Flourishing in love and work

Abstract

Sigmund Freud believed that two areas contributed to individual hap- piness and fulfilment – love and work, ‘lieben und arbeiten’. But Freud did not think that work was satisfying to most people; most worked out of necessity. We have broadened ‘love’ to include family, relationships with others, and extra- work activities. We have also broadened ‘work’ to include careers and lifelong contribution, to better reflect present day realities. In addition, more women and men today are raising the issue of ‘happiness’. Thus, a central question becomes, how can they flourish in their lives, work and careers (Keyes and Haidt, 2003; Sheldon, 2004)? Why is flourishing in life, work and careers important? Let us first consider levels of flourishing in life and work....