Addressing low employee morale and overall wellbeing is a crucial component of business performance. During periods of social upheaval, organizational change, and more generally in day-to-day operations, it is essential not to overlook the human aspects and challenges that employees face.

Hybrid is the new normal with most people returning to the office for at least some of the time. Leaders need to make deliberate efforts to encourage positive social interaction amongst teams, whilst they think how the office fits into their business.

We moved to a 4-day week in August 2020 and, in doing so, joined the ranks of a growing number of organizations.

So, how did it go for us? 

As we enter year three of the pandemic, today is Blue Monday — the supposed most depressing day of the year that ties holiday blues with winter and job dissatisfaction. And, it’s clear that people are struggling amid the continued uncertainty. So, what can we do to beat Blue Monday this year and ensure 2022 is about thriving, not just surviving?

Research shows that happier teams are more productive. So, what can you do to support your team through times of continued disruption?

With the end of the pandemic feeling so close yet so far, many feel trapped by uncertainty. What can you do to help your team through this time of continued disruption?

Every business that switched to remote working at the beginning of the pandemic were forced to consider the return to the office and review their options. However, asking people if they want to return to the office before they’ve actually tried returning is an inherently flawed approach.

Boredom is not only a joy killer. It’s a job killer. But when we think about why people leave jobs, we often focus on stress, not boredom. Here’s why we need an ‘interest’ stimulus.

The 9th World Happiness Report acts as an excellent benchmark for our wellbeing data. And, Friday Pulse clients have fared significantly better than their peers during the pandemic. Here’s a detailed look at how this happened.

It may feel odd to celebrate International Day of Happiness amid COVID-19. Still, in many respects, the ongoing pandemic has made happiness at work evermore important – particularly as the boundaries between work and home have become increasingly blurred over recent months due to lockdowns and the associated shift to remote work.

As we start to see the light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel there are huge questions about how we will work in the future. Many CEOs share an idea that working from home is not the new normal and believe it has undermined work culture and productivity. But, working from home is here to stay and companies need is a flexible and agile culture that can meet the needs of their workforce.

Our hopes and expectations for 2021 are admittedly low — it just needs to be better than 2020. But even with the slow rollout of vaccines, there is little to believe that the first part of the year will be any different (though our cousins in the US may feel the new start with a new President). Even so, some trends have stood out to us for the year ahead.

As managers continue to play an essential role in determining how well their organizations navigate the ongoing pandemic, we provide some practical, positive advice for beating the Blue Monday ‘blues’ this year.

This week, our article highlights what we’ve learned in 2020 and what we think organizations should hold onto post-pandemic. A crisis is always an opportunity and, this year, we’ve learned a number of self-care and trust lessons that can help us in 2021.

A vaccine is on the horizon! While that’s the best news we’ve had in a while, it’s offset by the sobering number of cases surging around the world. We are now entering a new wave of lockdowns and we know how to continue to build the resilience necessary to survive.

There is no doubt, things are tough right now. We thought we had weathered the storm, but COVID-19 is now returning and we are on the brink of further restrictions and ongoing lockdowns.

As World Mental Health Day approaches, it’s our belief that leaders need to pay attention to their team’s mental health and take active steps to preventing burnout.

This week, Sarah Metcalfe from the Global Happiness at Work Summit interviewed our Founder and CEO, Nic Marks, to discuss the meaning of being happy at work, resilience in COVID-19, and the function of emotions.

It’s increasingly difficult for workers in all sectors to find the right balance in work/life. Remote or hybrid working is normal for many, and yet it comes with a cost. Friday Pulse’s latest data shows that work life balance has deteriorated across the board and isn’t bouncing back. Here we look at the importance of work life balance and give tips to improve it.

90% of executives believe that COVID-19 has changed how their businesses will operate across the next five years. Companies are now looking for innovative solutions to survive. But innovation can’t come from nowhere — it must be fostered in positive environments. And, if you innovate the way you take care of your people, innovation and creativity will follow.

Companies who haven’t recovered well during the pandemic could now be forced to make difficult decisions to survive. No decision is more gut-wrenching and threatening to workplace culture than the decision to let people go, and the current pandemic has caused some companies to approach layoffs in wrong ways. But, what can we learn from those organizations that get it right?

In January, we shared what we thought would be the top workplace culture trends for 2020. However, a lot has happened since then!

There’s now uncertainty in organizations as to the shape of things to come, especially as the world comes out of lockdown. So, how did our predictions hold up? And, what does our analysis tell us about the next six months?

Workplaces are now very different places. Business have to be sensitive to the way their employees frame risk as they make decisions on how quickly they open. By looking at your employees through The Five Ways to Happiness at Work, you can empower your people during this time of increased and continued anxiety.

Where once the average response to “How have you felt at work this week?” was happy, the new normal is now “Ok”. The costs of a workforce becoming just “Ok” about work can be high but connecting with your team in better ways may be a feasible solution.

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week. Mental health is a critical part of our business. Our purpose at Friday Pulse is to improve wellbeing in the workplace. It’s our reason for being – now more than ever, as we all navigate our way through the current COVID-19 pandemic.

The week also provides an opportunity for us to reflect on The Five Ways to Wellbeing — how we designed them and their legacy. A precursor to The Five Ways to Happiness at Work, their development would eventually come to shape Friday Pulse, the direction we take and, ultimately, who we are as a business.

Friday Pulse was never designed to pick up global trends — it’s a tool for building positive experiences across the microcultures of an organization. It emphasizes the team experience because, from our data, we know there are as many microcultures in an organization as there are teams.

There is now a growing body of proof on why a positive culture is crucial to the success of a business. But that’s something we’ve known about for a while — happy people do better work. But when COVID-19 struck, our platform found a trend across all of our clients, in every industry, at the same time.

It’s now clear that the Coronavirus pandemic is not going to be a short, sharp emergency. How people cope with the fallout is dependent on the depth and quality of the relationships they had before lockdown.

Lockdown is the biggest shock since the 1920’s. To bounce back, as a priority, businesses need to protect employee wellbeing and team morale.

Today is International Day of Happiness – the irony! Yet, now more than ever, the science of happiness has a place in the world in mitigating the ongoing fear and anxiety sweeping our nations.

We are in uncharted territory with the spread of Coronavirus. What is going to happy to the world of work? How will we all work through the virus? What can the science of wellbeing teach us about dealing with a crisis?