The Meaning-Oriented Economy: Lessons from Dr. Joel Vos (Part One)

In this episode, Andrew is joined by Joel Vos, researcher, philosopher, and psychotherapist, to explore where our ideas about meaningful work actually come from, and how the broader economic and historical context shapes what people seek from their jobs today.

Joel approaches meaningful work from the outside in. Rather than starting with the workplace, he starts with evolutionary psychology, philosophy, and centuries of social history, and uses that vantage point to explain why the very question "what does my work mean to me?" is a uniquely modern one.

Together, Andrew and Joel examine how we moved from a world where meaning was assigned by tradition and authority to one where individuals are expected to construct it themselves, and what that shift has cost us, both personally and collectively.

Key Takeaways

• Meaning in life has seven identifiable components, including motivation, values, dignity, and a sense that your own experience matters, and all of them show up in how people relate to their work.
• Joel identifies six types of meaning people find at work, ranging from the material and hedonistic to the social, ethical, and existential, and research suggests the types we prioritize have real consequences for wellbeing.
• The expectation that work should be your primary source of meaning is relatively new. Sometimes, a job that simply funds a meaningful life outside of work is enough.
• The shift toward a meaning-oriented economy is real, but so is the risk of "meaning-washing": organizations using the language of purpose to manipulate rather than genuinely support the people who work for them.

Why This Episode Matters

We live in a moment when people are increasingly unwilling to spend their working lives on things that feel hollow, and increasingly uncertain about where to look instead. Joel's historical and philosophical lens offers something rare: not a framework for optimizing meaning at work, but a genuine reckoning with why we want it in the first place, and what gets in the way of actually having it.

About Our Guest

Dr. Joel Vos is a Senior Lecturer in Counselling Psychology at the Metanoia Institute in London. His work sits at the intersection of meaning in life research, existential psychology, and socioeconomic history, and he brings both rigorous empirical grounding and decades of clinical practice to this conversation. His book The Economics of Meaning in Life draws on a systematic review of thousands of studies on meaning, economics, and wellbeing.