Bob Merberg

Bob Merberg

After 25 years as a workplace wellness insider — cajoling workers to get moving, eat their leafy greens, and find nirvana — Bob Merberg challenged his profession to adopt a more evidence-based approach: “Change the work, not the worker.” He’s devoted the balance of his career to demonstrating how autonomy, social support, and job redesign are the pillars of a healthy workforce and sustainable organizations.

Bob founded the consultancy Jozito LLC, named after Joseph Zito, the heroic elevator operator in the 1911 Triangle Factory fire, who risked multiple trips to the fiery upper floors of the inferno, shuttling trapped workers — mostly young immigrant women — down to safety. Aligning with the national declaration on the catastrophe’s 100^th year commemoration, “We must always be a nation that catches workers before they fall,” Jozito helps organizations and job crafters design work in a way that supports employee wellbeing and, consequently, improves business outcomes. Bob also provides services for content creation, product development, and workplace mental health advocacy.

Bob studies the relationships between burnout, depression, and organizational behavior and currently is on the lookout for a collaborator to illustrate his nonfiction graphic novel tentatively titled, “The Burnout Diaries: How Mad Science, Forbidden Love, and the Holocaust Shaped What We Think We Know About Job Stress.”

In his spare time, Bob’s a runner, a cyclist, and a banjolele upstart. Find him at Jozito.com.