Happiness at Work should be a top priority for all companies. Because this is good for employees: when they are happy at work, they are better parents, friends, neighbors, they are more likely to give to charity and do volunteering work. Don’t we all want to have nice neighbors? Yes we do! But also because science and business have shown that happy employees have a huge advantage over unhappy ones. They are more productive, flexible, resilient, creative, make happier customers and work better with their colleagues. Wouldn’t we all want happy employees? Yes, we do.
So let’s work together to make Happiness at work the rule and not the exception. We do not mean to say that everybody has to be happy all the time. Or that happiness is the single responsibility of organizations. Happiness at Work is a shared responsibility.
In 2018 we declared the last week of September The International Week of Happiness. During this week we invite everybody to put the topic on the agenda of your organization and start to make the change to a happier workplace. The International Week of Happiness at work is not owned by anyone, nor are there any rules or do’s and don’ts. It is a Do-It-Yourself movement.
On this website, we want to share your stories, exchange experiences and tips&tools. From the page Countries, we will refer you to your local website (if available). If not available yet, why don’t you start it?
So, what can you do in your organization? Just to give you some inspiration…
- invite an expert to give an inspirational talk over lunch and discuss what you can do;
- organize a discussion about what makes you happy at work with colleagues;
- talk to management about what they can do to make this a happier workplace;
- start an initiative to give more positive feedback;
- play a game to get to know each other better, like Personality Poker or the Choose Happiness at Work game;
- organize drinks with your colleagues;
- lunch together and not at your desk;
- talk about your organizational culture and how you can make changes
- write your team manifesto;
- take up a Happiness at Work challenge during this week!