Insights Archive
One of the greatest things about modern society is our increasing acceptance of talking about our emotions. Here's my insights to measuring happiness at a systemic level.
There’s a vaccine on the way—we just need resilience till it gets here
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’re entering a new wave of lockdowns and we know how to build the resilience necessary to survive. Here’s how we do it.
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What does World Mental Health Day mean for leaders?
As World Mental Health Day approaches, it’s my firm belief that leaders need to pay attention to their team’s mental health and take active steps to preventing burnout. Here’s how they can do it.
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Should I Stay or Should I Go…Back to the Office?
Team relationships and friendships at work have eroded because of the current COVID-19 pandemic. As we’re thinking about returning to the workplace, leaders need to address how to make deliberate efforts to encourage positive social interaction amongst teams, while rethinking how the office fits into their business.
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How the size of an organisation impacts employee happiness
In the months since my piece on the curve of resilience, many businesses have started to bounce back. Now is the time to envision what your recovery will look like. My challenge to you is not just to rebuild, but to make your organisation structure something better than it was before.
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Being fair in redundancy
I once talked to my father about how difficult it was to make someone redundant. As a former CEO himself, I thought he could relate. He looked me in the eye and said, “No, son. It’s a clear decision that is difficult to implement.” If done wrong, letting someone go has the potential to hurt your company in more ways than one. Here’s how to do it right.
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The five workplace culture trends of 2020 revisited
In January, I shared what I thought would be the big workplace culture trends for 2020. A lot has happened since then. So, how did the predictions hold up?
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How psychological safety is a haven against racism
There is no place for racism, prejudice or hatred in the world – let alone the business world. It is against all the principles of emotional and mental wellbeing that I have tried to uphold in my research and work.
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OK is the new normal (and that’s not OK)
Where once the average response to “How have you felt at work this week?” was happy, the new normal is now OK. The cost of a workforce becoming just “OK” about work can be high but connecting with your team in better ways may be a feasible solution.
read moreCOVID-19 – Subcultures, resilience and the impact of COVID-19
When my team and I set out to create Friday Pulse, we never planned for it to pick up on global trends. Yet, the client data from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic showed a dramatic curve – one that could be found in every single organization across the board.
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How Much Does Low Morale Cost?
The predictions of economists right now are dire. However, that's the current role of economists - to put numbers on the potential fallout from this crisis. Our resilience calculator reveals that the cost of ignoring team morale will accumulate quickly over the coming months.
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Lockdown doesn’t mean we can’t recover
Lockdown is the biggest shock since the 1920s. To bounce back businesses need to protect employee wellbeing and team morale.
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Working through the Coronavirus Crisis
We are in uncharted territory with the spread of coronavirus. What is going to happen to work? How will we all work through the virus? What can the science of wellbeing teach us about dealing with a crisis?
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Not an Office Romance: How Love Fits into the Workplace
It's Valentine's Day, the day we celebrate that most supreme of human emotions – love. It's also the day when the rampant commercialization of romantic love steps into overdrive. Regardless of your feelings towards this holiday, it's a perfect time to talk about emotions.
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How Professional Empathy Cures the Blue Monday Slump
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.
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Press 1 to Speak to a Happy Advisor
Better Weather, Better Moods, Better Sales
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Why times of crisis are an opportunity for positive change
Times are tough. We are emotionally exhausted because the current crisis has turned into something chronic. But even when things are bad an opportunity exists for us to enact positive change.
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Happiness and the Function of Emotions: An Interview at the Global Happiness at Work Summit
This week was the 2020 Global Happiness at Work Summit, and I was proud to be a sponsor of the event. Sarah Metcalfe from the WooHoo Partnership and I sat down (virtually, of course) in a wide-ranging interview where we discussed the meaning of being happy at work, resilience in COVID-19, and the function of […]
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Breaking the Habit: A Four-day Workweek?
COVID-19 forced many of us to work remotely and as lockdown conditions continued, work-life balance eroded. My team and I 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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To Survive the Crisis, Think Creatively
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, creativity will follow.
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Surviving burnout: a guide for leaders
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.
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The next normal requires employee empowerment
Workplaces are now very different places. Businesses 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.
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Why Everything Must Work at the Team Level
Teams are the instruments of change in a company. Changes in their microcultures are more likely to shape your company's culture than anything else. In today's COVID-19 world, flexible team sizes are a must, and small teams are how companies will be able to climb the resilience curve.
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Looking Back on 12 Years of The Five Ways to Wellbeing
With this week being Mental Health Awareness week, I’m taking a look back at how our work on The Five Ways to Wellbeing became an important part of a growing global awareness. Mental health is now more important than ever, especially during COVID-19.
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How investing in wellbeing gives a 5x ROI
Returns on investment have never been more critical as businesses are increasingly cash strapped. Yet if you were a financial advisor that offered me a 5x return on my investment – in year one – I would certainly not believe you. There has to be a catch.
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Connect, connect, connect
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.
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Virus Fears on International Day of Happiness
Today is International Day of Happiness. I know — the irony.
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How to Build a Resilient Workplace Culture in the Face of Setbacks
Every company faces changes and setbacks. Organisations inevitably have to pivot without much planning just to survive and stay competitive. Changes in strategy, business models, restructures and closures are the norm.
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Silence is Golden, but Employee Voice is Worth More
What happens when your employees are silent
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What the biggest workplace trends of 2020 can teach us about managing change
As it’s almost the new year (decade!), I thought it would be a great time to look at the latest data and trends and identify some of the key business influencers of 2020.
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Consistency is Culture’s Best Friend
Getting a good return on any investment is hard, but I’ve found that senior leaders really struggle when it comes to investments in their organization’s culture.
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