Does Your Organisation Enable People to Work at Their Best?

Henry Stewart speaks to the Eth Word about systems and processes within organisations. "I’ve been to [organisations] where you just sense a kind of difficulty doing stuff," Henry explains. "And you meet great people who are trying to do great stuff, but they have real problems doing it because the structure of the organisation gets in the way, rather than helping."

Hi, we are Happy

We are leading a movement to create happy, empowered and productive workplaces.

How can we help you and your people to find joy in at least 80% of your work?

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Normally you can tell the moment you walk in an organisation, not at the moment you start talking to people, the moment you start interacting, you get a sense of whether this is a place where people love to come to, and feel able to work at their best. Or whether it’s a place where they’re frustrated, or are micro-managed, where they have to battle with processes and systems and rules that are getting in the way of them doing what they want to do.

There’s a saying — I mean… I think everyone gets it going into organisations — people tell us they come to Happy and they instantly feel that this is a great place, and they’d love to work here. I’ve been to organisations where you walk in and feel that, and I’ve been to others where you just sense a kind of difficulty doing stuff. And you meet great people who are trying to do great stuff, but they have real problems doing it because the structure of the organisation gets in the way, rather than helping.

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Henry Stewart speaks to the Eth Word about management and creating freedom within clear guidelines for staff in this short interview, part of a series of videos.

“I’ve been to [organisations] where you just sense a kind of difficulty doing stuff,” says Henry Stewart, Founder and CEO of Happy. “And you meet great people who are trying to do great stuff, but they have real problems doing it because the structure of the organisation gets in the way, rather than helping.”

Is your organisation a great place to work – or does it create extra processes, systems and rules that get in the way of your people doing what they love?

Other videos in this series

Learn the 10 core principles to create a happy and productive workplace in Henry Stewart's book, The Happy Manifesto.

Support your aspiring and current managers to be empowering and confident leaders with Happy

Happy offers leadership programmes at Level 3, Level 5 and Level 7, from new managers/supervisor level all the way up to senior leadership teams and CEOs. These programmes are based on the ideas of trusting your people. They are practical and based on applying what yo’ve learnt. We aim to inspire and ignite change in your organisation, as well as giving you valuable management skills such as business strategy, decision-making, negotiation and project management.

We also offer programmes tailored specifically to people from Global Majority backgrounds. The content is the same, but have been designed to give new and experienced managers the skills they need to navigate organisational culture with a clearer perspective on their own potential, as well as building their confidence and expanding their professional strengths.

Claire Lickman

Claire is Head of Marketing at Happy. She has worked at Happy since 2016, and is responsible for Happy’s marketing strategy, website, social media and more. Claire first heard about Happy in 2012 when she attended a mix of IT and personal development courses. These courses were life-changing and she has been a fan of Happy ever since. She has a personal blog at lecari.co.uk.

Next Conference: 2025 Happy Workplaces Conference

Our Happy Workplaces Conference is our biggest event of the year, and we’d love for you to join us on Thursday 12th June!

This year’s event will be held in London, venue TBC. We may also offer a hybrid option for people to join us online simultaneously — do let us know if you are interested in joining online and we can add you to the waiting list.

As always, our next conference will be filled with interaction, discussion and space for reflection.

Book now and get our special half-price Early Bird rate — just use discount code Happy2025.

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