An excerpt from the book:
Research shows that when people quit their jobs, they aren’t quitting their work; they’re quitting their workplace. They are quitting a long list of negative experiences which have built up over time, that are no longer tolerable. These experiences can include, but are not limited to, a culture where people are treated like a commodity, micromanaging, chaos, stress and terrible communication. Typically, even before people quit, they slowly stop caring; they “quiet quit”. They stop bringing their best, or anything even close, for months or even years before they actually quit or get fired. With one foot out the door, they show up, fill a position, endure the day, and clock out, dreading the reality of doing it all over again the next day.
Recent studies reveal an alarming decline in employee engagement, reaching levels not seen in a decade. According to a 2025 Gallup report, only 31% of U.S. employees were engaged in their work by the end of 2024, marking the lowest engagement rate since 2014. These are shocking numbers that represent millions of unfulfilled people who, to put it bluntly, feel like work sucks.
My purpose in writing this book is to provide actionable, tangible tools to support and guide leaders through many of the challenges they may experience, so they can do better. At the very least, it shouldn’t suck to go to work. Everyone deserves the ability to provide for their family, enjoy life, put a meal on the table, and have a roof over their heads, without having to endure a negative, toxic culture to do so. To that end, let’s agree that something needs to change. From a leadership perspective, it is time to raise the bar on our standards. Just as physicians take the Hippocratic oath, “to cause no harm”, Leaders too must make a foundational commitment to “make work not suck”, as a starting point for their mindset.
No matter your industry, as a leader of people, it is imperative that you recognize the privilege and responsibility that role embodies. You have the power to create a work environment where people, feel respected, appreciated and empowered to bring their best to work.
During the past 20 years as either a leader myself or consulting other leaders, I have counselled and supported hundreds of people who wanted to make a shift from a stressed out, burned out, complaining, disengaged culture to one that is thriving, productive and positive. This book offers proven, demonstrated strategies that will support and guide you to ending this frustrating and unproductive cycle in your organization, your team and maybe even in your life as a whole.
Within these pages, you will learn to take ownership of your own habits and patterns that have contributed to any breakdown in your organization or team. You are going to discover practical tools and strategies to help you become the best leader you can be while inspiring and motivating others around you to level up. You will develop communication tools that help you establish trust and create a safe environment where people can bring their best to the table. You’ll also gain insight into how to build and sustain a high-performance team that is focused, driven and thriving.
Together, we can change the narrative on quiet quitting and a disengaged workplace culture that is sweeping through our workforce right now. The stakes are high, but we have the tools, strategies and insights to turn things around. If you are ready to make work not suck, let’s do this together.