Academy, Happy At Work

Our latest CHO Academy was a huge hit

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In June we had our latest Chief Happiness Officer Academy, which is our longest and most intensive training on creating happier workplaces.

The Academy was completely sold out with 25 participants from 15 countries (and a long waiting list) and it was a huge pleasure to share our tools and methods over three days with such an engaged group.

The participant feedback has been amazing with an average rating of 9.7 out of 10. Participants wrote:

“THANK YOU! This was really fantastic.”

“I think it was just very well organized. You were just really good at taking care of us and making sure that everyone would get a good experience. The venue was perfect – very personal and cozy and super inspiring. I would like to come back.”

“It has been really an amazing experience. Amazing students, amazing teachers, amazing future that we have outlined. I have found myself for my next career :) Thanks.”

Our next two Academies have been announced. They are:

  • February 12-15 2019 in San Diego
  • June 24-28 2019 in Copenhagen

Read more about the Chief Happiness Officer Academy and sign up here.

Happy At Work, Woohoo Labs

Join our international survey on happiness at work

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We want to know what makes people happy at work in different countries and you can help by participating in our international survey.

The questionnaire only has 11 questions and just takes 3-4 minutes to complete. Take it right here. You may even learn something about what makes you happier at work.

Also, please share the survey with others – the more people take it, the more useful the results will be.

We’ll be releasing the findings in time for the International Week of Happiness At Work on September 24-28.

UPDATE: In just the first 24 hours, over 100 people from 23 countries took the survey. That’s fantastic!

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Happy At Work, Leadership, Motivation, Psychology

Brilliant study: Chimps would rather cooperate than compete

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A BRILLIANT study found that:

When given a choice between cooperating or competing, chimpanzees choose to cooperate five times more frequently.

And also that:

The chimpanzees used a variety of enforcement strategies to overcome competition, displacement and freeloading, which the researchers measured by attempted thefts of rewards.

These strategies included the chimpanzees directly protesting against others, refusing to work in the presence of a freeloader, which supports avoidance as an important component in managing competitive tendencies, and more dominant chimpanzees intervening to help others against freeloaders.

This indicates that cooperation is hardwired into humans on a biological level by evolution.

Which makes you wonder why so many workplaces heavily emphasize competition over cooperation.

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Happy At Work, Happy companies, Leadership

This IT company is helping the world (and its employees) by sharing its skills

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I have previously written about Vega IT Sourcing, a very happy tech company in Serbia whose vision is to “Create a successful and happy business and use its success and power to create a better world.”

They do that in many ways, most recently by launching Code For A Cause, where individuals or NGOs from anywhere in the world who need a software solution (like a website or an app) can apply to have it created for free.

This obviously helps the organizations who get free solutions but it also helps the IT staff become happier at work because they get to use their skills to help organizations who do good work around the world.

So if you know an NGO who might need a new website, app or other software solution, tell them about Code For A Cause. They are accepting applications until June 30.

Happy At Work, Happy companies, Leadership, Philosophy

The meaning of life is happiness – just not your own

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A few weeks ago I got the opportunity to give a speech about a brand new (for me) topic: Why are we here, alive, in this universe? What’s the meaning of life? What is a good life and how do you get it?

Based on lessons from philosophy, psychology and neuroscience, I make the claim that the purpose of life is happiness – just not your own. I also talk about how to apply that in our workplaces.

Watch the speech and tell me if you agree :)

Conference, Happy At Work, Happy companies, Leadership

How WD-40 built a billion-dollar business with happiness

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In this AMAZING speech from our International Conference on Happiness at Work, CEO Garry Ridge gives you a look “under the hood” of one of the world’s most recognized brands, WD-40 Company,  where 98% of employees say they “love to work.” This high engagement has resulted in a company that has doubled in revenue in the last decade, and is on a trajectory to double again in the next.

Garry shares his “learning moments” from his journey to transform the company’s culture, beginning in 1997. Lessons and principles covered include:

  • The personal journey of every servant leader, and why that philosophy is critical
  • The emotional connection of a greater purpose that creates high engagement
  • How to carefully and consciously choose values that will be embedded in all aspects of leadership and employee development
  • The difference between a “team” and a “tribe”, and why WD-40 Company strove to create a cohesive tribe that spans 15 countries where employees work
  • How company performance results are directly connected to its focus on people

Watch the whole thing – it’s phenomenal!

Here’s my personal favorite quote from his speech:

Leaders are champions of hope. Life is a gift. Let’s not send it back unwrapped. We have only time, talent, treasure, and technology to deal with, and none of them are abundant. So it’s our job as leaders to help people focus on the things that really matter and to take that hope to a real result.

 

Happy At Work, Quotes

Aaron Sorkin: “When you feel good you do the best writing.”

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I’m currently taking an online masterclass where Aaron Sorkin, the legendary writer behind The West Wing, A Few Good Men, The Social Network and many others, teaches screen writing.

In one lesson, he underscored the importance of feeling happy while writing:

Remember, writing and painting a fence are two different things. Painting a fence may be back breaking work. But first of all, you know what you’re supposed to do. You dip the brush in the paint, and you paint.

But mostly, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. That light may be a long way away, it may be a really long fence. But you can see where it ends.

What you don’t need when you’re painting is to be in a good mood. You can be in any mood you want and the fence is going to turn out roughly the same.

When you’re writing, you need to be in a good mood. You need to have energy. You need to feel entertaining. You need to feel good. And that’s when you’re going to do the best writing.

So any little emotional helpers, like crossing things off and seeing that you’re making progress. Anything that’s going to make you feel good is good.

I think that’s a brilliant point.