Wellbeing programmes fail because they focus on the individual. Behavioural science shows that workplace happiness is the result of four contexts: curiosity, flow, mastery and connection. You can design them.
Workplace happiness consists of concrete situations you can improve. Each of these challenges is a design problem, not a willpower problem.
96% of behaviour is unconscious. Chasing happiness as a goal backfires. You need to design the context, not the mindset. The Happiness Code shows how.
Pulse surveys, eNPS, satisfaction metrics. Most organisations measure workplace happiness. Virtually none design it.
The willpower myth, the individual focus fallacy and the quick-fix fantasy. Why well-intentioned policies backfire.
It takes 23 minutes to get back into flow after an interruption. Most office environments are designed to sabotage flow. You protect flow by adapting the environment.
Most change initiatives fail due to a lack of behavioural design. Engaging employees starts with understanding their context.
Most professionals want to change behaviour but have never learned how behaviour actually works. Behavioural Design gives them that method.
In her book, Astrid Groenewegen describes how you can systematically design the four contexts of workplace happiness. All training programmes on this page are built on that foundation.
AI can write content, analyse data and automate processes. But AI cannot understand why people do what they do. It cannot design for the 96% of behaviour that is unconscious. Behavioural Design does.
Behavioural Design is a method to analyse, predict and influence human behaviour. Not by telling people what to do, but by designing the context that makes desired behaviour the obvious choice.
For workplace happiness this means: stop trying to fix individuals. Start redesigning the rules, the roles and the context in which people work. A wellbeing programme evaporates after three months. A culture change lasts.
Three routes, each tailored to where you are now and what you want to achieve. Choose based on your goal.
Foundation · Fundamentals Course
"I want to learn a systematic method to design workplace happiness in my organisation"
In 2 days you learn the complete Behavioural Design method, directly applied to a workplace happiness challenge from your organisation. You leave with frameworks you can use the very next day.
Deep dive · Specialisation
"I want to learn how to translate workplace happiness and vitality into concrete behavioural interventions for my team"
In one intensive day you learn to translate the four contexts of workplace happiness (The Happiness Code) into concrete behavioural interventions. You go home with an action plan for your organisation.
Organisation · Learning Journey
"I want to structurally embed workplace happiness into our organisational culture"
A tailored programme for organisations that no longer want to treat workplace happiness as an HR topic, but want to embed it as a strategic competency. From diagnosis to anchoring.
Workplace happiness is the structural feeling of fulfilment, energy and connection that people experience in their work. It goes beyond satisfaction: it is the degree to which people feel seen, challenged and connected. Behavioural science shows that workplace happiness does not come from the right mindset, but from the right context.
Wellbeing programmes fail because they focus on the individual: more mindfulness, more discipline, more willpower. But 96% of our behaviour is unconscious and shaped by context. If the context is the problem, individual training will not help. You need to change the environment, not the person.
According to the model by Astrid Groenewegen (The Happiness Code, 2026) there are four contexts that produce workplace happiness: (1) Curiosity: space for exploration and learning, (2) Flow: undisturbed focus without constant interruptions, (3) Mastery: growing just outside your comfort zone, (4) Connection: truly feeling seen and heard. If one context drops away, the whole structure crumbles.
Other providers measure workplace happiness (Effectory, Personio, pulse surveys). SUE designs it. We use Behavioural Design to structurally build the four contexts of workplace happiness. No abstract culture programmes, but concrete behavioural interventions with behavioural change you can measure.
The Fundamentals Course costs €1,490 ex VAT (live, 2 days) or €1,190 ex VAT (online). An in-company Deep Dive for your team costs €7,990 ex VAT for one day. Learning Journeys start from €25,000 ex VAT, depending on scope. All training programmes are directly applicable to your own workplace happiness challenge.
We work with organisations across all sectors: from financial services and government to healthcare, retail and technology. Workplace happiness is a behavioural challenge, and behaviour is universal. The method adapts to your context, not the other way around.
Never before did I find a method to actually use behavioural principles to change behaviour effectively and sustainably. SUE offers practical mental models that help me nudge organisations towards healthy, active and motivated employees.
In two days you are introduced to a new way of thinking and new models that make you question many traditional insights. I left the Academy with so much energy to actively apply the principles and connect them to HR and employer branding.
The Academy gave me more insights into behaviour that also occurs in the workplace. It taught me to look at things differently and made me aware that small changes can have a big impact on behaviour. I recommend it to everyone.
