 You've got your bits. Eight is perfect, ten is the maximum. So stick here, just over there, over there. One of you can join that table. Oh, no, no, no. Oh, sorry. Better to stay there, or are you... Okay, welcome everybody. How do you feel right now? Okay, that's enough. Today it's about being happy. My name is Margie Wolf. This is my colleague, Fernando van de Meulen, and we're from the Netherlands. In our day-to-day life, we work as culture change managers at our company Happy Office. And we strongly believe our mission is to help organizations and working people to feel happier at work, and our strong belief is based on scientific research about happiness at work. It really makes people perform better. But they're more motivated, more engaged, and more productive. And we're really passionate about this subject because we have seen people change as a result of a new focus on happiness. And I want to tell you, oh, hello. No problem. This is Valerie. Valerie is one of our clients. She attended a workshop of ours about happiness at work, and together with her colleagues, she made a plan of action. And after the workshop, she put it into practice, and it turned out that she and her colleagues, her team, got really happier. And she was so enthusiastic about it that she came to me last week and she told me about it. And I think it's great when people do that. Another example is Tim. Tim has an international recruitment agency and at his office, the positive vibe went away because there were some issues. And after a strategy day about happiness at work, the positive vibe came back, so he's really happy. And that kind of example, that's why I work for. That's why I do it, and that makes me very happy. Today, I'm going to invite you to come up with ideas to make your personal day-to-day life at work happier. I hope that you will walk away with tools that really helps you to do something about it that you can put into practice. From now on, you will be able to influence the way you feel about your job. And we're also going to play the Choose Happiness at Work game. I put them on the table already. The purpose to do that is to get you involved and that you can feel and experience what happiness is about, what our ideas are about happiness. And then I refer to Benjamin Franklin. I can tell you a lot, but you will forget. I can teach you, you maybe remember, but I can involve you and you will learn. I hope. Happiness, ultimately, all people want to be happy. When you keep asking people, again and again, why do you do the things you do? And you keep it over, why do you? The final answer will be, it makes me happy. And often, we don't realize that until the end of our life, that's how important it is to be happy. Bronny Ware, she's an Australian nurse and she spent several years of her life caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their life. She wrote a book about this, the top five regrets of the dying. And she writes in her book that people gave a phenomenal clarity of vision when they are at the end of their lives and we can learn from that. So what she did, she questioned her patients about the things they would do differently and the top five of regrets is not about I would have done more exciting things like bungee jump break or make more money or something like that. Now the top five are common themes that surface over and over again. So the first is, I wish I had the courage to live a life special myself. On the second spot, people said I wish I hadn't worked so hard. Another thing is, I wish I had the courage to express my feelings. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. And the last, and I think it's very interesting for today, is I wish I let myself be happier. At the end of their life, people realize that you can do something about happiness. Happiness is a choice. You have to work on it by yourself. So we have a chance right now today to start living a happy and fulfilled life. And it's actually, it's not that difficult but sometimes we need a bit of help. And that's where Fernando and I come in. That's our expertise. So that's why I'm telling you this story. As happy of it, we focus on being happy in the place where people spend on every 30% of their time, of their life at work. And when you're happy at work, you will be healthier, a nicer person in your whole life and certainly more successful. So, happiness at work is hard. At least in Europe and in the US, I'm not sure about what I like to discuss, but every week there are articles and newspapers, in-distance magazines, programful television. They all talk about the subject of happiness at work. And scientific research shows that the effects are huge. So, for example, health. The effect on health of happiness, John Aker, he's an expert in relation to happiness and success. And he wrote several books about it and then once it's the happiness advantage, and he tells about research that shows that happy employees take more sick days than unhappy, take less sick days. Less sick days than unhappy employees. Unhappy employees take 15 more sick days a year. I think that's really a big amount. So, that's a big waste of money, I think. Another example, and that proves even better that happiness has a great effect on your health, is a study that volunteer researchers gave volunteers a survey to measure their level of happiness. And after that survey, they injected them with a strain of cold virus. And after a week, they were talking again, and it turned out that the individuals who were happier before they filled in the survey thought of the virus much better than the people that were unhappy, the unhappy individuals. So I think that is a great survey to see what happiness does with you. It was not also that the people felt better, also the symptoms were less. So, it was an amazing study, but I'm glad I didn't continue. For the more healthy, happy people are also more successful. They're more productive, more engaged, more cooperative, more creative, more innovative, less stressed, and there are a lot of other advantages. So I think, would we all want to experience these benefits in our companies? I think a lot of companies do, because all over the world, more and more companies are going to invest in happiness at work. And I have a few examples. Zemco, it's a Brazilian manufacturer. They already do it for a long time, and the results are really great. They focus on happiness by giving a lot of autonomy to their employees. Another good example in the U.S. is Deppos, it's an online shoe shop, as anyone knows. And they are very, very strong in building their culture. They have really, they need a culture of fit with the people they hire and they work together. So people are very happy there because they attribute to that culture. And another is in Holland. Come from Holland. It's an ICT company, and a few years ago they decided to put happiness as their main strategy. So they have only two KPIs and they are unhappy customers and happy employees. And at that moment, they skyrocket their results. So I think they also made very good profit out of it. And also, I think, who knows Richard Branson? I think this is great. Richard Branson, I think, he's a really prominent figure in the British culture and he says that many assume my business a success has brought me happiness. But the way I see it, the other way around, I am successful because I'm happy. He truly believes that happiness is the key to successful business. And he's someone who knows he's talking about, I think. So he got very successful. All the talking about happiness, what is it? What kind of definition? Different scientists have different definitions. The most simple one phenomenon I use in our workshop is the feeling of happiness you get from work. It's that easy. And that has everything to do with emotions. Positive emotions we get from first having a purpose. Doing meaningful work makes us happy. Our workshop tomorrow, Power of Purpose, will go in depth on this subject, so please come along. And the second thing that makes us happy at work is delivering reasons. We love to make progress. We like to make achievements. We like the feeling of, yes, we did it. I don't, do you recognize that? Okay. And we want to be good at something. I'm very happy when I do something that's really something I can make a difference. And there's also about autonomy and responsiveness. We want to be autonomous. Thank you. Sorry. Autonomous and responsible. And the third thing is feeling connected. We are social human beings. Human beings are social creatures. We want to be long. We want to be part of a group. And that's what work is about. We want to do, and we work together with others. The best result is we get together. And one of the great things is when we make progress, the meaningful work with others, that's the strongest motivation at work. So, positivity is important. But of course, work is also about negative feelings. Because that's part of mind. I don't say that you always have to walk around like, yes, yes, yes, I'm happy. No, it's also about negativity and negative emotions. But as human beings, we tend to pay more attention to negativity than the positivity. We can't help it. It's in our brains. It's in our DNA. We needed that a long, long time ago, but now we don't need it anymore. So, we have to train our brains for more positivity. For example, when we are at work, we argument and wrote, we remind that better than positive things like the happy times. So, when we want to have a positive balance between the two kinds of emotions, we have to do something about it. And that's about personal thought, choices, and action. And the only one who can make you happy is, thank you very much. Oh, sorry. And that's why we're going to play the Choose Happiness at Work game. That's a fun way to train your brain. And I hope that you will experience the ideas we are working on for such an impact. Choose Happiness at Work game is developed in the US by a company called Happy Brain Time. It's already played by 4,000 people in 19 different countries. So, I think it's a great amount of people who already played it. It gives you tips and tools, and you will be able to use them in your day-to-day practice, in your day-to-day life, I think, tomorrow, or the day after. I will explain you the rules in a minute, but first, I think we need a little bit more energy, so please stand up. What I'd like you to do, I want you to switch tables, because maybe you know a few people at your table now. We're going to switch, but not all of you, and not random. I want you, please, ask at the table, have a little bit of a discussion in two minutes. Who are the two happiest persons at your table, at work? So, great, give yourselves a degree, just talk about it, and decide together who are the two happiest persons. And after that, the two have to move clockwise. So, clockwise, I'm sorry. You have to move clockwise. So, well, two minutes, and then I want two people to move to another table. Go. Oh, yeah, you can. Where's the space? You sit down there anyway. Just the device is on. We're happy anyway. Oh, good luck. I've made a lot of mistakes now. I'm really so sensitive. Can I have a look at the side? No, say, I'll look at the side. Yeah, you're all better. So. Can you decide? Everybody. You're all looking happy, so please go too. No, no, no, no, no. Self-over-table, just go. Clockwise, yeah, just that way. I always have a problem with it. It's not that difficult, is it? Yeah, okay, great. You have a problem with it? Somewhere. Question for you. I will mix it up. I will move somewhere here. Okay, I have another question. Another question. I think it's a little bit easier. Talk in this new group about, in this new group in a minute, who worked the longest at the company you work at. Who is there the longest? So the two longest move to another table. And then sit down. Yeah, the two longest move. The two longest move. Yeah, again, clockwise, yeah. Yeah, yeah, so, but I see, not many people move through yet to find a variable. Okay, and you have already moved? You have to move, although you work so long, you have to move at least one time, so you can do it here. Production round together. Okay, you can sit there. Or you can sit, yeah. Okay, please, everybody, a little bit of the same amount of people around the table, because we have to play a game, and otherwise one table will take much longer the game than the other. So, and everybody, a bit spread around the room. Okay, start to introduce yourself. I think it's good to know each other a little bit better. So, everybody, please make a short round. Please tell your colleague, your fellow players, your name, where you're from, where you work, what you like best about your job, and what you would like to change. Just make it very short. About five minutes, and then we move on. Penang, can you look at the table to see if it's a bit too much? Because the one that's really smaller is a little bit too long. It's too much. Yeah, but then it has to go a little bit away. Really too much. And then you look, oh, how do you do that? We don't have chairs anymore, right? No. How do you get chairs? Yes, it's a bit too much. Everybody, it's time to play the game. I think. Okay, play time, I think. Yes, before we can start, I have to explain you the rules. I can imagine it's a lot of information at one time. It's not a difficult game, and you can learn it very easy, but I think I have to explain just a few general rules, and after that, UK Reader is an overview in the book, and we will walk across, so you can ask questions or help. But Fernando and I will do a little bit of a role-play about what the game is about. It's about cards. It's about scenarios and about solutions. The scenario cards are the blue ones. Scenarios mean that our day-to-day practical situations you will experience in your job. Things that are very common all over the world. When you read them, or you can imagine something that happens in your work as well. Every player gets seven solution cards, and when they play a scenario, you can choose out of your hands an adjusting solution. That's... Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I will come to that later. We will play it. Of course, the aim of the game, the goal of the game is to win. But it's also about talking about real-life situations and happiness at work. So what we will do is let's say everybody has seven solutions in hand. And we have a stock with scenario cards. One is the executive, so at your table you decide who is the executive first, and I take a card of the stock. And I think a scenario... Okay, it suits me very well, so I will take it. I said, I am constantly checking my email. That's my problem. And that's an issue because those who check email throughout the day experience more stress and distraction. It's much harder to achieve the flow. And then Fernanda looks at her card. So all your fellow players look at their card and think of a solution that fits this scenario. I can imagine sometimes you have a card that's not exactly the solution you want to give. But be creative. Put something in of yourself. Give your ideas. It's all about having conversations. Give the others a good solution. So everybody plays a solution. He tells about the cards he wants to play. He tells a bit about it. And if every fellow player has given a solution, the executive can choose a tool. The first one is the best one. What solution suits him or her the best? What can he use tomorrow in a day-to-day practice? The second, that solution gets two points. The second is the most creative one. If you don't have a good solution, you create it. Think out of the box. Do something funny because it's all about fun and about having a laugh together. So come up with ideas and the executive can pick another one, the most creative one, and that gets one point. That's in general the whole game. And then all the solution cards who are played go back under the stock and everybody puts it back to seven. And then the next one will be the executive. You play a whole round, so everybody will be the executive one. There are a few extra rules. Please read it or discuss it before you start. I think we have a little bit left to play, so 30-35 minutes. And then we have to... I want to share some outcomes and have to make a plan of action. So we have still about ten before three, so about five before three. I have some extra rules, so if you want to... I can give them to you. And if there's something you want to ask, please do. We will walk around. Yes? Yes. The first executive, he puts it strong on the table. So everybody is one side. If you don't have to wait for your train, when you think, ah, I know something really chill, and everybody is listening. Next person becomes the executive. No, no, no. You know how he puts it away? You can change. If you really have a solution, you really need to go. Put it on the table, you can take it out of the car. Okay. There's only one scenario cut, but I've seen it made in a long time. The scenario doesn't take you at all. Oh, yeah. Everybody has told the solution. You can take one of your solutions. Everyone, the both ones, you can really use it tomorrow. Wow. That's a true point. And the most creative one is the one that you can use the other side. But the second is the one that you can use the other side. And the point is to use the best solution. Yes. You can write down the point. I think it's better. The best solution is to get the scenario cut plus the solution cut. And then you can count the cost so you know who's the winner. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Otherwise, it's over. I wrote it down. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What you can do is you can write them down. The most simple way is the person who gets the best solution gets the scenario cut. And he's going to use the cut. And the most creative one gets his own solution. Yeah, the rest, you put on another part. So maybe it's better to take it off. Yeah. Is it clear enough? Yeah, you have to say it. When we have done run-round, it's really obvious. There's still much information. But I'm not clear. Oh, okay. Sorry. Yeah. We are just trying to understand what is done. Yeah, yeah. We give a solution to him. Yeah. Right. So after that, one card is gone. And then there's three to two. One from the stock of cards. Right. Only one. Yeah. Okay. You put them away and you can take another one to get back to seven cards. And you could change them. So. That's really nothing you can do. But it's just so much a scenario cut. If you really think it's a scenario cut, you can take another one and just do it one. The third is just one. So the new card has to be changed now. Yeah. When this solution is played, you have to do it. Everybody can finish this scenario and then we will stop and make a central again, okay? Yes, please. So when that one is finished, please raise your hand if your scenario is finished. Who's the winner at your table? Please count the points and tell me who the winner is. Just a moment. Okay. I don't know if we will win. Yeah. You have to be very fast. You have a winner? Okay. Please raise your hand. I think you're both winners anyway because you're still on the table. Just a few minutes and then you finish it. Question. Did you enjoy the game? Yes. It's useful to if your idea is to put it... I want to do a little step in that. I want to make a small plan of action. Exercise. What I want you to do is pick up the things you have heard in the presentation and the ideas you get from the game and think about what can you do tomorrow to make a positive change in your organization. Write down at least five things. Small steps. Be practical and specific. Choose ideas that are fast and easy to implement. And choose things that you like to do. Because working on happiness has to be a happy person. So, at least five things. If you need some ideas of your fellow table mates please discuss and think of something you can put into practice. Maybe you get some really great solutions in the game. How can you make it work? When are you going to implement them? Where are you going to do it with whom? And what will be the outcome? So, what do you expect of the ideas to go good into practice? Please take another five minutes and then we'll wrap up at the end of the workshop. At your company. Okay, great. Another idea? Yes, please. Sorry? Yeah? Okay, great. Great idea. Yes? You rock. Awesome. Great idea. Are you already do that? Or are you just decided to do that? Yeah, exactly. And then the belt gets rolling. Great idea. Thank you. Anyone else? Sorry? Okay. I couldn't hear it completely, but... Oh, down! That's great. And everybody will join you? Nice. Anyone else? Okay, I think we come to the end of this workshop. As I said, happiness is largely impacted by your mindset and actions. You have to do something to make it work. So, that's really important. When you do nothing, happiness does come right away. You have to do something about it. You can do a lot of things. Take your ideas with you. Put your plan of action. Make it a more concrete plan and take it into practice. Maybe your fellow players can connect them and use them as a firing partner. Stay connected. Put happiness at work on the agenda of your company. And if you want to do... You can buy this game. Sorry. You can buy it in the US. We also have a business. And finally, I want to give yourself a big hand because you have done so much work today. Good luck!