This TED talk by Nobel prize winner Daniel Kahneman is absolutely fascinating to me:

In it Kahneman points out some cognitive biases that affect our happiness and our thinking about happiness.

I’ll be taking some time to figure out the implications for happiness at work. I’ll be back :o)

Here’s a fun little thing we just released, that we’re kinda proud of:

More at whattheheckisarbejdsglaede.com.

Everyone in Scandinavia knows that SAS (the airline, not the IT company) is struggling. They almost went into chapter 11 3 weeks ago and were saved only by a new agreement with pilots and cabin crew who agreed to lower salaries and longer working hours to save the company.

So I was very interested to see how this would affect the mood among employees when I flew SAS to Tokyo 2 weeks ago for a speaking gig and a vacation in Japan.

Here’s the feedback i sent to SAS after:

Hi

My girlfriend Patricia and I recently flew to Tokyo and back and we have to compliment one of the cabin crew. I’m afraid we never got her name, but she was the only Japanese lady on the crew and she was AWESOME.

She was happy, smiling, cheerful and talked to a lot of people – us included. She also wore a badge that said “Hello Sunshine” on her uniform. She had an energy about her that simply made us happy and certainly made me want to fly SAS again.

The whole crew were good – even on the trip back when they were struggling because of missing crew members due to illness – but she was amazing.

But here’s the kicker: This Japanese lady was actually also on our flight out to Tokyo – and she remembered us on the flight back almost 2 weeks later. How she did that I have no idea. She also remembered that I didn’t have anything to eat on the flight over and was clearly concerned. Here’s one person who is very obviously committed to great customer service. Kudos!

11 hours on a plane is rarely a good experience, but she made it a happy one :o)

Cheers,

Alexander and Patricia

It always love to see someone who so clearly cares about their job and the people they serve.

Have you ever seen someone like that? And did you find some way to thank them after?

UPDATE: SAS replies:

Thank you for your compliments to our cabin crew.
I will be happy to pass along your compliments to her and the rest of the crew for recognition of their attitude and service level.

It is gratifying that you have taken the time to tell us of your satisfaction. Again, thank you for writing, and we look forward to welcoming you both onboard SAS in the New Year!

Your mission today is to perform at least one random act of kindness at work. A small, nice, generous, funny, surprising, silly, amazing, touching and/or kind act for someone else at work.

If you’re stuck for ideas, here are a few suggestions:

• Bring someone a cup of coffee, without them asking
• Leave a flower on someone’s desk
• Leave a nice, hand-written note for a co-worker
• Help someone carry their stuff
• Pass out candy in the hallways
• Do you have more suggestions? Write a comment!

For bonus points, do a random act of kindness to total stranger on the way home from work.

Have you done this? How was it? What happened? How was it received? Tell us all about it in a comment – we’re curious, dammit :o)

I just got this email from Kate Matcham from Stamford Global. I spoke at one of their conferences in Copenhagen for 120 project managers – and of course also mentioned the Level 5 Good Morning.

Kate has since used it in her workplace:

Actually the level 5 good morning is working a treat – which is why I’ve kept it up!

I have a new team member that I supervise who sits next to me, and Mihaly also sits with us in the same section, which can be a bitdaunting for a new team member!! The three of us collaborate really well together, and I think the level 5 good morning has helped our new team member feel comfortable…

In fact, the three of us just worked on an urgent roll-out of our new website, and we had a great team dynamic – everyone knew their role, trusted one another, communicated perfectly. It was great.

I think the level 5 good morning was a big contributor to that… It’s hard to measure though isn’t it, you sort of just ’feel’ the effect. Anyway, thanks for the invaluable advice!

Way to go, Kate!

I’m still fascinated that such a simple thing as saying “good morning” to your co-workers can actually make a difference. But it can :o)

Here’s how you do it.

Try it and let me know how it goes!

On Friday November 30 you can join us for a free half-hour teleseminar where we unveil a new cool little project we’ve been working on – and tell the world all about Arbejdsglaede. Sign up right here.

I recently revived our newsletter about happiness at work after a year-long hiatus and I’ve really been enjoying writing it. Right now, 2,500 people subscribe to it and you can see the newsletters here.

But I would like to do an even better job. I’d like to reach more people and inspire them and help them to do even more to create happiness at work.

Do you have any good tips or suggestions for me? What should I keep on doing and what should I change? What’s the best damn newsletter you know and what makes it good?

Any ideas are much appreciated :o)

I found an excellent blog post about Wisetech Global, an Australian IT company with a somewhat… different attitude to overwork:

If employees work more than 40 hours a week regularly, they have to talk to their manager to redress the situation.
…
WiseTech Global chief executive Richard White said the company’s approach was consistent with its core values, which state that although staff should strive for the best outcomes, “we do not ask people to impale themselves on their work commitments”.
…
“Its not the amount of work, it’s the quality of the work,” he said.

There you go. This is what every single workplace in the world should do.

Hat tip to Luciano Moretti for telling me about this awesome company.

And we can all contribute to a better and healthier attitude to working hours. Check out this comment from Dee:

I work in retail, and it’s true, some enjoy spending all their time at work, and that’s fine. If you want to spend 60 hours at work, that’s your prerogative. What I don’t like is the judgmental attitudes surrounding work hours– the unsaid expectation that if you don’t work 9-9, you’re a failure, or letting your team down.

No, working 12 hours, five days in a row makes me miserable AND a failure– a failure at my job. I work to live, I don’t live to work, as the old saying goes and, when I first started and was eager to fit in, I bent over backwards keeping a similar schedule. I felt ashamed that my ‘meager’ 12 hour day contribution wasn’t enough, and I felt in ‘awe’ of the woman that habitually came in at 6am and leaving at 9pm. Then one day, about a year into the job, I remember wondering why I had gotten the flu yet AGAIN, (the fourth time in two months!) when it hit me. I was working way too much and almost killing myself. Life is going to get me in the end. I don’t need my job to speed up that process.

Now I work less, work better, and win more accolades, get more sales, and get sick less, all because I don’t conform to the cult of overwork. I’m in the minority, but I’m happy. And that lady? Well, she still works her heart out, and complains the whole way.

YES – shorter working hours can make you enjoy work more, enjoy life more AND help you do better work.

What’s the attitude to overwork at your workplace? Are people who constantly work overtime celebrated as heroes or is there a real effort to keep working hours down?

Related posts