Date and time

Wed, Mar 26, 2025 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM EDT

Location

Rotman School of Management

105 Saint George Street Toronto, ON M5S 3E6

Show map

Refund Policy

Refunds up to 1 day before event

Agenda

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM

Author presentation & moderated discussion with audience Q&A

6:30 PM - 7:15 PM

Reception with author meet-and-greet, book signing & light refreshments

About this event

• Event lasts 1 hour

Co-presented by: Rotman Executive Programs

Following the conversation, we invite you to join us for a reception with author meet-and-greet, book signing and light refreshments.

Topic:

Why Are We Here?: Creating a Work Culture Everyone Wants (Harvard Business Review Press, January 21, 2025)

Speaker:

Jennifer Moss, Journalist & Co-Founder, Work Better Institute

Moderator:

Julie McCarthy, Professor, Organizational Behaviour and HR Management, University of Toronto Scarborough and Rotman School of Management

Book Synopsis:

A deeply human exploration of how our relationship with work has evolved—and a guide for leaders who aim to make things right—from the author of The Burnout Epidemic.

Work has recently undergone profound changes, not all for the better.

AI's acceleration has led to worker fears and uncertainties around job security. DEI initiatives are underfunded or canceled. The debate over remote, hybrid, and in-person work is growing more heated. And study after study confirms a widespread sense of employee unhappiness in the workplace.

Workers are left to reexamine their relationship with work, asking themselves, Why are we here?

Workplace expert Jennifer Moss, author of The Burnout Epidemic, takes readers to the front lines of this historic shift. Through extensive interviews, she uncovers why work has changed and highlights the leaders and organizations who have managed to build cultures that everyone really wants.

Packed with fresh insights, new research, and compelling stories, Why Are We Here? illuminates this turbulent time and offers inspiration and practical guidance for leaders navigating our complex, ever-changing world.

About the Speaker:

Jennifer Moss is the author of Why Are We Here?: Creating a Work Culture Everyone Wants (Harvard Business Review Press; January 2025). Moss specializes in future-focused leadership development, expertly balancing employee well-being with performance. As an award-winning writer and internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, she specializes in transforming workplace culture using data-driven leadership strategies. Her book The Burnout Epidemic tackled employee burnout and was among Thinkers50's "10 Best New Management Books for 2022."

About the Moderator:

Julie McCarthy is a Professor of Organizational Behaviour and HR Management at the University of Toronto Scarborough, with a cross-appointment to the Organizational Behaviour area at Rotman. Julie’s research examines strategies that employees, leaders, and organizations can use to build resilience, reduce stress, and achieve success. She also studies how organizations can ensure that their policies and practices are viewed favorably by job applicants and employees.

Julie is the Associate Chair of External Relations and Strategic Initiatives in the Department of Management at UTSC and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology and the Journal of Business and Psychology. Her work is published in leading academic journals and she has received numerous awards and recognitions for her research contributions. Julie’s work has also been featured in several prominent media outlets, such as Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Financial Post, CBC, CTV, and Macleans.

In the corporate sector, Julie has collaborated on research initiatives, training programs, performance management systems and selection tools on behalf public and private corporations that include Deloitte, Microsoft, TMX, Rogers, The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Canadian Department of National Defense, among others.

Event Logistics:

This event is available to attend in-person only.

Rotman Events is committed to accessibility for all people. If you have any access needs or if there are any ways we can support your full participation in this session, please email [events@rotman.utoronto.ca] no later than 2 weeks in advance of the event and we will be glad to work with you to make the appropriate arrangements.

General Admission: In-Person Ticket Details

The event will be hosted in Desautels Hall at the Rotman School of Management (105 Saint George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3E6).

Cancellation & Refund Policy

• Refunds will only be issued for cancellations received in writing NO LATER than 24 hours prior to the event. Please email events@rotman.utoronto.ca for processing.

• In-person registrants who do not pick up their book at the event will have 5 business days to request postal delivery by emailing us at events@rotman.utoronto.ca. All unclaimed books will be returned to the publisher after that time.

Questions: events@rotman.utoronto.ca, Mandi Gosling