Have a happy weekend :o)

This is not meant to be taken seriously – this is art. Or social commentary. Or both. The Happiness Hat was created by Lauren MacCarthy, who calls it:

A wearable conditioning device that detects if you’re smiling and provides pain feedback if you’re not. Frowning creates intense pain but a full smile leaves you pain free! The first in a series of Tools for Improved Social Inter-Acting.

To me, this is a great commentary to the pressure to be happy that exists in society today. There seems to be a sense that “if you’re not happy, there’s something wrong with you.” Ironically, this makes people less happy.

Barbara Ehrenreich talks about the same phenomenon in her new book “Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America“.

Here she is on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart:

What we need to remember is, that unhappiness is a part of life – including work life. No workplace is perfect. No job is without problems. And no one is happy every moment of every work day. And that’s as it should be.

If we expect to be happy all the time at work we are bound to be disappointed. If we consistently marginalize and criticize people who are unhappy at work, we lose some very valuable voices of reason and realism in the workplace.

When your circumstances are bad, there is nothing wrong with being unhappy; it is only natural. And trying to force people to be happy only makes them less happy.

So let’s give unhappiness it’s central place in the workplace – as a perfectly natural, even helpful, state of mind. And that, ironically, will lead to more happiness at work!

Your take

Have you ever felt pressured to be happy at work when you weren’t? What did that do to you? What constructive role do you see unhappiness play at work? Please write a comment, I’d love to hear your take.

Have a happy weekend!

What’s the one thing you wish your manager understood about you, which still hasn’t sunk in with him/her?

I ask because I’m giving a ton of presentations to groups of managers about happiness at work these days and I’d like to give them an even better idea of where managers and employees often don’t connect or misunderstand each other.

So what do you think? What doesn’t your manager seem to get about you? Please write a comment, I’d be very happy to know your take on this!

Great comment: Marks says “I wish my boss understood that people are not motivated by awarding them with tawdry ‘Employee of the Month’ certificates or covering the office walls with ‘Motivational’ posters but by respecting their knowledge of the job and trusting their judgement on a day to day basis.”

We’re launching a new web site (in Danish) for everyone who’s lost their happiness at work and would like it back.

Har du mistet arbejdsglæden? Og vil du gerne have den igen?

Vi har nemlig lavet en lynhurtig lille video netop til dig, der har mistet arbejdsglæden – og gerne vil have den tilbage.

På bare 3 minutter vil du:

1. Lære den ene, vigtigste ting, du SKAL gøre, for at få din arbejdsglæde tilbage igen.
2. Forstå præcis hvor farligt og ødelæggende, det er, når du ikke er glad for dit arbejde.
3. Få en udfordring – tør du tage den?

Sus ind på www.hurradetermandag.dk og se videoen allerede nu. Go’ fornøjelse :o)

Here’s proof:

So this week’s Friday Spoing! features yours truly and my lovely bride doing our first dance as a married couple. Enjoy :o)

Where many companies present themselves seriously and factually, Perrigo present themselves as a fun, lively, social place.

I don’t know about you – but it kinda makes me want to work there :o)

Here are the top three four reasons why Perrigo’s “casting call” is a great way to attract great people.

1: It speaks to your emotions
Disney World does the same thing. I’ve seen the video they use to present themselves to potential new employees and it contained exactly NO facts. Instead it was all about all the cool stuff Disney does – from Monday Night Football to Pirates of the Caribbean to their Cruises.

I saw this video with a group of highly paid consultants and leaders as part of a seminar at Disney University and after that 6-minute presentation, several of the group declared themselves ready to quit their careers and go work for Disney World :o)

That is the power of speaking to people’s emotions!

Where most companies try to speak to your logical, rational side, Perrigo’s video speaks directly to your emotions, which is more effective. Many studies in decision-making show that we make our decisions with our emotions and only then do we find the rational arguments to support our emotions.

2: It’s fun
Why does recruiting always have to be such a deadly serious process? In fact, studies show that we make better decisions when we’re happy and relaxed. Let’s make it fun!

3: This video will instantly repel a ton of potential hires
While many people will be attracted to Perrigo, many others will see this video and think “I will never work for a company that silly.” And that’s a great thing because those people would obviously not fit in at an organization that is happy and fun-loving. It’s much easier to let these people self-select early in the process than to have to read their applications and interview them (and possibly even hire them) only to find later that they’re a bad fit for the company culture.

4: Employees were involved in making it (Update)
After I posted this, it struck me that this is especially cool because current employees could get in on the fun of making the video.

Your take

What’s your take on this? Does this video make you want to work for Perrigo or run away screaming? Have you seen other companies present themselves in fun, untraditional ways? Write a comment, I’d love to hear your take.

Related posts

• A faster and better way to recruit: Extreme Interviewing
• Some killer questions to ask in your next job interview
• Happy hiring

Here are some pictures from when I proposed. Yes, I’m wearing an Elvis costume – it was a Vegas party :o)

The wedding is October 1st. 2009 – in Las Vegas. Woooo-hoooooooooooooooo :o)

Normal blogging will resume in mid-October when I’m back but in the meantime you can follow the wedding and my other exploits on Facebook and Twitter:

• On Facebook
• Follow me on Twitter

Have a happy couple of weeks.