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In episode 24 of “The JoyPowered™ Workspace Podcast,” JoDee and Susan discuss JoDee’s new book, The JoyPowered Family, with her co-author, Denise McGonigal. They talk about why they wrote the book, their definition of joy, and the effect of CliftonStrengths on family joy. Other topics include work-life balance, service to others, and family suffering.

We can’t just leave our work lives at the door when we leave the office, or leave our personal lives at the door when we go to work; these two facets of our lives have a strong impact on each other. That’s what made JoDee and Denise want to write a book about family joy and how even if you aren’t a glass half full kind of person you can still be a catalyst for joy.

It’s important to understand what you do best and how you can do more of it. There are many ways to figure that out, but JoDee and Denise believe that the CliftonStrengths assessment articulates your gifts and talents really well. The theory behind it is that it’s more productive to focus on your strengths than to fixate on your weaknesses.

JoDee and Denise also discuss the definitions of joy they used to write the book. The first is a psychologist’s description of happiness as external and dependent on outside sources, and joy as an internal, spiritual quality. The next is Aristotle’s four levels of happiness: immediate gratification, ego, philanthropy, and a sense of peace. Lastly, they cite Deacon Rick Wagner’s statement that happiness has an expiration date, while joy is independent of people and circumstances. Then, the authors dig into some of the chapters of their new book, focusing on work-life balance, service to others, and finding joy when suffering.

In this week’s listener mail, Denise’s daughter, Erin, calls in to share her experience implementing the concepts of the book in her life with her young family. JoDee and Susan discuss the coming increase in ICE’s form I-9 audits, worksite raids, and promotion of involvement in the government’s voluntary compliance program.

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Purple Ink, the HR consulting firm JoDee owns
• Susan Tinder White Consulting, the HR consulting firm Susan owns
• JoyPowered, JoDee’s book
• The JoyPowered Family, a new book written by JoDee and guest host Denise
• CliftonStrengths, an assessment JoDee and Susan promote, and a big part of The JoyPowered Family
• “Joy -VS- Happiness”, a Psychology Today article that provided one of JoDee and Denise’s definitions of the difference between happiness and joy
• The Nicomachean Ethics, in which Aristotle defines his four levels of happiness, another definition JoDee and Denise used in the book
• “Homily: Choose Joy”, Deacon Rick Wagner’s homily that provided another of JoDee and Denise’s definitions of the difference between happiness and joy
• Holiday World, a theme park in Santa Claus, Indiana, where JoDee’s son had his best birthday party ever
• the ink pad, a creative and inspiring meeting and training space in Carmel, Indiana
• ICE, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency
• Form I-9, the form proving that an employee is authorized to work in the U.S.