Hooray, theres a crisis - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Hooray, theres a crisis - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog My new book is coming out on May 14 and I just got to see the front cover design for the first time: Unlike my first book which came out in English first and then Danish this one is coming out in Denmark first. The title means Hooray, theres a crisis use it as a springboard for more happiness, progress and profits at work. It sounds a LOT better in Danish :o) The theme of the book is happiness at work in a crisis (duh!). This is of course inspired by the current financial crisis but the book is directed at any workplace in trouble. The book has three central claims: 1: Most of what companies traditionally do in a crisis doesn?t work. The way many organizations typically handle crises is by cutting back on all expenses and doing mass layoffs. While this can be necessary, studies actually show companies who choose this approach recover more slowly. 2: It is possible to be happy at work even in a workplace in trouble. Of course it?s easier to be happy when everything is going swimmingly, but people can still be happy at work in a crisis. It takes determination and focus, but it can be done. Surprisingly, a crisis can make people happy at work, provided that it becomes a reason for people to focus and pull together rather than an excuse to give up. 3: Happy workplaces get out of a crisis faster. Especially in a crisis, an organization needs to get the best out of its people and when we?re happy at work we are more motivated, creative and productive. Ive got plenty of real-life stories and case stories of people and companies who refused to just give in to tough times and instead used them to create even more happiness. My favorite story from the book is the one about Xilinx, a computer chip company in Silicon Valley whose revenues fell to about half during the dotcom implosion. Their CEO Wim Roelandts refused to do what everyone else in the IT industry did (ie. mass layoffs) and instead found a more creative way that brought the organization out of the crisis stronger and faster than their competitors. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related