Happiness at work at Southwest Airlines

Here’s some serious happiness at work for ya:

This is just awesome. It’s silly, playful, fun, loud AND it involves the passengers, making them part of the experience.

One of the many things I love about Southwest Airlines is that these kinds of people are the heroes of the organization. They’re the ones who are celebrated and held up as shining examples.

If you can help someone out or brighten someone’s day, be it a co-worker or a passenger, you’re doing your job well.

This is no coincidence – it’s by design. You can see Southwest’s former president Colleen Barret talk about it here. Just press play, the video will start playing just when she talks about this.

If you have 25 minutes, watch the whole thing – it rocks!

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13 responses to “Happiness at work at Southwest Airlines”

  1. David Avatar

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  2. Roseanna Leaton Avatar

    We could do with Southwest airlines in the UK. I havent seen much humour on airlines here!

  3. Derek Irvine, Globoforce Avatar

    Couldn’t agree more. I’ve blogged on Southwest a few times because of their terrific culture. What struck me about this video is the power of TRUST in the workplace. I wrote on the topic: Employees who are not micromanaged but trusted to get the job done usually will. And, more often than not, employees who are trusted will come up with innovative, creative (and perhaps more cost-effective) solutions than if an approach had been dictated to them.

    More on my thoughts on this video and trust as a powerful form of recognition here: http://globoforce.blogspot.com/2009/06/trust-powerful-and-fun-form-of.html

  4. […] might have heard about this one, but I just love this. See “happiness at work” at Southwest Airlines. If you haven’t already, do watch the videos in this post. They are so […]

  5. Bernie (Junkmaster DeKoven Avatar

    Did you know that Junkyard Golf has been adopted by Southwest for their top-level new employees – http://www.blogsouthwest.com/blog/one-mans-trash-another-mans-golf-game ? Hmmm?

  6. […] of the flight. It was a big hit with passengers and now he does it all the time. (Found via Chief Happiness Officer). (If you’re reading this post by email or in a reader, please visit the blog to watch the […]

  7. Michelle Mynatt Avatar
    Michelle Mynatt

    Wow. She is me! All the things she says about herself is what I love doing in my job as an Executive Assistant. I can only hope that one day I have the opportunities that she has to make a difference with the people that work with and for her.

  8. […] might have heard about this one, but I just love this. See “happiness at work” at Southwest Airlines. If you haven’t already, do watch the videos in this post. They are so […]

  9. […] might have heard about this one, but I just love this. See “happiness at work” at Southwest Airlines. If you haven’t already, do watch the videos in this post. They are so […]

  10. […] Shared Happiness at work at Southwest Airlines. […]

  11. […] might have heard about this one, but I just love this. See “happiness at work” at Southwest Airlines. If you haven’t already, do watch the videos in this post. They are so […]

  12. […] Happiness at work at Southwest Airlines (positivesharing.com) […]

  13. […] The most famous example is probably Southwest Airlines. I wrote a blog post where I share a couple of videos that help exhibit Southwest’s business approach towards […]

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