You need a little courage and a sense of humor!
- Be a walking joy spot. If the leader does something fun, everyone else gets permission to. I call these joy spots, and you can create one anywhere!
- Find a joy buddy. One person who keeps you accountable for the small joyful things you promised yourself.
- Start your next meeting with one question: what are you most grateful for since we last met? Then watch what happens to the meeting!
- Give out TA DAs. Arms up, big smile, for every small win. It takes three seconds and people never forget it.
- Laugh more! Laughter resets your brain and lifts everyone around you. Look for funny, watch funny, think funny!
- Breathe in for seven, hold for seven, out for seven. Do it twice, whenever you notice a feeling other than peace or joy.
- Get outside into daylight on your breaks. Real light beats fluorescent every time.
- Choose kind over right. It works, and it’s a pillar of joy.
- Listen like it’s your job. It is! Listening is a master skill and a cheap one.
- Ask the question. "How do you feel when we work together?" Then thank them for the answer, whatever it is!
Amanda Gore, your joy keynote speaker (and leadership keynote speaker!)
Everything above is what I teach, with a lot of laughing along the way. I’m a leadership keynote speaker and a joy keynote speaker, and I’m in the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame, and I’m one of fewer than ten people in the world to hold the CPAE, CSP and Global Speaking Fellow designations. I trained as a physiotherapist with a major in psychology and I’m an NLP Master Practitioner, so my keynotes blend neuroscience, psychology and emotional intelligence with stories people retell for years!
Every keynote is built around your people, your pressures and the result you want. It’s interactive from the first minute, and everyone walks out with tools they can use the same day. Groups I’ve worked with include Google, McDonald’s, American Express, Disney, IBM and Microsoft, and more than 70 YPO chapters!
Here’s where joy at work shows up in my work:
- Radiate Joy: Be the Best Boss They Ever Had (What’s It Like to Be Led by You?). For leaders who want people to trust them, follow them and stay.
- From Burnout to Joy. My most requested keynote, for teams running on empty.
- The Connected Team. How joy builds connection, and connection builds safety, accountability and performance.
- The Joy Formula workshop. Restore resilience and balance, built around The Life Pizza.
- The Amanda Gore JQ® Lab: Joy Under Pressure. A hands-on workshop for managing your state when the heat is on.
Planning a conference, sales kickoff or leadership retreat? See why organizations book me as their leadership keynote speaker.
What clients say
Fresh out of a session Amanda facilitated with my finance team and the feedback from the team is fantastic. Amanda skillfully and engagingly reset the attitude of the whole team in one morning. Pure mastery at work. Looking forward to keeping the joy going with the tools Amanda left behind. Thanks and zoots.
Wanted to write a really big thank you for presenting at our conference! The feedback has been amazing. Really important content presented in such a fun, engaging, translatable, wonderful way. We have had many many comments and follow-up emails of stories of how people are now igniting joy in their clinics. Thank you thank you.
Amanda delivered an amazing presentation on leadership and creating resilient workplaces that lead to better performance, which I KNOW resonated with the whole audience. Amanda is awesome and I highly recommend her.
We love Amanda! She is a vibrant and energetic presenter who captivates and engages her audience for the duration of the presentation. Amanda left a lasting impression on our staff who have embraced her philosophies and have created 'Joy Spots' across Australia. I would thoroughly recommend her as an inspirational speaker and she would in my opinion appeal to a wide range of audiences. Zooties!
Amanda's enthusiastic, energetic and optimistic approach to life is contagious. At the end of her presentation to our 80+ team of leaders there was a real buzz that lasted for the rest of the day and everyone was talking about how much they enjoyed the presentation. There were many Ta Daaa's and We'll Done - Excellent" comments made and I'm sure a lot of joy will be spread around the office for many years to come. I would highly recommend Amanda to any organisation looking for ways to improve workplace engagement and help their employees to approach both work and life in a more positive and joyful way.
Joy at work: your questions answered
What is joy at work?
Joy at work is the feeling of being safe, valued, connected and growing in a job that matters to you. It runs deeper than happiness and comes from a strong sense of who you are, which is why Amanda Gore calls joy an inside job.
Why does joy at work matter to the bottom line?
Engaged teams deliver 23% higher profitability and up to 51% lower turnover (Gallup). Positive brains are 31% more productive and 37% better at sales (Shawn Achor). People who feel good about their work stay, perform and look after each other.
What is the difference between happiness and joy at work?
Happiness is a mood that comes and goes with circumstances. Joy is steadier. It grows from safety, belonging, purpose and a healthy sense of self, so it holds up on difficult days.
How can a leader create joy at work?
Start with how people feel around you. Build safety so people can speak up, say thank you out loud, start meetings with gratitude, celebrate small wins with a TA DA, and go first with the fun, because when the leader does it everyone else gets permission.
Can joy help with burnout and resilience?
Yes. Fear and constant pressure wear people down, and small daily habits such as breathing, daylight, gratitude, connection and laughter turn the heat back down. Amanda’s keynote From Burnout to Joy is built on exactly this. If burnout feels heavy or has lasted a long time, talking to a doctor or other professional is a strength.
What does a joy keynote speaker do?
A joy keynote speaker uses stories, humor and behavioral science to change how a room feels, then hands people practical tools for connection, resilience and performance. Amanda Gore’s keynotes are interactive from the first minute, and her clients say people are still talking about them years later.
Who is Amanda Gore?
Amanda Gore is a Hall of Fame leadership keynote speaker (CPAE, CSP and Global Speaking Fellow). She has spoken to more than 2 million people in more than 20 countries across 30+ years, and her method is Amanda Gore JQ®.
Can I book Amanda Gore for a conference, sales kickoff or leadership retreat?
Yes. Amanda speaks live, virtually and in hybrid events. Every keynote is built around your people and your result, and comes with a personal video from Amanda, a meet and greet with your people if you’d like one, and an ebook covering everything she spoke about.
Fear kills performance. Joy builds it!
Want great leaders, connected teams and better results? Tell me about your event, and I’ll tell you which keynote fits. One call or email is all it takes!