Helping leaders create a workplace culture where everyone can thrive
What if joy at work wasn’t a fluffy nice-to-have, but the secret sauce behind thriving teams and great workplace culture? That’s exactly what The Joy Journey is all about.
At The Happy Business School, I help leaders and teams create people-first cultures where happiness isn’t left to chance—it’s intentional. Because when your culture works, so does your business.
Why joy at work matters
Most of us will spend over 80,000 hours at work. That’s far too long to feel stuck, undervalued, or disengaged. A thriving workplace culture isn’t about free fruit or beanbags—it’s about:
- Trust between leaders and teams
- Respect for people’s ideas and time
- Fairness in opportunities and recognition
- Listening—really listening—to what people need
Get those right, and you don’t just boost wellbeing—you supercharge collaboration, innovation and performance.
The Joy Journey framework
The Joy Journey has two simple but powerful pillars:
1. Own It (the individual toolkit)
Helping individuals take ownership of their own happiness with tools like:
- Building stronger workplace relationships
- Learning from failure without fear
- Staying in your circle of control
- Celebrating wins with recognition and encouragement
- Creating “happy habits” that stick
- Developing self-awareness as a genuine superpower
2. Lead It (the leadership toolkit)
Guiding leaders to intentionally create a workplace culture where people thrive, focusing on underplayed but essential leadership traits:
- Curiosity: asking questions, not just giving answers
- Vulnerability: showing the human side of leadership
- Kindness: small acts that make a big impact
I use the Four Es to help leaders embed this approach:
- Evaluate: check in with your team, understand what’s going on for them
- Example: role-model the behaviours you want to see
- Empower: give people the tools and freedom to own their happiness
- Encourage: create a culture that supports joyful working
What this means for organisations
When leaders and individuals both take responsibility for workplace happiness, you create a culture where everyone thrives. The Joy Journey isn’t fluffy—it’s a culture change framework that:
- Attracts and retains brilliant talent
- Strengthens team collaboration
- Sparks creativity and innovation
- Improves performance (without burning people out)
Ready to start your Joy Journey?
If you want to build a workplace where people don’t just work but actually want to be, let’s chat. I offer workshops, keynotes, and consultancy that bring The Joy Journey to life in your organisation.
Get in touch to find out how The Happy Business School can make joy your organisation’s sharpest edge.