The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Author: Alexander

  • Our latest Academy was a BLAST

    Our latest Happiness at Work Academy  was a HUGE hit. 24 participants came to Copenhagen from 15 countries to learn all about happiness at work – including some from as far away as Australia, Hong Kong, Colombia, USA and Canada.

    We had 4 amazing days with high energy, great conversations and a ton of networking. The group consisted of both internal HR people and leaders looking to make their own workplaces happier as well as external consultants who focus on happiness at work.

    It’s a real treat for us to be able to go much more in depth with the topic than we usually have time for in our speeches and workshops – especially with a group that’s already passionate about the topic and practicing it in real life.

    The next two Academies will take place on:

    • October 17-20 2017 in Copenhagen Denmark
    • February 13-16 in New York City USA

    Read all about them and sign up here.

    Here are some of my favorite pics from this Academy:

  • How to succeed in business if you’re not a morning person

    Work has moved from cow to computer, but workplaces still favour early risers and an industrial-age view of productivity.

    Camilla Kring has a PhD in Work-Life Balance and as owner of Super Navigators, makes workplaces happier by increasing the Work-Life Balance of their employees. She is specialized in creating flexible work cultures that support our differences in family forms, work forms and biological rhythms.

    This is her talk from the International Conference on Happiness at Work 2017 in Copenhagen. Flexibility is among the keys to well-being, and management must have the courage to address the flexibility of their company’s work culture because culture determines whether employees have the courage to make use of flexibility.

    The first step is to set people free from 9-5 and that work is something that only can take place at the office. Work is not a place – it’s an ongoing activity. Second, focus more on results and less on visibility. Third, give people the tools to improve their individual Work-Life Balance.

  • Another happy client

    Woohoo! Yesterday I did a workshop for a team of 100 people from a big Danish pharmaceutical company. Here is what they wrote afterwards:

    Thank you for an amazingly inspiring day full of facts and specific suggestions for action. The workshop was incredibly energetic and the exercises were engaging. The participants have only had positive things to say and have already adopted the behaviors.

    THAT’S the kind of impact we LOVE to make.

  • Dogs can be happy at work too

    Work isn’t just for humans – many dogs work too. This short video from National Geographic shows some great examples.

    And is it just me, or do most of these dogs look both happy and proud at work?

  • With Great Talent Comes Great Responsibility – how goals and KPIs demotivate the best employees

    More and more workplaces want to measure everything. KPIs, scorecards and performance goals are supposed to motivate employees and help increase their productivity. But is that really a good way to motivate employees and makes them happy?

    Helle Hein has a ph.d. in management and has done research on motivation for the past 20 years.

    Her research shows that many people are not motivated by metrics and bonuses but by something more meaningful – a professional calling or a cause that matters deeply to them. Leading these people based only on performance measures and financial rewards leads to frustration and a huge loss of talent and motivation.

    In this talk from the International Conference on Happiness at work 2017 in Copenhagen she will show you how your organization can get the most out of its most talented employees, what really motivates people (no, it’s not bonuses) and how to make sure that people feel that their work really matters to them.

  • Only 3 seats left for our next Academy, June 20-23 in Copenhagen

    The Woohoo inc Academy is our most intense and in-dept training. Over 3 days we go over all the theory and practice of happiness at work, ending with an exam and certification. We limit the group size to 25 participants so we have plenty of time for questions and interaction.

    The next  June 20-23 in Copenhagen is almost sold out. There are only 3 seats left and it’s going to be a very international affair. We currently have participants from:

    • Australia
    • Canada
    • China
    • Colombia
    • Czech Republic
    • Denmark
    • France
    • Italy
    • Lebanon
    • Netherlands
    • Morocco
    • Portugal
    • Switzerland
    • UK
    • USA

    If you don’t want to miss out, you should hurry up and book your seat now.

  • If someone you care about is thinking about quitting a terrible job, support them

    This is the ultimate cost of not quitting a job you hate: A British teenage apprentice car mechanic killed himself after being bullied by coworkers:

    On one occasion, the young man said his colleagues had locked him in a cage at the garage by force, doused him in a flammable liquid and set fire to his clothes.

    …

    His father told the inquest that the evening before his death, George had been pacing around the house, saying “I have to quit, I can’t go back there” over and over again.

    Having told his son not to resign from his job and that things would get better, Mr Cheese said he now realised how “ridiculous” this response was.

    First of all, the workplace should be held legally responsible for letting that kind of behavior happen. The supervisor even knew about it:

    George’s line manager, Simon Wright, who admitted to playing a number of pranks on George, told the inquest: “I was in the workshop when a prank was played on George and he was set on fire.

    “It did not go too far. We knew where to draw the line,” he said.

    “It was not bullying.”

    Oh yes it was.

    The main lesson to take away form this is that if someone you care about is miserable at work and wants to quit, support them.

    The correct answer to “I hate my job and want to quit,” is not “You just need to tough it out, things will get better.” The correct answer is “Great idea, how can I help you in that situation.”

    Quitting is not an easy choice but sometimes it is the only choice. And the price of not making that choice can be very, very high.

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  • Top ratings for our conference

    The participant feedback from our 1st International Conference on Happiness at Work is and it looks like we hit that one out of the park.
    Here are some of the participants’ comments:
    The fact that we had concrete examples and take aways of each speech, that all the people talking were super inspiring and had so many things to teach each and everyone of us! thank you so much for organizing, keep up the happy work!
    The whole event worked very well – all seems to have been thought about.
    Excellent speakers and a very well prepared conference with a fantastic positive atmosphere.
    Awesome!

  • My 8 favorite pics from our conference on happiness at work (and 1 video)

    Last week we had our first ever international conference with 200 participants from 19 countries and we had a BLAST. Here are my absolute favorite pics from the 2 days.

    Speaker Rowan Manahan channels Gene Kelly (and possibly Mary Poppins)

    Moderator Mikael Kamber, speaker Thomas Vibe and our Japanese attendee Hirokazu Kobayashi lead the audience in an energizing Japanese chant.

    Maria Grosz comes on stage to lead the traditional post-lunch dance.

    Here’s how that went:

    The audience bows down to our final speaker (Tim Dorsett) chanting “We are not worthy.” Don’t worry, there was a point to this :)

    Ending the conference with confetti cannons :)

    The Woohoo inc team celebrates another successful conference with our moderator Mikael Kamber.

    Participants having a good time :)

    Group photo from the afterparty on Friday afternoon after the workshops.

    A great big thank you to our awesome photographer Gareth Garvey. You can find plenty more pics from the conference right here. 

  • How to give 2,000 high fives in one morning

    If you’ve ever been to one of our keynotes or workshops about happiness at work, you know how much we enjoy a high five.

    But this guy has us beat. Watch him give 2,000 New Yorkers a high five in one morning. Awesome!