The purpose of this study, published in PeerJ was to explore academic physicians’ perceptions about their work-related wellness on the basis of the following questions: (a) What are the workplace barriers and facilitators? (b) What workplace solutions would improve their wellness? (c) What motivates their work? (d) What existing wellness programs are they aware of? A survey, subsequent group discussion, and review of extant literature yielded qualitative data. Analyses findings reported that factors intrinsic to the work of physicians (overall contribution) — patient care, teaching, scientific discovery, self-motivation and matching of career interest — were the prominent reasons for work motivation. Extrinsic factors — sub-optimal goal alignment, inadequate support, restricted autonomy, lack of appreciation, and sub-optimal compensation and benefits — dominated the risk of professional dissatisfaction. Physicians identified the availability of resources to enable them to thrive and provide excellent patient care as their most important wellness-enhancing factor. Thus, it can be anticipated that optimization of physician wellness would require tailored approaches in each of the aforementioned dimensions.