Category: Workplace happiness

  • Trust is earned, not owed

    Banks warn us: don’t share your PINs or passwords. Don’t click on unknown links. Be wary of offers that sound too good to be true. It’s sensible to assume that strangers are not to be trusted until they prove otherwise. Yet when it comes to people close to us, we can be pressured to offer […]

  • Same behaviour, different meaning

    A client of mine came to realise that in his most difficult moments, he would start mindlessly watching K-pop videos on his phone, unable to concentrate on anything else. Once he was aware of it, the compulsion to watch videos became a clue, alerting him that he was avoiding something. He could then tune in […]

  • What Counts at Work…

    Have you ever thought about how your job affects your attitudes? When I worked with children in care, I came to believe that all children were passive and that every generation was doomed to be less capable than the last. Similarly, I knew a store detective whose default attitude to strangers was to be suspicious […]

  • The gift of listening

    Have you ever left a social gathering feeling drained? Chances are you didn’t get to express yourself authentically. Perhaps you felt you had to make small talk or pretend to be interested in topics that didn’t excite you. Have you ever come away from a meeting feeling frustrated and demoralised? I’ll bet you weren’t given […]

  • Purpose and Work

    Marci Shimoff tells a story about three men on a building site. When asked what they’re doing, the first replies that he is laying bricks. The second replies that he is proud to be practising his trade as a bricklayer. The third replies that he is building a beautiful cathedral. This story demonstrates the different […]

  • The Song of Significance

    The Song of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams  by Seth Godin “Management is the practice of using power and authority to get what we want. …Leadership is the art of creating something significant.”  This is one of the many pithy quotes from Seth Godin’s book, all about how the workplace should be a place […]

  • Logical arguments

    Logic is great for puzzles and games, which take place in a finite imaginary world with known facts and rules (and usually only one right answer). But logic has its limitations; it cannot lead to conclusions outside of that world. Regular equations can’t explain quantum phenomena, just as a game of Cluedo cannot conclude with: […]

  • Reputation

    Here’s a challenging question: Would you rather be a good person with a bad reputation, or a bad person with a good reputation? In recent years, many highly regarded public figures have turned out to have very dark pasts. Decades of high standing are suddenly destroyed when the truth comes out. The higher the person’s […]

  • Pink Shirt Attitude in Action

    In 2007, two Canadian high school students noticed a new boy getting bullied for wearing a pink shirt. They dealt with the situation in a most creative way, buying up a load of cheap pink shirts and messaging all their friends, so that the next day the school was a sea of pink. Pink Shirt […]

  • Happiness at (insert name of…) Your Workplace

    This half-day workshop gives an overview of happiness research and why happiness is important at work. Practical exercises are used to infuse participants’ own work with meaning and fulfilment, and to generate ideas to lift workplace cheerfulness. Content can be tailored to your unique work situation. Contact us to find out more, or to order […]