The LookUP List: The Joy of Work

A reading list…and a playlist to go with it

If work wasn’t meant to be joyful, why is there so much music in it?

When you dig into the history of music, so much of it has its roots in the ways that we work. Work songs have long-since mingled with songs of love, and songs of ritual - but whether it’s Delta blues, hunting songs or sea shanties, a lot of great music is about celebrating joys, and managing pain.

For me, work has always been inherently musical. Many of the most memorable periods of my career have clear soundtracks. And many of the most creative things I’ve done in my career took inspiration from music.

That’s why following our piece on the importance of finding joy in work, and our guide to refuelling the Joy, this month’s LookUP List is both a reading list, and a playlist!

We’ll share 5 brilliant books to help you think about the joy of work – and a couple of songs to accompany the thought in each book. At the end, there’s a full playlist to bring it all together…

1. If you are doing what you love, read this…

A beautiful, surprising and in lots of ways, quite strange book, Rick Rubin’s series of prompts on creativity will help anyone to think differently about how to get more out of doing what they love.

There’s a few other good ones in this area – and if you think that creativity is less relevant to your life and what you do, I’d nudge you in the direction of The Creative Nudge by Kev Chesters, which might get you thinking differently.

Listen with:

Sir Duke, by Stevie Wonder. The distilled essence of a man doing the thing he loves, whilst telling us why he loves it.

Luther, by Kendrick Lamar and sza. Hip-hop has always been the ultimate rags to riches genre, and Kendrick nails it again and again. In fact, he has made this brilliant little video about the power of hard work which I strongly recommend watching, and showing to your kids:

2. If you are tired of interruptions, read this…

Flow, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is the classic of an entire genre – reminding us how important it is to know where we operate at our best, and to create a working environment and operating system to support it.

But let’s not forget that flow is different for different people - it’s about finding your own, in ways that mean something to you. And in remembering that to keep your flow, you need to break it sometimes…

Listen with:

We Run This, Missy Elliot. Feel the irresistible force of doing someone doing what they are great at, and knowing that they are great at it.

Free Man in Paris, Joni Mitchell. Even if you are the world’s greatest music agent, at the top of your game, (David Geffen in this song), you still need to take a holiday every now and again. This is the song I play when my out of office goes on:

3. If you need to freshen things up, read this…

We’ve talked before about the importance and power of lifelong learning, but if there’s one book to help you to embrace the mindset of starting all over again, Beginners by Tom Vanderbilt is probably the one.

Listen With:

Erie Canal, by Pete Seeger. Folk music has a unique power to memorialising the past, while documenting challenge. This is the deceptively simple song about a man and his love for his donkey, and his colleagues on the canal! But really, it’s about change at work. The world is never going to stay still. We need to keep moving.

Absolute Beginners, by David Bowie. The patron saint of lifelong learning, and always being a few steps outside your comfort zone. This is a typical David Bowie eccentricity, unbelievable poppy and fabulous, whilst still being just a little bit strange.

4. If your workplace has stopped making sense, read this…

Workplaces, whether they are scrappy founder-led startups, or massive global corporates, have a massive bias to positive thinking. That can be good, as far as it goes - but unfounded positivity can be dangerous; and can lead people to feeling like they are going just a little bit mad.

Smile or Die, by Barbara Ehrenreich, gives a little glimpse into where toxic positivity came from, and what to do where it’s out of control:

Listen With:

Frankly, Mr Shankly, by the Smiths. Brand Morrissey may not be what it was, but if you want anyone to speak directly to the inner monologue of the disillusioned employee, you’ll struggle to beat this one.

Factory, by Bruce Springsteen. Bruce’s relationship with work is worth its own Substack, and was extensively covered in his brilliant Broadway show. He’s the supreme chronicler of American working class life - whose perspective is made somehow more wistful by the very fact that his musical career kept him out of the life he is describing. But Bruce will always remind you that whatever the business says, the Factory does NOT care about you. Featured live, here:

5. To remember we are all in it together, read this

Jonathan Haidt’s more recent book, The Anxious Generation is topping the non-fiction lists of 2024. But if you are looking for a single primer on philosophies of happiness, and how to apply them to modern life, the Happiness Hypotheses is the one to start with. He reminds us how importance coherence, and social connection, are to every element of our happiness, in work and beyond.

Listen with:

Respect Yourself, by the Staples Sisters. A call to action for self-care, and the importance of remembering how doing little things to make yourself happier, and to make people happier around you, can make a big difference. (Also just a total banger)

Thank God it's Christmas. This song will forever remind me of standing on a crowded dance floor with a group of beloved colleagues after an unbelievably difficult year. A lot of what we went through that year was probably a bit meaningless, in retrospect. But if it had any meaning, it was in the experience we had of coming through it together. This is a great time of year to feel grateful for that!

Happy reading, and happy listening. If you’d like all these songs in a Spotify playlist, here it is.

Otherwise, we’ll be back soon, with a review of the year at LookUP.

Thanks for reading!