Joy at Work: The Most Overlooked Leadership Superpower
When people talk about leadership, they often use words like strategy, execution, or accountability. Rarely do they use the word joy.
But joy is not fluff. It’s not a nice-to-have. Joy is fuel. Joy is a superpower.
What Joy at Work Really Does
Joy at work isn’t just about laughter breaks or donuts in the break room. (Although those matter more than most leaders think.) It’s something deeper: the energy that comes from knowing your work matters and sharing that energy with others.
Joy at work does three powerful things:
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Sharpens performance. Joy lights up the brain. People are more creative, more resilient, and more engaged when they feel joy in what they do.
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Strengthens connection. Teams that experience joy together trust each other more. They’re quicker to collaborate and slower to blame.
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Sustains energy. Stress drains. Joy restores. It’s the difference between burning out and burning bright.
Why Joy at Work Is Overlooked
Many organizations treat joy like it’s extra credit. They focus on efficiency, productivity, and control. The result? People show up, but they don’t light up.
One look at the recent stories on quiet vacationing speaks volumes. People are using tech to pretend to work while they vacation instead. Would people bother with that if they found joy in their workplace culture? Isn’t the point of vacation to go find a bit of joy? Why not make work more joyful instead?
Leaders sometimes believe joy is outside their job description. “I’m here to drive results, not feelings.” But joy and results are not in competition. Joy creates results.
Joy at Work in Action — The FISH! Way
At FISH!, we’ve seen this play out for 25 years in organizations across industries. The practices of Play and Make Their Day are joy in action.
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Play isn’t about games. It’s about bringing curiosity, lightness, and energy into everyday tasks. Play breaks down walls, sparks new ideas, and makes work feel human again.
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Make Their Day is about the joy of lifting someone else up—whether it’s a coworker, a customer, or a patient. Those small, intentional acts ripple outward and transform culture.
When leaders model these practices, joy stops being a byproduct. It becomes part of the operating system.
The Invitation for Leaders
Joy isn’t a perk. It’s a choice. A discipline. A way of showing up.
Leaders who embrace joy give their people more than a paycheck. They give them a reason to bring their best selves. They show that work can be a place where energy flows, not just drains.
And in a world full of stress, disengagement, and fear, that’s not just nice—it’s necessary.
Final Thought: Joy as Culture’s Superpower
Joy is contagious. When leaders practice it, it spreads. When teams feel it, they create more of it. And when organizations harness it, they unlock performance no spreadsheet can capture.
Joy is not soft. Joy is not naive. Joy is power.
And in the workplace, it may be the most underestimated leadership superpower of all.
To add joy into your workplace culture, spend some time with us at FISH!. Workshops and keynotes are a fast and lasting way to bring joy to your teams.