The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Author: Alexander

  • Bob Ross and his happy little clouds

    Is anybody else addicted to watching Bob Ross paint or is it just me?

    There is definitely a lot of happiness at work going on here :)

     

  • How to create happiness at work with 8 Golden Retriever puppies

    We are always looking for cool new ways to create happiness at work, and one of our clients just came up with one that is not only fun but without a doubt the cutest we’ve seen so far.

    We got this email from Mikkel from Advice, one of our clients in Denmark:

    I work at Advice – a communications company with 120 employees. We recently booked a keynote with Arlette from Woohoo Inc. which gave us a lot of inspiration to increase happiness at work with big and small initiatives throughout the company.

    One coworker was particularly inspired by the idea of doing random acts of workplace kindness, so she persuaded her team leader to let her arrange a happiness café one regular grey October afternoon.

    Here, coworkers found 8 cute Golden Retriever puppies as well as coffee and a huge cake buffet. Everyone got a chance to pet and play with one of the cute little furballs and the event was “the talk of the town” all over the company.

    What a cool and fun idea. Here are some more photos to give you a sense of the event:

    Would this work in your workplace? Have you ever done something similar? How do you create happiness at work?

    Write a comment and share your best ideas.

  • Join our first international conference on happiness at work May 18+19 in Copenhagen

    Big news: Every year since 2009 we’ve held a conference on happiness at work in Copenhagen. The events have been incredibly popular but also limited in scope because most of the talks were in Danish.

    That’s about to change, because this year’s conference will be international, with all the talks and workshops held in English.

    We have a great lineup of speakers and sessions. May 18 is a full conference day and May 19 is in-depth workshops. Check out the full program here.

    The conference is for leaders, HR people and others who want valuable knowledge and effective tools that they can apply right away to make their organizations happier and more successful.

    So grab this chance to visit the world’s happiest country for a truly unique, fun, valuable and intense conference experience.

    To get a sense of the event, watch this video from our 2013 conference:

  • Freedom at work = happiness at work

    “You’d be amazed what happens once people are empowered to make decisions.”

    Here’s a great article from CNN on how Denmark’s happiest workplace became so happy: they gave their employees freedom and responsibility.

    This is the moment they won first place in the Danish Great Place to Work ranking:

  • Quote

    “My father used to have an expression. He’d say, Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It’s about your dignity. It’s about respect. It’s about your place in your community.”

    – Joe Biden

    I love this. I also love Biden’s passionate plea for his staff to not neglect their home lives.

  • We’re writing a book on Happy Hotels and we want your thoughts

    Monika Hilm and I are writing a book on how to make hotels happy workplaces – sadly, many are not.

    Have you ever stayed in a really happy hotel? Or a really unhappy one? Have you worked in hospitality? How did you like it?

    We want your best (and worst) stories and thoughts – write a comment here or on Monika’s blog.

  • 10 simple questions to ask yourself at the start of a new work year

    10 simple questions to ask yourself at the start of a new work year

    The beginning of a new year is a great time to take stock of your work life. Were you happy or unhappy at work? What would you like to change?

    It’s important to evaluate because how you feel at work has such a large influence on you at work AND at home. When you’re happy at work, you have better job performance and more career success. You also have better health and a happier private life.

    Unfortunately most people look back and think exclusively in terms of what went wrong. The things they should have done. They goals they ought to have achieved. The progress that didn’t come.

    We gain much of our happiness at work (and in life) by appreciating the good things we have and do. Sure, you should also make sure to improve your circumstances and address any problems but it is just as important to be able to appreciate the things that do work.

    This is hard. Negativity bias is one of the most well-established psychological phenomena and it means quite simply that our minds devote more mental focus and cognition to the bad than the good. Our thoughts automatically go to problems, annoyances, threats and fears but remembering and appreciating the good in our lives takes effort and focus.

    We think you can achieve much more by turning that around 180 degrees, so here’s our suggestion for a little new year’s exercise in happiness at work.

    Think back at your work life in 2016 and answer the following 10 questions. It works best, if you take some time to do it and if you write down your answers:

    1. What went really well for you at work in 2016?
    2. What did you do that you were proud of?
    3. Who did you make a difference for at work?
    4. What new skills have you learned professionally?
    5. How have you grown and developed personally at work?
    6. Who has helped you out at work in 2016?
    7. Who have you admired professionally?
    8. Which 5 things from your work life in 2016 would you like more of in 2017?
    9. Which 5 things from your work life in 2016 would you like less of in 2017?
    10. What will you specifically do to become happier at work in 2017?

    Most people think that they must work hard to become successful – and that success will make them happy. They’re most likely wrong.

    So this year, make happiness at work your #1 career goal – because being happy at work will make you more successful in your career.

    I wish you a very happy new year at work!

  • New Woohoo inc Partner: Plus Consulting in Israel

    One more company just joined our international partner program: Plus Consulting from Israel.

    They have 12 years of experience in organizational consulting and management training and for the last 3 years they’ve worked with some leading local organizations to bring happiness and positive psychology into the workplace.

    See the full list of partners here.

  • How one IT company created an internal academy – on little or no budget

    How do you best promote learning and development in a company?

    As Chief Happiness Officer of the Czech IT company Avast, Michal created the Growshop – an internal academy where coworkers could teach each other relevant skills and share their passion.

    Learn how he did it and how it made coworkers a little happier and smarter.

  • Try this Jedi mind trick in your next meeting

    Just got this awesome message on LinkedIn:

    Hi Alexander,

    I have been reading your work for a few days now, and I cannot get enough.

    We have 4 analysts on our team, who touch many if not all groups in our company, and the insight you provide in your articles is invaluable. Our role often means our view is black and white in order to deliver results, which is often received in a bad light.

    So, I immediately utilized item 1 of your five weird tips for great meetings. It was like the Jedi mind trick for convincing others to lobby for our interests!

    My Sr Analyst was struggling to keep her jaw from dropping. No more than a simple ask of what is the funniest thing your kids have said to you lately. Everyone had a story, and we all laughed for a quick 2 minutes before getting to the agenda.

    Just wanted to say, “Thank you,”

    All the best,
    -Grant

    Sometimes the simple things work best.

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