The Happy Manifesto

Going from startup to scale-up takes strategic planning and insight, along with a real understanding of employee happiness. Plus, crafting great job descriptions and letting people make their own decisions once they’re in a role are key to developing a team of A players.Dominic Monkhouse has a distinguished career in scaling up businesses, especially within the IT sector. He succ

Employee happiness makes a big contribution to a company's success, as can self-management. But how do you know what’s really working, driving the business forwards, and helping it meet its targets?This week's guest is Pieter Jelle de Brue, founder of digital agency Statik, a company that values employee happiness and has adopted a self-managing structure with multiple autonomous

A four-day work week doesn’t simply lead to longer weekends. When implemented right, organisations can maintain the same level of productivity, and give their employees significant – and measurable – increases in happiness.The four-day week challenges traditional concepts of work and productivity and encourages companies to measure output rather than time spent working. This

Before chasing the latest technologies or trends, organisations need to focus on building a strong foundation and core capabilities. They need a culture that encourages learning, collaboration, and transparency, and to have leadership that prioritises long-term success over short-term gains.In this episode, Henry is joined by Howard Yu, a renowned strategist and innovation expert,

Creating democratic workplaces lead to accelerated growth and a culture that people love. By giving power to employees and treating them with dignity and fairness, companies can tap into the full potential of their workforce.Transitioning to a democratic workplace takes a specific mindset, democratic leadership skills, and the implementation of systems and processes that value tran

A culture of trust, empowerment and respect towards employees leads to a successful and sustainable business model, higher levels of customer satisfaction, and a happy workplace. That ethos has been key to Handelsbanken’s operation for over 40 years, and has led them to top ratings in UK customer satisfaction for 15 years.It also makes financial sense. The banking group has been

Creating a culture of psychological safety is crucial for organisations. By fostering an environment where people feel safe to speak up, share their ideas, and take intelligent risks, companies can promote learning, innovation, and growth. Celebrating failures – especially intelligent failures that result from thoughtful exploration – can encourage individuals to take risks and

Ricardo Semler’s radical book Maverick is now 30 years old. Happy was an early adopter of some of its key principles, and when software company cofounder Zahid Malik was looking for implementation examples, Happy was just about the only one he found.As Semler’s work suggests, implementing a culture of trust, freedom, and autonomy can have a transformative impact on a

As an organisation expands and new people come on board – either remotely in or in satellite offices – it can be hard to ensure everyone’s aligned with the same values and goals. This can lead to a lack of cohesion and a sense of disconnection among team members.So organisations need to find creative ways to maintain their culture as they grow. TLC, a relationship charity bas

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 oth