The Happy Manifesto: A 'Pisstaker’s Charter'?

“Some staff have thrived in the environment and really get it, really like the idea of autonomy and freedom – others are very, very scared of it.

“This is one of the things that I got badly wrong. I bought into the whole idea of Happy Manifesto, freedom and autonomy so much, and it really seems so inherently obvious that this is the way to go. What is there not to like? Everybody will love this, they will applaud to the rafters when I announce at the conference that this is the way we’re going.

“In fact, at the very first conference that we talked about this, as a matter of fact Henry came along as one of our speakers, and at the end of the conference, one of the staff members came up to me and said “do you know what you’re doing with all this freedom stuff? You’re creating a pisstaker’s charter.” Maybe that should be the subtitle of your book, Henry!

“I have to say, that particular person on that day, she is absolutely one of the top stars of this process. she has come through being given freedom and autonomy to do her job the way she wants to do it, and now is one of the most indispensable people in the organisation. I barely noticed her before that – and the “pisstaker’s charter” didn’t go down well with me either! And now she’s absolutely fantastic and gets it.

“So you have to work at it and people will come round to it, but there are some for whom it will always be problematic.

“The assumption I made, which was the wrong one, was that everybody would like it from day one and that they would enjoy the thought that they were being trusted and given the freedom to do their job. And while they don’t always say these words, there are some staff who have fed back to me, and what they are saying is, ‘thanks for the freedom, now tell me what to do with it’. Now either I’m not explaining it well enough, or you’re just not getting it.”