The Happiness Agenda

Explores why contemporary Anglo-American society is obsessed with happiness. Striving to be happy is now a morally imperative pursuit. Through the lens of novel social theory, this book explicates how this has transpired as consequence of a complex 'conspiracy of coordination' between political, organisational and psychological developments.

Both practical and inspiring, this book is designed to empower educators and school leaders to make clear and simple adjustments to their practice for a lasting impact on the happiness and well- being of staff and children and ultimately on academic standards. It includes practical tips and activities to help teachers generate a lasting atmosphere of positivity and happiness in the classroom plus clear strategies to help leaders to embed the Spread the Happiness approach throughout their school and across the curriculum. This book includes detailed case studies, a five-week programme of taster challenges and a section on measuring outcomes and sharing success. The Spread the Happiness approach invites teachers to undertake a 27-day challenge, which encourages problem solving and challenges them to make their immediate workplace happier. It identifies the strengths of adults and children and sets realistic goals to achieve as an individual, as a team and even as a community. This powerful resource will be of great interest to all teachers and school leaders, as well as trainee teachers and students on leadership or early educational courses.

Peter Trix is nearing 40, and his life is in a mess. His elderly boss has fallen for a sultry Russian temptress, and his best friend, Wigan, is keen to blow something up. As for Peter, his epitaph, he feels sure, will be, 'He left this life, having decided to take it no further.' But Peter wants to take it further - before it's too late! Whether working for the overthrow of the state, searching for casual sex or a woman to beat him up for a fair price, he finally goes for broke. Or would, if he could manage to tie up his shoelaces without falling over. Then there's Sally, his long-lost love, and Janet at work whose sex-life drives him crazy - if only because he's not part of it. Not to mention a woman he loathes who wants to seduce him, and Mr Tredley-Blackett - a private detective whose investigative skills are so poor he would struggle to find the shoes for the laces Peter can't tie up. As he lurches from one crisis to another, it's a year Peter will never forget!

How do we design our cities when our most intimate experiences are incessantly tracked and our feelings become the base of new modes of production that prioritize the immaterial over the material? Since the 2008 financial crisis, lists of well-being indicators, happiness indexes, and quality-of-life rankings have become viral. Concurrently, the emotional data presented in these surveys?including perceptions on questions such as loneliness, friendship, and intimate fears?feed an expanding political agenda of happiness and a new form of market whose most decisive asset is ?affect.?00'Our Happy Life' investigates the architectural implications of this trend by dissecting and questioning the political, economic, and emotional conditions that generate space today. Organized as a visual narrative with critical readings by Will Davies, Daniel Fujiwara, Simon Fujiwara, Ingo Niermann, Deane Simpson, and Mirko Zardini, the book reveals architecture, city, and landscape as contested surfaces, caught between the intangible guidelines of happiness indexes, the new marketplace of emotions, and the relentless ideology of positivity.00Exhibition: Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal, Canada (08.05. - 13.10.2019).

From the bestselling author of Happiness and co-editor of the annual World Happiness Report Most people now realise that economic growth, however desirable, will not solve all our problems. Instead, we need a philosophy and a science which encompasses a much fuller range of human need and experience. This book argues that the goal for a society must be the greatest possible all round happiness, and shows how each of us can become more effective creators of happiness, both as citizens and in our own organisations. Written with Richard Layard's characteristic clarity, it provides hard evidence that increasing happiness is the right aim, and that it can be achieved. Its language is simple, its evidence impressive, its effect inspiring.

Build a better society through happiness policy Thomas Jefferson said that “the purpose of government is to enable the people of a nation to live in safety and happiness.” Yet only now, 270 years later, is the happiness of citizens starting to be taken seriously as the purpose of government. While happiness science is advancing rapidly, and governments and organizations are creating indices for measuring happiness, there is little practical information on how to create policy to advance happiness. Drawing from a deep well of expertise and experience, The Happiness Policy Handbook is the first step-by-step guide for integrating happiness into government policy at all levels. Coverage includes: A concise background on happiness science, indices and indicators, and happiness in public policy Tools for formulating happiness policy and integrating happiness into administrative functions A concept menu of happiness policies Communicating happiness policy objectives to media and engaging with the community A happiness policy screening tool for evaluating the happiness contribution of any policy Policy perspectives from seasoned experts across sectors. The Happiness Policy Handbook is the essential resource for policymakers and professionals working to integrate happiness and well-being into governmental processes and institutions.

The #1 international bestseller from the author of The Book of Awesome that “reveals how all of us can live happier lives” (Gretchen Rubin). What is the formula for a happy life? Neil Pasricha is a Harvard MBA, a New York Times–bestselling author, a Walmart executive, a father, a husband. After selling more than a million copies of the Book of Awesome series, wherein he observed the everyday things he thought were awesome, he now shifts his focus to the practicalities of living an awesome life. In his new book The Happiness Equation, Pasricha illustrates how to want nothing and do anything in order to have everything. If that sounds like a contradiction in terms, you simply have yet to unlock the 9 Secrets to Happiness. Each secret takes a piece out of the core of common sense, turns it on its head to present it in a completely new light, and then provides practical and specific guidelines for how to apply this new outlook to lead a fulfilling life. Once you've unlocked Pasricha’s 9 Secrets, you will understand counter intuitive concepts such as: Success Does Not Lead to Happiness, Never Take Advice, and Retirement Is a Broken Theory. You will learn and then master three brand-new fundamental life tests: the Saturday Morning Test, The Bench Test, and the Five People Test. You will know the difference between external goals and internal goals and how to make more money than a Harvard MBA (hint: it has nothing to do with your annual salary). You will discover that true wealth has nothing to do with money, multitasking is a myth, and the elimination of options leads to more choice. The Happiness Equation is a book that will change how you think about pretty much everything—your time, your career, your relationships, your family, and, ultimately, of course, your happiness.

The growing demand for social housing is one of the most pressing public issues in the UK today, and this book analyses its role and impact. Anchored in a discussion of different approaches to the meaning and measurement of wellbeing, the author explores how these perspectives influence our views of the meaning, value and purpose of social housing in today’s welfare state. The closing arguments of the book suggest a more universalist approach to social housing, designed to meet the common needs of a wide range of households, with diverse socioeconomic characteristics, but all sharing the same equality of social status.