22 Days to Go
October 6th - 10th, 2025 is almost here. That’s 22 days until the International Week of Happiness at Work (IWoHaW) - your annual excuse to throw out business-as-usual and test-drive something human.
And if you’re wondering: is this just a one-week thing? Nope. The week is just the spark. The year-round fire will live in Happiness at Work? Global - coming soon.
Posters don’t change culture. Muffins don’t either (sorry, HR). What does? Tiny experiments, repeated often. Here’s your starter pack:
Starters (5–10 minute tasters)
Silent Meetings: Kick off with ten minutes of silence. Oddly calming.
Gratitude Wall: One sticky note, one thank-you. That’s it.
Random Playlist Raffle: Whoever wins controls the soundtrack. Pray they don’t like techno.
Mains (team-level experiments)
No-Email Day: Pretend it’s 1985. Talk to people.
Walk & Talk: Fresh air beats stale PowerPoint.
Role Swap: Trade tasks for half a day. Empathy guaranteed.
Desserts (playful extras)
Desk Safari: Ridiculous Zoom backgrounds only.
Lunch Roulette: Randomize who eats together. Cliques hate this trick.
Two Truths & a Lie (Work Edition): Five minutes of chaos to end the week.
Bonus Bites from the Godfather
He’s back! After a bit of a hiatus, Alexander Kjerulf - the godfather of the Chief Happiness Officers movement - is louder (and happier) than ever. Through Woohoo Inc., he’s been reminding the world that happiness at work isn’t fluff. It’s the foundation.
Some of his greatest hits:
Happiness at work is measurable - not motivational fluff.
Small rituals (like “praise Fridays” or random coffee dates) shift culture faster than a new mission statement.
Real happiness ≠ fake smiles. It’s built on respect, trust, and psychological safety.
And yes, happy employees are 12% more productive (Warwick University study). Science says so, not just the godfather.
Think of this as the sommelier’s pairing to your IWoHaW menu: practical, proven, and slightly rebellious.
Meanwhile in Happiness Research…
Another big name just dropped something fresh: Nic Marks has published Happiness Is a Serious Business.
It’s a practical, evidence-based guide for making teams happier, more united, and more effective (Friday Pulse).
Marks shows why trust, avoiding leadership pitfalls, and measuring wellbeing aren’t “soft stuff” — they’re business-critical (Nic Marks).
If you’ve ever wondered how to make happiness at work more than a poster campaign, this one belongs on your desk.
The Manager Crunch
Here’s a stat you won’t find on a breakroom poster: according to Gallup, only 27% of managers worldwide were engaged in 2024 - with younger managers and women hit hardest (Gallup). The Wall Street Journal went further, calling managers “the most dissatisfied workers in the building” (WSJ).
Why it matters: managers are more than middlemen. They steer morale, performance, inclusion, and well-being. When they’re stressed, unsupported, or disengaged, the effects cascade: lower employee engagement, higher turnover, weaker trust, and flatlined productivity.
If we’re serious about happiness at work, we can’t just throw perks at frontline staff. We need to invest in the people holding the middle together:
Training and coaching that focuses on people leadership (not just technical skills).
Real emotional and peer support - space for managers to admit they’re human.
Clearer expectations in a hybrid/digital world where the job description never stops expanding.
Happiness at work has to flow through leadership. Supporting managers isn’t optional. It’s strategic.
The Receipts
Translation: belonging + flexibility = survival. The menu above is simply how you taste-test them.
Your Move
So, what’ll you order? Starter, main, or dessert?
October is coming fast. Don’t just read the menu. Order something. Taste it. Tell us.
Remember: happiness at work isn’t a poster. It’s an experiment. Try one. Mess it up. Try again. That’s how change happens.
Stay curious,
Hedinn (Héðinn) Sveinbjörnsson
Iceland´s Chief Happiness Officer
International Week of Happiness at Work
Official Website: internationalweekofhappinessatwork.com
Save the Dates: October 6th - 10th, 2025
P.S. If you believe happiness at work should be the norm, not the exception, share this newsletter with someone who needs to hear it. The more voices, the bigger the impact.
P.P.S. International Week of Happiness at Work runs October 6th - 10th, 2025.
P.P.P.S. The bigger story? Happiness at Work? Global - the year-round platform, coming soon.
P.P.P.P.S. Dessert is always free.