💙 My year-end love letter

Hello and Happy, Happy Thurs...er, Friday!I

don't know about you, but this week has been a bit bonkers on my end between some travel and a belated birthday celebration with my close family. In this month that always flies by, I'm intentionally focusing on slowing down and savoring as many magical moments as I can. I'm guessing you may be too.

Whether you’re celebrating a holiday, tackling the laundry list of end-of-year tasks, or struggling with serious senioritis before a few well-earned days off, I know your time is precious. So I’m keeping things super light this week and giving it up to someone very special: you.

Want To Work There is a testament to my abiding love for, and belief in, people.

This community means the world to me. I still smile anytime a see a new subscriber email. It's another vote that we're not alone in thinking the way we work can (and should) be better. And yes, that WE includes YOU! 

Convincing leaders to prioritize people - sometimes at the loss of short term profit - is not an easy task. Neither is finding the time to work on foundational projects when you're battling one fire after another.

If you've found yourself feeling cynical at any point this year, I can't say I blame you. It's easy to be discouraged. To feel like you're the only one who cares. But if you take anything away from today's newsletter, it's this:

You are not alone.

In fact, you're one of 421 subscribers who passionately believes that a better world of work is not only possible, but is 112% doable with the right support!

And when we band together, workplace improvement goes from a message to a movement - one powered by intrepid believers, hopers, hustlers, and people committed to a better experience.

So thank you from the bottom of my heart for showing up and showing out in so many incredible, beautiful ways this year.

With your support, your feedback, and your cheerleading, these are just some of the amazing things we’ve been able to do at WTWT in 2023:In January, we launched our first paid program - Training for the Modern Manager. Thank you to the incredible individuals who've championed and launched the program inside their org. This small business owner could not be more grateful for your trust and support during this (frankly) tumultuous year.

We also built and shared some incredible free resources, like our manager expectation matrix, a full-suite onboarding management resource, and one of my favs, the ideal workplace culture exercise.

We got to highlight some of the incredible things our friends and colleagues have built, like Erin Rocchio’s burnout assessment and suite of tools, Lois Weinblatt’s minimum viable vision guide, and Mel Wertzberger’s research on the Gen Z workforce.

We talked with more brilliant people on the Want To Work There podcast, each sharing step-by-step advice on something they'd tackled and mastered through real-life experience. There are now 43 episodes to binge, in case you're looking for some roadtrip inspiration!

 We also launched this here newsletter, which turns 18 issues old today 🥳 It's been an honor to be welcomed into your inbox every other week. Truly something we never take for granted! 

All in all, we’ve made incredible new connections (👋!!), learned from experts, tried new things, and have grown even stronger in our conviction that a better world of work is possible - because you've shown us it is.

From myself and everyone who’s pitched in to make Want To Work There what it is, thank you very, very, verrrry much. There’s so much more goodness coming in 2024 and we can't wait to share it with you!

But first, we rest.

And it's my deepest wish that you're able to do some of the same (in whatever shape that takes) before year's end.

Yours in boundless gratitude,

Jill

P.S. As you can see below, my beloved pup Theo is a pro when it comes to resting. If you find yourself feeling guilty for sleeping in, stealing a moment alone, watching one more movie, or canceling plans that feel to overwhelming, I strongly encourage you to think, "What would Theo do?" and then proceed to make the most self-care focused decision without a single ounce of guilt. ❤️