Love in Action
Love in Action
Marcel Schwantes
How Hope Is the Key to the Future of Work, with Jen Fisher and Dr. Alex Lovell
1 hour 1 minutes Posted Feb 20, 2026 at 2:10 pm.
— Welcome to the Love and Action Podcast
— Topic Introduction: Hope
— Introducing Dr. Alex Lovell
— AI Helping Us to Find Solutions
— Key Findings: Hopelessness at Work
— Generational Divide in Hope
— Gen Z and the Need to Feel Seen
— Inclusion, Belonging, and Recognition
— Engagement Link: Hope Drives Performance
— Practical Solutions: Connection and Relationships
— Practical Solutions: Goals and Small Wins
— Where to Find the Report + Resources
— Jen’s Story: Burnout, Cancer, Caregiving
— Setting Clear Goals
— Be the leader Setting Examples
— Hope as Strategy: Goals, Pathways, Agency
— Hope in Practice: Leadership Communication
— Language of Hope: Builders vs Killers
— Hope Dealers and Possibility Thinking
— Leading with the Whole Truth
— Why Wellness Programs Aren
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Show notes
Episode recap 
 
This episode focused on hope in the workplace, starting with a discussion with Dr. Alex Lovell, head researcher and vice president at the O.C. Tanner Institute, and covering a recent O.C. Tanner study that revealed a decline in employee hopefulness. Marcel transitioned to a lively conversation with Jen Fisher, author of Hope Is the Strategy, and one of the world's first chief well-being officers. They explored how leaders can cultivate hope by using language that builds rather than kills hope, emphasizing curiosity, empathy, and transparency. Jen explained that hope requires clear goals, acknowledgment of current reality, and identifying multiple pathways to achieve those goals. They also discussed the limitations of wellness programs alone in improving employee well-being and the need to address cultural and behavioral factors in the workplace. The conversation concluded with Jen encouraging listeners to become "hope dealers" by helping others identify possibilities and support their potential.
 
Bio:
Jen Fisher is a global authority on workplace well-being, the founder and CEO of The Wellbeing Team and the author of Hope Is the Strategy: The Underrated Skill That Transforms Work, Leadership, and Wellbeing. 
 
Dr. Alex Lovell is the Vice President of the O.C. Tanner Institute and a political psychologist focused on the human side of work—specifically, how organizations can better foster appreciation, identity, belonging, and fulfillment to unlock human potential.
 
Quotes: 
Alex Lovell 
Employees are seven times more likely to be engaged when they feel hopeful 
When people don’t see a path forward and don’t believe they can follow that path, there is no way they can get there 
Recognition and belonging are one of the strongest antidotes to hopelessness 
When teams aren’t inclusive, employees are 513 percent more likely to feel burned out 
Our younger workers don’t see a future anywhere, not personally and not professionally 
Jen Fisher 
Hope is not an emotion; it is a cognitive and behavioral process 
Do you want to lead a hopeful organization or a hopeless one? 
People need to believe that your strategy will leave them better off tomorrow than they are today 
Never in the history of telling someone not to worry have they not worried 
Be a hope dealer and help people see possibilities 
 
Takeaways: 
Hope is a measurable leadership skill that requires clear goals, multiple pathways, and agency 
Employees who feel hopeful are significantly more engaged and resilient 
Gen Z workers are struggling to see a personal and professional future, making belonging and recognition essential 
The language leaders use can either build hope or quietly destroy it 
Transparency and telling the whole truth reduce anxiety and strengthen trust 
Wellness programs alone cannot fix broken work design or culture 
Rebuilding hope starts with identifying and taking the next small step 
The future of work must intentionally preserve humanity alongside advancing technology. 
 
Timestamps: