1083: How Tiny Actions Inspire Others through Mattering with Zach Mercurio

Update: 2025-08-11

Description

Zach Mercurio reveals the hidden epidemic that’s plaguing the workplace—and what we can do about it.

— YOU’LL LEARN —

1) The root of disengagement and quiet quitting

2) How to help others feel valued in just 30 seconds

3) The questions that help people feel seen

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep1083 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT ZACH —

Zach Mercurio is a researcher, leadership development facilitator, and speaker specializing in purposeful leadership, mattering, and meaningful work. He advises leaders in organizations worldwide on practices for building cultures that promote well-being, motivation, and high performance.

Mercurio holds a PhD in organizational learning, performance, and change and serves as one of Simon Sinek's Optimist Instructors, teaching a top-rated course on creating mattering at work. His previous book is The Invisible Leader.

• Book: The Power of Mattering: How Leaders Can Create a Culture of Significance

• Study: “The Lived Experience of Meaningful Work in a Stigmatized Occupation: A Descriptive Phenomenological Inquiry”

• LinkedIn: Zach Mercurio

• Website: ZachMercurio.com

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• Study: “Human Workplace Index: The Price of Invisibility” from Workhuman

• Study: “Age, Perceptions of Mattering, and Allostatic Load” by John Taylor, Michael J. McFarland, and Dawn C. Carr

• Study: “Undervaluing Gratitude: Expressers Misunderstand the Consequences of Showing Appreciation” by Amit Kumar and Nicholas Epley

• Study: “It's not all about me: motivating hand hygiene among health care professionals by focusing on patients” by Adam Grant and David A. Hofmann

• Book: Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

• Past episode: 500: Building Unshakeable Self-Esteem and Confidence with Victor Cheng

• Past episode: 972: Amy Edmondson on How to Fail Well