The results of the biggest annual happiness survey in the world were released earlier this week: the 2023 World Happiness Report (WHR). It covers over 100 countries and ranks them by how happy their citizens are. Carrying out over 100 representative samples of national populations every year is a hugely complex statistical task. And are the results really that useful? I think it’s questionable.

Leading a team is never easy, but it’s especially hard when you are under constant time pressure. Delivering results is always going to seem more urgent than looking after the people side of team leadership. Yet if things go wrong and you end up with an unhappy team, then everything becomes a lot more stressful. So, investing a little time every week can save a lot of time (and stress) over coming weeks.

People want the great positive experiences at work, but they also want to avoid the bad, unfair, disrespectful ones.

Leading a team isn’t easy. You are under pressure from above and below. There are targets to be met and people, with different personalities and motivations, to manage. It’s a tough gig. But what makes for a successful team? How important is the team leader? Which skills matter?

Returns on investment have never been more critical as recession is looming. Yet, if we were to offer you a 5X return on investment – in Year One – you would certainly not believe us. There has to be a catch, right?

Companies often look to perks as a way of increasing staff engagement, but effective, long-lasting change comes from cultivating a work environment that satisfies people’s core psychological needs.

It feels odd to focus on happiness while the last remnants of a pandemic still linger on and there is war in Ukraine. However this weekend it is International Day of Happiness, which was founded by the UN during more peaceful times.  The idea was to focus on the importance of happiness as a universal goal. And while tensions and anxieties are at an all-time high, there are certain things we can control in our own sphere of influence.

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?

With the dust settling on COP26 and the environment crisis hitting the headlines more than ever, businesses now have a pivotal role to play in allaying employees’ concerns.

What’s the psychological impact if someone doesn’t have enough boundaries at work? What are the signs that someone might need help? And, where’s the best place to start?

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?

In our new series on the science of happiness, we’re exploring The Five Ways to Happiness at Work with creators Nic Marks and Dr. Jody Aked.

With Connect being the most important component of The Five Ways, Nic and Jody show us how teams can create real friendships in the workplace.

Every business that switched to remote working at the beginning of the pandemic must now 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.

How happy are you at work? Our new individual happiness test, FridayOne looks at your interactions with your team, your role and your organization. A learning feedback loop that can help you reflect and highlights what at work is working well and what isn’t.

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.

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.

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?

The pandemic has created a fertile environment for burnout in everyone. While not having anywhere to go on holiday makes taking time off difficult, it’s an incredibly important part of staving off burnout. 

Leaders can protect their teams by establishing clear boundaries and listening to their people, and now is the time to be vigilant for the signs of burnout, in both yourself and your teams. 

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.

A 5x return on investment in year one is, you may think, both elusive and improbable. Yet, it’s entirely possible when you proactively look after employee wellbeing and team morale.

Putting numbers on what is intangible is, by nature, an estimation compared to other financial drivers within a business. However, that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. At Friday Pulse, we’ve done just that – estimated the return on investment in wellbeing. And when potential returns are so significant, it shows that the investment is worthwhile.

The predictions of economists right now are dire. However, that’s the current role of economists – to put numbers on the potential fallout from the crisis. Our resilience calculator reveals that the cost of ignoring team moral will accumulate quickly over the coming months.

Estimating the monetary impact of a rise or fall in employee experience and morale is necessarily an estimation process. We use the best, most reliable available information from both external and our own proprietary research.

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?

Every company faces changes and setbacks. Organizations inevitably have to pivot without much planning just to survive and stay competitive. Changes in strategy, business models, restructures and closures are the norm.

Blue Monday – when lack of sunlight, the burden of post-Christmas debt and festive family rifts collide with job dissatisfaction and the overall down of being back from the holidays. The most depressing day of the year…