I’m working away on my pet project & keen interest-area, Organization 2.0 — how organizations are evolving their structures, approaches, roles and  responsibilities (plus governance, accountabilities, etc.) to truly leverage collaborative 2.0 tools and technologies.  By the way,  some of you should be prepared since I’m about to embark on a series of interviews to see how organizations are coming along with this evolvement or if, in fact, you’re experiencing more “stalledment”….  And I come across a link to the “Chief Happiness Officer” , Alexander Kjerulf, who writes and speaks on the importance of happiness in the workplace.  This isn’t a new concept by any means, but it is one that most organizations try for a bit, particularly around the time of off-site meetings, team building and 360 appraisals, and then “get back to work!”  The first time I heard this concept was in the mid 1980′s when the VP I reported to at Imperial Oil Ltd. started to actually DO something about building and maintaining a “happy” work environment.

A “happy” work environment? The guffaws were loud and long. An “effective” work environment was the goal — maybe even a “motivating” work environment. But “happy?”  Good heavens — if you were aiming for happy you might get sleepy, and we already had enough dopey and grumpy.  But he was not deterred and those of us who worked there benefited from the incredible learnings of what it really takes to create and manage a happy work environment.  

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