Lord Mark Price, former UK Trade Minister, is spearheading a campaign to encourage employers to recognise happiness at work as a fundamental right and a psychosocial safety issue, as important to businesses as health and safety legislation.
He’s doing this via the world’s first Work Happiness Charter, launching on 3rd September, when employers and employees alike can sign up to the global manifesto, which sets out clear rights and responsibilities for happier, healthier and more productive working lives.
Lord Price said:
“Happiness is as important to the success of an organisation as safety rules and as important for our wellbeing as the bill of rights. Work should be safe. A happy workforce isn’t just good for people, it’s good for business too. Together we can create a future where work is more fulfilling and productive.”
Highlights risks
The Charter, developed from global research and employee surveys carried out by Lord Price’s company WorkL, highlights the risks when happiness is absent at work — from toxic cultures and burnout to unfair treatment and exclusion. These factors, he says, can undermine both individual wellbeing and organisational performance.
This call to action comes at a time when psychosocial risk is fast climbing the corporate agenda. With regulators set to uphold standards such as ISO 45003 more rigorously, and rising levels of stress and work-related mental ill health, employers are under pressure to act. Yet defining what good practice looks like, and embedding it sustainably, remains a challenge.
Leaders Summit to address challenges
That’s why the Make A Difference Leaders’ Summit on 9 October, in London, will feature a panel on Unpacking Psychosocial Risk – what’s driving it and how employers must adapt. Panellists include Siemens’ International Occupational Health and Safety Manager, James Dybell, Arcadis’ Global Health, Safety, Wellbeing Director, Hayley Farrell and Global Occupational Health Leader Charlie Newton.
This impressive trio of speakers will explore why psychosocial risk is becoming one of the most significant challenges facing organisations today, and what practical steps leaders can take to respond.
As Lord Price’s Charter strives to spell out to employers and employees alike, the stakes are high: ensuring employees are not just safe, but genuinely happy at work, will be key to both wellbeing and performance in the years ahead.
The ‘Work Happiness Charter’ lists a raft of employee rights including the right “to be safe”, “to be trained and developed to be the best you can be”, “to be listened to” and “to be cared for and supported when needed”. In turn the charter also spells out employee responsibilities which include the requirement to “take responsibility”.
WorkL’s research which informed the Charter consisted of employee surveys and analysis of thousands of case studies.
To find out more about thIs panel on Unlocking Psychosocial Risk and the full agenda at the MAD World Leaders’ Summit on 9th October in London, as well as register for this event, see here.
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