A Month Later: Still Happening at Work

It’s been a month since the International Week of Happiness at Work 2025. The hashtags slowed down, but the conversations kept going. From boardrooms to break rooms, one theme echoed everywhere: happiness at work is not an event. It’s a system, a structure, and a shared responsibility.

So before we rush into 2026 plans, let’s take a moment to look at what’s still moving.

Across the world, teams shared laughter, coffee and small moments that mattered.

Our partner AM Healthcare Group captured the spirit perfectly:

Read their story Small Moments, Big Smiles → internationalweekofhappinessatwork.com/inspiration/small-moments-big-smiles-how-am-healthcare-celebrates-happiness-at-work

The Guardian recently reported that the UK could lose 600 000 workers to long-term illness by 2035 if employers fail to improve health support.
Read the article → https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/nov/02/uk-to-lose-600000-workers-to-illness-without-better-health-support-at-work

Flu vaccines, cardiovascular screening and mental-wellbeing initiatives are not perks; they are the infrastructure of a functioning workforce.
Physical health, mental health and happiness at work are inseparable. When one weakens, the others follow.

At the same time, a Gates Foundation study on Gen Z found record levels of loneliness, anxiety and disconnection.
Read more → https://fortune.com/2025/10/16/gallup-american-jobs-quality-study-gates-foundation-gen-z-work-life-balance

Younger workers crave purpose, participation and a genuine voice. If they can’t find it, they leave, or burn out trying.

Together, these findings remind us that happiness at work is not “nice to have”.
It is a survival strategy, a retention policy and a leadership philosophy rolled into one.

While technology dominates headlines, Fast Company says it best: the real workplace revolution is human happiness.
Read the article → https://www.fastcompany.com/91395058/the-real-workplace-revolution-isnt-ai-its-human-happiness-workplace-happiness

No software can replace the effect of being seen, heard and valued.
Research shows that when employees feel connected, they are 13 percent more productive and far less likely to leave.

That is why we are building Happiness at Work? Global - a platform and a community designed to listen, learn and challenge what we think we know about work.

We are gathering people who believe that happiness at work is not a slogan, but a question worth asking again and again.
A place where stories, research and reflection meet.

Where the question mark matters more than the exclamation point.
Where leaders, teams and organisations can share what works, explore what doesn’t, and build something better together.

Because the work of happiness isn’t to convince; it’s to connect.
And connection, not perfection, is what truly transforms workplaces.

Save the date: September 21st – 25th 2026
Because happiness at work isn’t a week; it is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

We’re not forming a club.
We’re forming better questions.

If that sounds like your kind of chaos, come closer.
Happiness at Work? Global is where the curious ones gather - the people who would rather build meaning than slogans.

We’re collecting stories, experiments and evidence that work can work better.
Join us, contribute, or just listen for a while. The door is open.

Follow the movement on LinkedIn → Happiness at Work? Global

The party’s over. The posters are packed. The coffee mugs are back in their cupboards.

Good.
Now the real work begins.

Happiness at Work? Global isn’t another campaign; it’s the long game - a place for people who’d rather build meaning than momentum slides.

Let’s make 2026 the year happiness stops being an event and starts being evidence.
See you in September 2026 - and try to stay human until then.

Hedinn (Héðinn) Sveinbjörnsson
Iceland´s Chief Happiness Officer
International Week of Happiness at Work

Official Website: internationalweekofhappinessatwork.com
Save the Dates: September 21st – 25th, 2026