Speaking of over-indexing, I'm going to call it right now: we as an industry are over-indexing on employee happiness. So many articles and presentations that assume we all want to attract candidates who will be happy in our roles, and I think we've overshot the mark. You can't offer happiness any more than you can offer someone joy. Those are emotions people make themselves. So I was thrilled to see this piece suggesting we focus on offering professional fulfillment rather than happiness.

Can a brand help make people happy? No, really. Our brands offer people feels of opportunity, freedom, education, community, support, prestige, and any number of other things, but are they making someone happy? Beyond the initial “I got the job!” elation, can and should an employer brand create happiness?