There Must Be a Better Way:How the New Happy Is Changing How We Work (And Why That Matters)

@newhappyco

I’ve always been the one to ask, “But why do we do it this way?”

And more importantly, “Isn’t there a better way?”So when The New Happy came across my radar, I’ll admit, I was skeptical…another ‘self-help’ and ‘rah-rah’?

But then I opened the book.

The visuals struck first, clean, intentional, human. Then the philosophy started to land. Not the superficial pursuit of ‘smile more, stress less’ but the reframing of life itself.

Not “how do we feel good all the time,” but “how do we find meaning and joy in the systems we build, the people we work with, and the impact we leave behind?”

@newhappyco

That’s when I knew: this is the kind of thinking that belongs in Kaleidoscope’s toolkit. Handing Down a Better Definition of Work

Most of us have inherited outdated ideas of what success looks like, ideas rooted in individualism, dominance, and unchecked capitalism.

Work, by that definition, is a place of hustle, hierarchy, and extraction.

But what if it could be a place of growth, creativity, and collective purpose? At Kaleidoscope, we’re already asking those questions.

We’ve never believed in clocking 9 to 5 just for the sake of presence. (And let’s be honest, we’re not even guaranteed electricity from 9 to 5.)

We’ve built a culture where flexibility, curiosity, and collaboration aren’t perks; they’re necessities.

The New Happy has helped us craft a language for that philosophy. It handed us a mirror and reminded us why we’re building what we’re building.

@newhappyco

What We’re Learning (And Testing)

Whenever we explore a new idea at Kaleidoscope, we test it on ourselves before we take it to clients.

Here’s what we’re currently experimenting with from The New Happy:

• Redefining Metrics – What does success look like beyond profit? How do we track purpose-driven strategy and collective/ team growth?

• Designing for Shared Joy – How do we create systems where everyone—clients, collaborators, team members—wins together? And enjoy the journey of work whilst achieving?

• Questioning the Inherited Rules – Who said leadership needs a title? Why are we still working like the invention of the lightbulb never happened?

  
  

The answers aren’t always clean or easy. But they’re necessary.

A New Way of Working Is Also a New Way of Being

We’re no strangers to New Ways of Work at Kaleidoscope. It’s our thing.

But The New Happy reminded us that the next evolution of work isn’t just about productivity, flexibility, or structure.

It’s about people.

If we’re serious about creating future-fit organisations, we have to design for humanity.

That means:

• Building teams that collaborate over compete

• Creating environments where soft skills aren’t ‘nice-to-haves’, they’re superpowers

• Leading with empathy, not ego

  
  

In a world obsessed with AI and automation, our biggest differentiator will be our ability to stay human.

In summary

Let’s stop handing down broken models of work.

Let’s build something better—together, where work is aspirational, inspirational...

And if happiness sneaks into the equation along the way?

Even better. (edited)