The Chief Happiness Officer
Make Yourself and Your Business Happy At Work
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Friday Spoing
This Friday we have a slo-mo Spoing for ya: I have no idea why this is so funny, but it is :o) Have a very happy weekend! |
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The happiness empire expands
Yesterday we expanded our company headcount by over 30% when our newest associate Arlette Bentzen joined us. And of course there were flowers: Arlette (on the right) has a background int the travel industry and in fitness. She will be doing workshops and speeches and she will also be our event manager and run our conferences and other events. Arlette is a wonderful person who has a lot of energy (pretty much a requirement to work for us) and we’re very excited about her :o) And here’s... |
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Pret’s policy on franchising
British sandwich chain Pret a Manger’s FAQ page explains their policy on franchising: Franchising – sorry we don’t. Please don’t call us and ask for a franchise because we don’t; we really don’t. We don’t franchise. The fact is, we don’t like to franchise, so we don’t. A little bit of humor goes a long way in business :o) |
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Monday Tip: Anagrams
I got an email from Mike Dytham, a project manager at Barclay’s, who’s been doing anagrams for all the people in his department. The new names are… interesting :o) Chris Benton = Robin Stench (a proud 2nd place!) Claire Rainbird = Cider Librarian (a creditable 3rd place) Dan Hartwright = Hard Thwarting James Knupfer = See Frank Jump Tom Coulbeck = Emu Boltcock (what a great name!) Matt Risk = Smart Kit (or even Mark Tits) Kate Baron = Anorak Bet or Oat Banker Dominic Gloag =... |
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Friday Spoing
Sometimes I get asked if it’s possible to be too happy at work. I didn’t use to think so, and the jury is still out on that question. But then I saw this guy: I wish you a happy weekend. But maybe not THAT happy :o) |
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A question for ya
A couple of months ago I was giving a presentation to a new customer and during the Q&A session someone asked me a short simple question that stumped me completely. I’ve been thinking about it ever since and I still don’t have the answer, so now I’m passing the question on to you. Here it is: What is the opposite of work? Please write a comment, I’d really like to know what you think about this. |
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Biking in Copenhagen is AWESOME
And speaking of the ills of long commutes, check out this video that examines bicycling in Copenhagen from a car-centric North American perspective: I have no doubt that a bike commute being physically active is a lot more likely to contribute to making you happy at work than driving your car. What do you think – would you like your city to be more bike-centric? And thanks to Ole Kassow for telling me about the video above. |
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Long commutes make you unhappy, sick and fat
According to a new survey, long commutes are bad for you. Really bad: One in three employees with a commute longer than 90 minutes say they have had recurring neck or back pain within in the past 12 months. Just about the same amount say they have been diagnosed with high cholesterol… The study shows a strong correlation between obesity and the length of your commute… Employees with long commutes experienced lower levels of enjoyment and higher levels of fatigue and worry than... |
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Did you get our first newsletter in English? Tell us what you think!
We’ve been running a very successful newsletter about happiness at work in Danish for years now – and we finally (finally!) got an international version in English up and running. In fact, the first newsletter went out today. So of course, we’d love to know what you think. If you’ve seen the newsletter, please write a comment below to tell us what you liked, what sucked and what you’d like to see more of in coming newsletters. And if you haven’t seen the newsletter,... |
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Quote
“If you observe a really happy man you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating his son, growing double dahlias in his garden. He will not be searching for happiness as if it were a collar button that has rolled under the radiator.” - W. Beran Wolfe The inherent paradox in all search for happiness is this: Seeking happiness for itself tends to be a shallow pursuit. But achieving happiness by doing great work or seeking happiness because it will allow you to do... |
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How to be nice… when you’re the boss
Linda and Robin (authors of the excellent book The Power of Nice) just blogged about niceness in managers, and their post is one of those bad-news-good-news deals. First the bad news. They write that: Some scientific studies suggest that being in a position of authority has a unique effect on the human brain, that can cause people to become less sympathetic to the emotions and concerns of others—and as history has shown us, this can have a devastating effect on a business’ bottom line. I... |
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Monday Tip
We’re reviving one of my favorite traditions on this blog namely the Monday Tip. Every Monday, we’ll give you one simple tool, trick, tip or idea that you can use to make yourself or your co-workers a little happier. This week’s tip is to put something fun on your office door (or your cubicle wall) where co-workers, employees and bosses will see it. This 2-minute video shows you how – and if you can do it in a bank, I guess it can be done anywhere :o) What will you put... |
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Friday Spoing
Why don’t I ever see something like this in my local supermarket: Have a very happy weekend :o) |
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Happiness in green
On Wednesday I gave a speech to 150 bank managers (it went great). The dress code there was typical Danish business style, including a lot of suits and ties. It was all very… blue. On Thursday my audience was a lot… greener: What you see in the picture is the Air Control Wing of the Danish Air Force. These are the people who monitor Danish air space. Some of them are also stationed around the world, including in Afghanistan. The presentation went really, really well and before I went... |
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Happiness at work in Guatemala
I’ve just returned from a speaking gig in Guatemala – it was a fantastic experience. I was the main keynote speaker at the 20th. annual conference of AGRH, the association of HR managers in Guatemala. In addition to the keynote I also spoke at a shorter VIP event and had a whole bunch of meetings with business people and interviews with various media. I had a great time, but here are my top 5 things about my trip: 1: A conference about happiness at work – in Guatemala(!) Here... |
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Friday Spoing
My summer vacation is almost over and regular blogging is about to resume. Until then, please enjoy this week’s Friday Spoing: |
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What would you do about a gossiping boss?
While I’m away on vacation (actually I’m spending most of it renovating our new apartment) could you please take a moment to read this question from a reader and give her your 2 cents? Thanks! Hi I would appreciate some advice from anyone…really..PLEASE! My company just got a new manager, my old manager was bad..he was verbally abusive but he had his good sides in his organizational skills and neatness. When I found out there would be a new manager I became excited as I wouldn’t... |
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Business culture: Denmark vs. USA vs. Guatemala
It’s obvious that business culture is different in different countries – but different how? How much is myth and prejudice and how much is fact? Are Americans really brash and superficial? Are the Germans really punctual and humorless? Or as I heard one stand-up comic say once: “Laughter is a wonderful thing. Where would we be without laughter? [pause]. Germany!” Gerd Hofstede to the rescue. Hofstede is a Dutch Sociologist who has been analyzing business culture in different... |
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A question for ya: Work culture in Latin America
Later this month I’m speaking at an HR conference in Guatemala (and possibly also in Nicaragua – details are still being worked out). The conference web site is here and there’s an article on it here (in Spanish). Which gets me thinking: I know too little about work culture in Latin America. What’s it like. Do you know? Are people generally happy at work? What’s the mood like in a typical workplace? Are managers very authoritarian or more laid back? Do workplaces... |
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Friday Spoing
Have a very happy weekend :o) |