September 30, 2025
Positive Links Speaker Series
Wellbeing Works: The Science of Employee Happiness and Organizational Performance
George Ward
Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour, INSEAD
September 30, 2025
About the talk
New evidence drawing on data from millions of U.S. workers reveals that workplace wellbeing is a critical driver of productivity, retention, talent attraction, and ultimately, profitability, even though it is often dismissed as a “nice-to-have” perk. In this session, Dr. George Ward will share research from his recent book, Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters: The Science Behind Employee Happiness and Organizational Performance (Harvard Business Review Press, 2025), and highlight how organizations shape both how people think about their jobs and how they feel while doing them. He believes it’s time to take happiness seriously.
Using insights from the world’s largest dataset on employee wellbeing—collected in partnership with Indeed and spanning millions of workers across industries and countries—this session will discuss why workplace wellbeing goes far beyond individualized wellness programs. Instead, wellbeing should be seen as a core organizational capability, fundamentally shaped by how work is designed and managed. Join us to learn how organizations can foster employee happiness, and how these choices may translate into performance gains for companies that prioritize their people’s wellbeing.
