Category: Media

One of the most gratifying things about my work, is to see how it is spreading across the world. I’m based in Denmark where the idea of happiness at work is so ingrained and commonplace, that there is even a word for it in the dictionary: Arbejdsglæde.

But more and more companies around the world are waking up to the importance of creating a workplace where employees actually like coming. For instance, I just spoke at a conference in The Bahamas and went from there to Dublin where I gave a speech to the UK division of Philip Morris.

Also, I’ve been getting a lot of press internationally – from Canada to Pakistan. Here are some of my recent international media apperances:

Chief Executive China: Happiness at work – a Chinese translation of the first chapter of my book Happy Hour is 9 to 5.

Elemente Magazine, Canada: Shiny happy people (go to page 66). It’s an excellent article with some great pics of beautifully designed workplaces.

AOL Canada: How to be Happy: A Better Life at Work. An interview with me.

The Pakistani Spectator: Interview with the Chief Happiness Officer. An email interview with me.

Christian Science Monitor: Why More Offices Are Going to the Dogs. I give my take on dogs and other pets in the office.

Strictly Business Magazine, South Africa: Innovation with a smile. An article by me on how happiness at work improves innovation.

Chronicle Herald, Canada: Put People First. Interview with me.

Sales and Marketing, Lithuania: “The Customer is Always Right” is Wrong. An article of mine.

I’m also all over the Danish media – from business papers to women’s magazines and of course, I was recently on the BBC and mentioned in the New York Times.

I was interviewed recently for the BBC Radio 4 program In Business with Peter Day.

They were doing an episode on happiness at work:

A British professor at the Wharton Business School in Philadelphia has done some research appearing to indicate that US corporations with the happiest employees have a financial performance notably better than lower ranked companies.

This is either blindingly obvious or a great mystery, and investors seeking more than merely quantitative data on which to base their decisions are getting interested in these league tables of Best Companies to Work For.

The real question seems to be: Is happiness in the workplace (that may be so beneficial to a company) created by healthcare and staff karaoke sessions and subsidised canteens, or is it deeper than that?

You can listen to the whole program here.

Not only did my article on why “The Customer is Always Right” is wrong generate quite a stir last week (and a lot of great comments) – it also got mentioned in the New York Times!! Woo-hoooooo!!!

And there’s more: if you’re in New Zealand – tune in to Afternoons With Jim Mora on Radio New Zealand National on Tuesday April 1 – there will be a long interview with yours truly.

I think it’s fantastic to see how much interest there is in happiness at work in general and in me and my work specifically! Here are some more of my recent media appearances.

Today The CS Monitor published an op-ed piece I wrote called “Yes, you can be happy at work” which talks about the difference between American and Scandinavian attitudes.

A quote:

“You get paid to do your job, not to like it,” seems to be the attitude of most US managers and workplaces. What’s worse, American employees seem to be willing participants in this arrangement. When I ask Americans what makes them happy at work, they rarely talk about the work itself – many tend to see it as a means to an end, rather than as something to enjoy.

The result is that US workplaces are dominated by status-seeking career climbers, where the paycheck is the only motivator, where employee turnover is shockingly high, where bad management is never challenged, where burnout and cynicism are the order of the day, and only Dilbert comic strips provide relief.

Click here to read the whole thing.

It’s inspired by this earlier post about my experiences from a recent trip to America.

Before the paper would publish it, I had to agree to a few edits though. For instance this line didn’t make it into print:

In fact, recent studies have Denmark leading the lists of happy nations – so eat it, Sweden!

Though I kinda figured it wouldn’t :o)

Hey – guess who’s quoted in this article on fun at work in the New York Post? (Hint: It’s me!)

Take note, though, before you run out to buy a pingpong table, or bean-bag chairs for the conference room (as Motley Fool did): If you’re begrudgingly throwing your employees a bone, it’s not going to work, notes “Happy Hour is 9 to 5″ author Kjerulf. There must be a genuine desire to create a fun workplace.

“If you just do it because it’s good business it’s likely to feel forced and unnatural to people,” he says. “Fun has to be real, or it’s no fun.”

The article itself is great – and explains how companies like Motley Fool, search engine makers Hakia.com and many others introduce some fun and games to the workplace.

My favorite example from the article:

Desiree Gruber, president of Full Picture, a public relations and event planning firm, brings her two dogs to work daily. Mookie and Sam roam around to greet visitors and play ball with staff.

“We can never take ourselves too seriously when we have the dogs around,” says Gruber. “Without fail they make the office a more lively, warm, and spontaneous place.”

I was interviewed by Revvell Revvati of The Book Crawler on Monday and we had a great time talking about happiness at work in general, and specifically about:

• My book
• The cult of overwork
• How to sell with happiness
• How to write a book in a café

You can hear the whole interview here.