At Happy we let people choose their managers, an idea which has been seen as very radical when I’ve spoken about it. However there are companies that have gone a step further and got rid of managers altogether. Some are small but some are billion-dollar companies:
Ruby Wax recently released A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled – we were intrigued by the book, and asked Billy Burgess to write a review of it for us. Here are his thoughts.
You’d think that there would be an AGE function that worked out how many years since the anniversary by passing in a date. However, life is not that easy. Our trainer Ian Balboa explains step-by-step how to calculate how many years since an anniversary – both the easy way and the hard way.
One of Happy’s key principles is “Recruit for Attitude, Train for Skill” – but what does this mean in practice?
In February I wrote about the government decision to outsource all its training – in all subjects and for all departments – to one supplier, Capita. I suggested that contracts like this rarely produce better value, as any savings from economies of scale are offset by the extra cost of administration. The recent report by the National Audit Office, on the Capita contract, appears to support my view:
Many of us use Excel for analysing and presenting data, and whilst we have become adept at VLOOKUPs and Pivot Tables, it is a challenge to combine large amounts of data from different sources.
Recent research confirms that happiness and wellbeing have a huge impact towards success in the workplace. Here at Happy, creating a culture where people feel good about themselves is one of our key principles. How can you develop and nurture happiness within your workplace?
In this talk from the 2023 Happy Workplaces Conference, Sal, Laura and Rebecca share what makes Happy a great place to work. This includes discussing the four-day week and how it works in practice, as well as how Happy’s staff live the company’s values.
Would you like every meeting, workshop, brainstorm or event you attend to feel energising, involving and fulfilling?
In the summer of 1987 I wrote in my diary that I could never imagine being happy again. The newspaper I had helped set up, News on Sunday, was on the verge of collapse. Our 200 employees would lose their jobs and the backers would lose their investment. I felt totally crushed, and close to a breakdown. 30 years on, life feels rather different. Happy is a thriving business. We help people become more productive with their software and we help organisations to create happy, productive workplaces. It gives me a lift every time I walk into our colourful, friendly training centre.
At the 2019 Happy Workplaces Conference, a range of fabulous speakers shared ideas on how to create great workplaces based on trust and freedom. In this blog, Henry lists 49 of his favourite ideas from the event.
For me the best business books include stories and No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer is packed with them. By the end you will understand all about the remarkable Netflix culture. And you will be challenged. Reed Hastings, founder of Netflix, has teamed up with Erin Meyer, a Professor at INSEAD business school and author of The Culture Map. She interviewed 200 Netflix staff and so produces an interesting balance to the normal totally gung-ho approach of a book like this.
Alex speaking on results and relationships at Happy Workplaces 2015
Helena Moore looks at the approach Bromford take to their staff and customers to create a happy workplace.
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