What is happiness at work?

There is no single recipe for happiness at work. Each organization is unique in its identity, culture and people, which affects what you value and consider important. But there are some important insights from the science which help people work in increasingly happy ways.

What we attend to, we amplify

Most people report having more positive events than negative events in their lives. It is how they appraise these events which affects how happy they feel. Our focus is on what makes working lives go well. By prompting you to reflect on your emotional experience, our aim is to gently train you to tune into your feelings to figure out what they mean. By giving as much weight to the good bits about your work as the not so good, we're helping you to amplify the positive.

Happiness is a collective endeavour, not an individual pursuit

Happiness at work is about thriving as individuals and doing well together. We intentionally collect data from individuals and provide feedback to teams. This is because we want you to talk about what happiness is, in the company of the colleagues who influence it. The insights you'll get from these conversations will help you to become more intentional about happiness - not in a 'life project' sort of way but in the small things, like a personal exchange, which slowly accumulate to change how work feels.

Happiness is a journey, not a destination

Happiness ebbs and flows because of many different factors, all overlapping and interacting with one another. The one constant through all this variability is the enormous human capacity to learn. Through trial and error - eg projects, team dynamics, job role, length of commute - we learn the things that makes us feel good and those that make us feel worse. When our work situation changes, through a takeover, a pregnancy, a promotion etc., we relearn happiness in a new context. So, rather than approach happiness as an end point - something you will arrive at when all the conditions for success are present and correct - you are more likely to find success at work by following what makes you happy.