Editing Openai/6932ecc5-e634-8011-b64a-a4afcb30497a (section)

===== 7. Ikigai (生き甲斐) – Reason for being (Japan) =====

Core idea
A life is well-lived when what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for intersect.

FOW connections
* Work design – Move from job descriptions to ikigai portfolios: each person having a mix of tasks that serve both organizational value and personal meaning.
* Talent strategy – In an AI-heavy future, humans migrate toward work that is meaning-dense (sensemaking, care, creativity). Ikigai gives a language for building those pathways instead of just “up or out”.
* Workplace environment – Spaces that support craft and mastery (quiet studios, maker labs, practice rooms) alongside generic collaboration, signaling that deep skill is as valued as coordination.