The Happy Manifesto

Creating a truly inclusive and happy workplace means understanding and addressing the unique needs and feelings of each individual. This involves actively listening to and communicating with employees, recognising and addressing implicit biases, and creating a culture of trust and fairness.

Creating connections between teammates and increasing knowledge and understanding of each other's backgrounds and strengths will help foster greater inclusion and happiness in the workplace.

Femi Otitoju is the co-founder of EW Group, an equality, diversity, and inclusion partnership. She’s been helping organisations become more inclusive since 1988. In her conversation with Henry and Maureen, she tackles unconscious bias and how it can be addressed through training and recognition.

Femi’s tips for a happy workplace

• Assume good intent when people make contributions. Even if someone makes a mistake or uses terminology that might not be comfortable for everyone, start by assuming that they did not intend to offend anyone.
• Combat micro-aggressions with micro-affirmations. Consciously use small positive statements and gestures, like acknowledging people's presence, welcoming their contributions, and congratulating them on a job well done.
• When receiving feedback or criticism, assume good intent and respond with graciousness. Thank the person for their feedback and take the time to understand their perspective. Avoid getting defensive or dismissive, and recognise that feedback is a rare and precious gift that can help improve workplace happiness.

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Psychologically safety isn’t just about creating a comfortable climate, but about embracing discomfort. That’s because discomfort helps us grow and address complex problems, which in turn leads to greater psychological safety.

This means shifting from a parent-child dynamic to an adult-to-adult relationship within teams. That involves relating to people's potential, treating them as competent professionals, and involving them in the decision-making process.

A psychologically “safe” environment without a level of discomfort can hinder people’s growth and professional development, which can affect innovation and creativity.

To create a more psychologically safe environment, this week’s guest, Lisa Gill, suggests staying curious for longer, asking good coaching questions, and being honest and open about our challenges as leaders.

Lisa’s tips for a happier workplace

1. Allow space for people to be something other than happy if that's what's real for them.
2. Create a climate of psychological safety by embracing discomfort as well as safety.
3. Practice adult-to-adult conversations by relating to people's potential and being curious and empathetic.

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Co-management is a radical and fair way to run a company. One company’s approach of having no hierarchy and no bosses has allowed for a more collaborative and communicative environment, where teams can solve problems together.

Matt Perez is the co-founder of Nearsoft, a software company that practices co-management. Instead of having bosses, they have leadership teams that solve problems and make decisions. They also have a unique approach to dealing with poor performance before it comes an issue.

Matt’s tip for a happier workplace

Workplace happiness involves being true to oneself and respecting others' boundaries. By finding common ground, differences can be resolved, creating a more collaborative environment. Face-to-face conversations are especially effective in resolving issues and finding common ground.

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Happiness is not just a feeling, but an action that can be intentionally built within an organisation. By prioritising happiness and promoting engagement, pride, and appreciation, companies can create a culture that leads to profitability and success.

Dr Pelè developed the concept of "profitable happiness", which centres around the notion that organisations can create a culture of happiness that leads to engaged and productive employees, and ultimately, profitability. Dr Pelè emphasises the importance of eudaimonic happiness, which focuses on engagement, meaning, and purpose, rather than just seeking pleasure.

With this framework, managers can create habits of profitable happiness by providing appreciation, autonomy, and recognition to their employees.

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Budgeting is time-consuming, can lead to quickly-outdated assumptions, and can stimulate unethical behaviours like resource hoarding. Beyond Budgeting is a management philosophy that challenges traditional management practices, specifically the budgeting process.

In this episode, Henry speaks with Bjarte Bogsnes about the problems with budgeting, and how some companies have broken free of the budgeting mindset. Bjarte is a senior advisor at the Norwegian company Statoil, now Equinor, and has been a key figure in developing and promoting the Beyond Budgeting philosophy.

Bjarte’s tip for a happier workplace

Follow the 12 Beyond Budgeting principles around governance and transparency, accountable teams, goals and rewards, and planning and controls.

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