Eudaimonia as the Blueprint for Creating Flourishing Workplaces with Andrew Soren

Flourishing Edge Podcast with Ashish Kothari

What would it look like if organizations were intentionally designed for human flourishing instead of mere survival? Most workplaces today are leaking energy—burnout is rising, workers are underpaid, and leaders are still chasing profits at the expense of people.

We’ve never had more knowledge about wellbeing, yet we remain starved for practice, with millions stuck in jobs that deny them dignity, security, and purpose. But today, that changes.

In this episode of the Happiness Squad Podcast, Ashish Kothari sits down with Andrew Soren to explore how to design organizations where people can flourish using the ancient Greek concept of Eudaimonia—living a life of purpose, growth, and virtue.

Andrew Soren is the founder and CEO of Eudaimonic By Design, a global network of facilitators, coaches, and advisors who partner with organizations to design systems that enable people to flourish. For more than 20 years, he has worked at the intersection of positive psychology, organizational design, and leadership development, helping companies around the world embed purpose, meaning, and wellbeing into the heart of work. Andrew also teaches in the University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Applied Positive Psychology program, sharing the science and practice of human flourishing with the next generation of leaders.

Things you will also learn in this episode:

• The meaning of Eudaimonia and how it differs from Hedonia.

• Why modern society is disconnected from nature and what it means to “suffer well.”

• The role of decent work (freedom, equity, security, dignity) as the foundation for flourishing.

• The business, competitive, and moral cases for designing organizations where people thrive.

• Practical ways leaders can create cultures of care, growth, and purpose at work.

Tune in now and learn how ancient wisdom and modern science can help us bring virtue and flourishing back into our workplaces.

✅Resources:

• Eudaimonic by Design: https://www.eudaimonicbydesign.com/andrewsoren

• Eudaimonic by Design: https://www.linkedin.com/company/eubd/

• Confuscian and Aristotelian Philosophy: https://bigthink.com/thinking/confucius-aristotle/

• Changemaker Wellbeing Index: https://wellbeingindex.ca/

• Column: U.S. Surgeon General: Loneliness Is at Heart of Growing Mental Health Crisis: https://www.uclahealth.org/news/publication/column-us-surgeon-general-loneliness-heart-growing-mental

✅Books:

• The Case for Good Jobs: How Great Companies Bring Dignity, Pay, and Meaning to Everyone's Work by Zeynep Ton: https://a.co/d/f8OmSfT

• Hardwired for Happiness by Ashish Kothari: https://a.co/d/8qWGfEU