International Week of Happiness at Work
19th – 25th September 2022
Happiness at Work should be a top priority for all organisations. Because this is good for employees; when they are happy at work, they are better parents, friends, neighbours, they are more likely to give to charity and do volunteering work. But also, this is good for employers; 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.
Working together to make Happiness at work the rule and not the exception is something we can all contribute to. We do not mean to say that everybody has to be happy all the time. Nor that happiness is the single responsibility of an organisation or chosen representative. Happiness at Work is a shared responsibility; and it’s a “Do-It-Yourself” movement.
Since 2018, the last week of September has been declared The International Week of Happiness. It is a week where organisations across the world invite everyone to bring a specific topic or initiative to their organisational agenda that could fuel change to a happier workplace.
So, what can you do in your organisation? Face-to-face or virtual here is some inspiration…
- invite an expert to give an inspirational talk over lunch and discuss what you can do;
- organise 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;
- organise drinks with your colleagues;
- lunch together and not at your desk;
- talk about your organisational culture and how you can make changes;
- create a Happy at Work Team Manifesto;
- set a Happiness at Work challenge – and do it this week!