Too many workplace happiness initiatives fail or just peter out. Here are my 10 best tips to avoid wasting time, money and energy on the wrong things.
Category: Leadership
Leadership is an insanely important discipline. Here you’ll find the thought, tools and tricks of the trade of great leaders.
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Hiring Usually Sucks – But It Doesn’t Have To. Here’s How To Hire For Happiness!
Many workplaces are stuck in a vicious cycle: Recruitment is rushed and haphazard so the workplace is unhappy so more people quit so they have to recruit even faster. We need to break this cycle.
I’ve had the privilege to visit and study a lot of the world’s happiest workplaces and one thing they all do really well is hiring. They take hiring very seriously and put a lot of effort into bringing in the right people and (equally important) keeping out the wrong ones.
In our recent webinar, we showed exactly how workplaces can hire for happiness, including:
- The top mistakes companies make when recruiting
- How to figure out which applicants will fit your culture and which won’t
- How to make the hiring process itself a good experience for all involved
- The most important lessons from great workplaces who hire for happiness
- 7 specific tips you can try in your organization
You can watch the whole thing and download my slides and other materials here.
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The Science Of Happiness At Work Is SO COOL
For the first time in human history we have actual research and data on what makes people happier and more successful in life and at work.
It would be almost criminally stupid not to study this research and apply it in out workplaces. Sadly, many workplaces are blind to all of these studies and consequently, they waste so much time and money on well-being initiatives that are doomed to fail.
Watch our 30-minute webinar and learn the 5 most important findings from the happiness research that are relevant for workplaces. Topics include:
- The top 5 findings from positive psychology that are relevant to workplaces
- How to apply these findings in practice
- Pitfalls to avoid, including an overfocus on happiness
- Examples from great workplaces who have successfully applied these ideas
- 5 specific, simple ideas you can try in your organization
You can watch the whole thing and download my slides and other materials here.
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Proof That Happy Companies Make More Money
Do you know exactly why happy workplaces get better results?
This is such an important issue because knowing this is what drives workplaces to take happiness seriously and make employee wellbeing a strategic priority.
In our 30-minute webinar last week we showed exactly what a company gets out of focusing on happiness at work and how you can use that knowledge to make it a priority in your workplace.
We’ve shared the full webinar here along with additional materials, including the slides and links to related articles and books.
Feel free to share this with others who would be interested in promoting happiness at work. We honestly think it’s the most important success parameter for a modern workplace.
If you have any questions about this topic please shoot me a message or write a comment on the webinar page.
We have more free webinars coming up – see the full list of events here.
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Free Webinar: The Business Benefits Of Employee Happiness
I think we all know that happy companies get better results but why exactly is that? Let’s look at the research and figure that out. The answer may not be what you think and it may change depending on the culture, the industry or the specific situation of the company.
Knowing exactly why happiness at work will boost your company’s results is crucial because that knowledge will motivate leadership to do something to make employees happier and keep them committed to the process.
Join this FREE webinar and learn all about:
- Exactly how happy employees boost the bottom line according to studies
- How to calculate the specific benefits for your organization
- How to use this knowledge to convince leadership in your organization
We’re going to keep the whole thing short, useful and fun and be done in just 30 minutes!
Date: Thursday April 11, 2024
Time: 15.30 CET / 2:30pm GMT / 9:30am ET
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Free Webinar March 26: How To Build A Culture Of Positive Feedback
Studies show that receiving positive feedback at work makes us happier, less stressed and more productive. In our opinion, it’s one of the most effective tools to make a workplace better.
But it’s also sorely lacking from most workplaces. In our study of what makes people unhappy at work, a lack of praise and recognition was one of the major causes.
Join this FREE* webinar and learn all about:
- The science behind positive feedback
- How to most effectively give positive feedback
- Pitfalls to avoid, including why rewards and bonuses often backfire
- Great examples of workplaces who have built a culture of positive feedback
- 5 specific, simple ideas to praise employees
Date: March 26, 2024
Time: 15.30 CET / 2:30pm GMT / 9:30am ET -
How To Make Your Workplace Happier By Making The World Better
Many workplaces now realize that happy employees are great for the bottom line and are trying to act accordingly, but they keep making one fundamental mistake: They try to make their employees happier by doing things for them.
But as we know from positive psychology we are actually happier when we get to do things for others.
That’s a crucial insight but how exactly can your workplace apply it?
Club Need is a fantastic new concept started by Calvin Johnson that helps organizations find ways to do good in the world by matching them with specific volunteering or charity opportunities.
In this video we talk about:
- How it works
- Why it makes employees happier
- How it boosts the company’s brand and the bottom line
Learn more at https://clubneed.org/
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Yoga Classes And Stress Trainings Do NOTHING For Employees! Here’s Why – And What Companies Should Do Instead.
A fascinating brand new study by William Fleming shows that sending employees off to yoga classes, mindfulness lessons or stress management trainings has NO positive effects. In some cases it actually backfires and makes things worse.
That’s a shame because companies keep focusing on these individual-level interventions in their attempts to make employees less stressed and more happy and motivated at work. Which is not only a waste of time and money but also distracts companies from doing things that actually do work.
In this video I talk to Dr. Louise Lambert about the study. We cover:
- What exactly the study says and doesn’t say
- Why these individual-level interventions don’t work or even backfire
- What companies can do instead that actually does work
We all know that employee wellbeing is absolutely crucial, so the good news is that there ARE things that companies can do that work. And ironically these things are not only more effective but also a lot cheaper and faster than yoga classes or sleep trainings.
So we should probably do more of that :)
Your take
What do you think? Are these types of individual-level interventions a complete waste of time or do they have their place? What’s the best way for companies to actually make their employees happier? Have you been to a stress management training and did it make you more or less stressed? Write a comment, we’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic.
More info
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How you handle a bad boss before it’s too late
How do you handle a bad boss at work before they mess you up too much?
I JUST NOW published a video that takes a deep dive on the science, history and philosophy on bad bosses.
You can really help me if you watch it, like it and especially if you write a comment :)
And here are all the links and source from the video:
- How to deal with a bad boss | The Chief Happiness Officer Blog
- Bad bosses – why they’re bad and what to do about them
- When your boss saves your job | The Chief Happiness Officer Blog
- The Neurobiology of Moral Behavior: Review and Neuropsychiatric Implications – PMC
- The Last Dance | Michael Jordan, the tough guy
- Bad bosses – why they’re bad and what to do about them
- Jewish Chutzpah’s Ancient Precedent: Commoner Sues Toxic Boss 2600 Years Ago – Aish.com
- The First Labor Strike in History
- Managerial leadership and ischaemic heart disease among employees: the Swedish WOLF study
- How Power Makes People Selfish
- Hofstede Insights
- Why Being Rich Might Make You a Jerk – presented by University of California and SlateCustom
- Is Stockholm syndrome a myth? The terrifying crime behind psychology’s most famous — and dubious — term – ABC News
- (PDF) ‘Stockholm syndrome’: Psychiatric diagnosis or urban myth?
- “Stockholm Syndrome” was invented by police to discredit a female hostage
- Can You Make a Sociopath—Either Through Brain Injury or Other Types of Trauma? – Scientific American
- Yes, lead poisoning could really be a cause of violent crime | George Monbiot | The Guardian
- Magnus Carlsen: ‘I just enjoy the game so much. I don’t see one reason to quit.’ — Bruvschess
- Psychopathic traits in adulthood up with child lead exposure
- Life and death in Apple’s forbidden city
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Free Online Talk: Why Perks Don’t Work
How do you create a happy workplace?
For too many workplaces, the answer to that question begins and ends with perks. The list of possible perks that I have seen workplaces offer is nearly endless with things like gyms, massages, snacks, team events, nap pods, pizza parties, team building events, discount deals and yoga classes.
These things can cost a lot of money and take a lot of time to organize so it really is a shame that they do not work. At all!
In fact, when companies get them wrong, they often backfire and make employees less happy and motivated.
In this free webinar I talked about:
- Why most perks are doomed to fail from the outset
- How perks sometimes backfire and make things worse
- Why companies are so focused on them even though they don’t work
- How to tell if your workplace’s perks are worth it
- How to design perks that actually impact employees positively
