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Weekly Insights

Every week, we publish on how to improve your workplace culture keeping track of the latest people trends, so you’ll know how to make your company a happier place.

In a pressured world you need to invest your time wisely

In a pressured world you need to invest your time wisely

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.

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Measuring team happiness is a SMART thing to do

Measuring team happiness is a SMART thing to do

Every business leader wants to build great teams but too many define greatness solely in terms of successful business outcomes. Now I don’t have anything against business success, but I do think that building happy, successful teams is an even smarter move.

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How does happiness lead to success?

How does happiness lead to success?

At Friday Pulse we often refer to research that shows that happier teams are more successful. It’s most certainly true but why is it? Why does being in a positive mood lead to better business outcomes?

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The Soft Stuff Is the Hard Stuff: Team Leadership Is Hard

The Soft Stuff Is the Hard Stuff: Team Leadership Is Hard

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?

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How a Weekly Team Meeting Can Generate a 5x ROI

How a Weekly Team Meeting Can Generate a 5x ROI

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?

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Happiness – The Perk that Never Gets Old

Happiness – The Perk that Never Gets Old

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.

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International Day of Happiness 2022: Make Happiness a Weekly Habit for your Team

International Day of Happiness 2022: Make Happiness a Weekly Habit for your Team

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.

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Why We Adopted a 4-day Work Week

Why We Adopted a 4-day Work Week

When, at Friday Pulse, we realized that the pandemic wasn’t ending any time soon, we knew we needed to do something for our team. With people feeling overworked and on the brink of burnout, we switched to a 4-day work week to astounding results. Here’s a look at what happened.

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The Science of Happiness: Why Impact and Authenticity Are Key to Inspiring Your People

The Science of Happiness: Why Impact and Authenticity Are Key to Inspiring Your People

In our series of articles on The Science of Happiness, we’re exploring our Five Ways to Happiness at Work framework with co-creators Nic Marks and Dr. Jody Aked.

Inspire is the fifth of The Five Ways and is key to staying motivated in our careers. Within this interview, Nic and Jody discuss how leaders can inspire their people and help them find meaning in their work.

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Beat the January Blues and Thrive in 2022

Beat the January Blues and Thrive in 2022

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?

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Here’s to a happier 2022

Here’s to a happier 2022

It’s the end of another year living with the pandemic and with the omicron variant surging, we continue to face further ambiguity. Traditionally, many companies throw some kind of Christmas party before the holidays commence. However, once again, this year office parties will look different with many companies opting to cancel or hold smaller, online get-togethers.

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The Science of Happiness: How Challenge Makes a Successful Employee Experience

The Science of Happiness: How Challenge Makes a Successful Employee Experience

In our series of articles on the Science of Happiness, we’re exploring The Five Ways to Happiness at Work with co-creators Nic Marks and Dr. Jody Aked.

Challenge is the fourth of The Five Ways and is a key component of an enriching and happy work experience. In this interview, Nic and Jody discuss how leaders can both challenge and support their people.

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The Science of Happiness: How Trust is the Key to Empowerment

The Science of Happiness: How Trust is the Key to Empowerment

In our series of articles on the Science of Happiness, we’re exploring The Five Ways to Happiness at Work with co-creators Nic Marks and Dr. Jody Aked.

Empower is the third of The Five Ways and is critical to enabling your colleagues to do their best work. Nic and Jody show us how leaders can start trusting their people more.

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The Science of Happiness: Fairness and Acting Humanely

The Science of Happiness: Fairness and Acting Humanely

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.

Be Fair is the second of The Five Ways and sets the foundation for a successful wellbeing plan. Nic and Jody tell us why.

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The Future of Employee Engagement: The Case for The Happiness KPI™

The Future of Employee Engagement: The Case for The Happiness KPI™

Employee engagement is a stagnant idea. And while “How have you felt at work this week?” may feel like an awkward question to ask employees, talking about people’s emotional experience of work — their happiness — and measuring it in the workplace can lead to improved team morale, greater resilience, more innovation and greater productivity.

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How to Scale with Your Company Culture Intact

How to Scale with Your Company Culture Intact

Many companies are looking to scale up as they emerge from the pandemic. And, one of the biggest concerns they have is being able to scale with their culture intact. Yet, it’s entirely possible with a team-first focus, rather than a top-down approach.

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Wellbeing – the ultimate (pandemic) shock absorber

Wellbeing – the ultimate (pandemic) shock absorber

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.

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International Day of Happiness – why workplace happiness is good for everyone

International Day of Happiness – why workplace happiness is good for everyone

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.

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The fundamental flaws of the eNPS survey— and why the Happiness KPI is the answer

The fundamental flaws of the eNPS survey— and why the Happiness KPI is the answer

There’s now some reason to be optimistic, and many employers are beginning to look beyond pandemic conditions and hoping to accelerate their growth. To achieve this, leaders need to ensure they have the right people. And, while the eNPS (employee Net Promoter Score) can help track whether teams are working well together, it is not a headline indicator of employee experience, and it should not be how companies think of wellbeing.

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The Workplace Trends that Matter in 2021

The Workplace Trends that Matter in 2021

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.

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The Bluest of Blue Mondays

The Bluest of Blue Mondays

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.

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Remembering Tony Hsieh (1973-2020)

Remembering Tony Hsieh (1973-2020)

Tony Hsieh was a pioneer in employee happiness and wellbeing, and firmly believed they were essential to business success. As an early friend and supporter of Friday Pulse, our Founder & CEO, Nic Marks offers his own personal tribute to Tony.

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Finding the Right Work-Life Balance

Finding the Right Work-Life Balance

COVID-19 forced many of us to work remotely and as lockdown conditions continued, work-life balance eroded. We at Friday Pulse have always passionate about improving the world of work and, today, we’re practising what we preach by focusing on our own wellbeing – and moving to a four-day workweek.

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How Leaders Can Help Teams Survive Burnout

How Leaders Can Help Teams Survive Burnout

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. 

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How's Work?                         The OK is Not OK Edition

How's Work? The OK is Not OK Edition

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.

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Mental Health Awareness Week: The Five Ways are the Friday Way

Mental Health Awareness Week: The Five Ways are the Friday Way

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.

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How Focusing on Employee Wellbeing Can Reap a 5x ROI

How Focusing on Employee Wellbeing Can Reap a 5x ROI

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.

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What's The Cost of Low Employee Morale in The Workplace?

What's The Cost of Low Employee Morale in The Workplace?

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.

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How We Calculate the Resilience Calculator?

How We Calculate the Resilience Calculator?

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.

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What Valentine's Day Can Teach Us About Building Great Teams

What Valentine's Day Can Teach Us About Building Great Teams

It’s Valentine’s Day. The day we celebrate that most supreme of human emotions – love. It’s also the day when rampant commercialization of romantic love steps into overdrive. Regardless of your feelings towards this holiday, it’s a perfect time to talk about (positive) emotions.

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