First Happy Workplace Ireland Conference

The first Happy Workplace Ireland conference took place in Dublin on 29th October. This was jointly organised between Happy Ltd and locally-based happiness entrepreneur Stephen Dargan of Wake Up!.

Tom Peters: A Leadership Guru Ahead of His Time

Tom Peters is the ultimate management guru. Thinkers50, the list of the top 50 management thinkers, has rated him in the top 10 in multiple years and awarded him the Lifetime Achievement Award, one of only six people to achieve the honour, in 2017. "Charismatic, passionate, and insightful, Tom virtually invented the modern thought leadership industry," explained Thinkers50 co-founder Des Dearlove. "He co-authored In Search of Excellence, which helped create the business book industry." Find out more about Tom Peters in this blog by Henry Stewart.

How Easy Is It to Get Things Done in Your Organisation?

Is your organisation one where people can move quickly and get new ideas out there, or is it stymied in levels of approval and hierarchy? In this blog, Henry talks about some of the various approaches of several well-known companies, as well as Happy's own policy towards this.

What Are the Benefits of Employees Being in Control?

Last month I wrote a LinkedIn post suggesting that staff should decide the CEO’s salary, based on my own experience of doing just that. So far it has received 344,000 views and 505 comments. And it seems to have been controversial.

How to Use the Data Consolidation Feature in Excel

Do you need to view and compare lots of data in a single spreadsheet? In this blog, one of our Excel experts shares how to use the Data Consolidation tool.

Show a Colleague You Care With Random Acts of Kindness

During her presentation at the 2018 Happy Workplaces conference, Woohoo inc’s Arlette Bentzen underlined how random acts of kindness can be effective in enhancing total workplace happiness. In this short video, Arlette explains the principle is very simple: do something nice for your colleagues and they’ll become happier.

At Sure Petcare, a Happy Workplace Is More About What Leadership Doesn’t Do

Sarah Metcalfe is Head of Customer Service at Sure Petcare and she knows that a happy workplace is essential for enhancing the customer experience. When she asked her team, “what makes you happy at work?” what stood out was that it’s really more about what leadership doesn’t do. For example, they don’t impose SLAs or metrics. They don’t get mad if staff are late because they’re stuck in traffic. They don’t measure people and don’t ask them how long they’re going to be on the phone for. In this short video from the 2019 Happy Workplaces Conference, Sarah explains what gives her team the ability to do whatever it takes to make the customer happy.

4 Pieces of Good News About the Contemporary World

As we draw to the end of 2017, it’s a great time for reflection and review of the year. But despite a year of change and tragedy, we are ending this year on a positive note. In this blog, Billy explains that it’s not all doom and gloom – despite what the headlines might tell you.

BrewDog introduces ‘paw-ternity’ leave for staff

As you may have guessed from the name, multinational craft beer chain BrewDog is very dog-friendly. Dogs are welcome in each of their 47 bars, and their head office in Scotland has 50 office dogs. However, they have now taken this a step further, launching a new Puppy Parental Leave scheme for all members of staff.

Hounslow Council: How Staff and Residents Remoulded the Council to Make a New, Happy Hounslow.

Steve Walker-Whitehead is the Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development at the London Borough of Hounslow and he helped to lead the workforce transformation programme and the development of the new One Hounslow values framework. In this video, from the 2022 Happy Workplaces Conference, Steve is joined by his colleague Tracy Ampah, Head of Organisational Development Leadership and Learning, as they take us through the transformation step-by-step and talk us through some feedback stories from their staff as they embark on the Happy Level 7 Senior Leadership Programme or Happy MBA.

The Time for Freedom at Work is Now

“We believe the time for freedom at work is now,” says Traci Fenton, Founder and CEO of WorldBlu. WorldBlu’s research shows that freedom-centered workplaces have healthier bottom-line growth and are more resilient. Henry spoke to Traci to learn more.

Crying: The Unexpected Key To Happiness

When you’re brought to tears it’s not the end of the world, nor does it escalate your problems to a level of globe-stopping importance. However, that doesn’t diminish their significance. Embrace crying as a natural element of your constitution. Celebrate its very existence – it’s part of what makes us unique.

Book Report: "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Happy?" Part 2

In If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Happy?, psychological researcher and happiness coach Raj Raghunathan argues that happiness is our natural state. Several aspects of socialisation can lead us astray, but Raghunathan aims to remedy this by identifying the “seven deadly happiness sins” and resolving each of them with a corresponding habit of the highly happy. Here’s the second half of our easy-to-read distillation of the book’s key arguments – check out Part One first if you haven’t read it yet!

How to Stay Focused and Maintain Work/Life Balance When Working From Home

Working from home was often perceived by cynical bosses as a way for employees to take an unofficial day off. However, the Covid-19 pandemic saw many workers forced into home working and this displayed to employers and their staff that it was a feasible alternative. Now more workers are seeking flexible working options and bosses are no longer suspicious of remote working. In this blog, written by our Digital Marketing Assistant Dolly Osborne, we give you some tips on how to make working from home work for you.