EdX

The Foundations of Happiness at Work (edX)

The Foundations of Happiness at Work (edX)

Learn why happiness at work matters and how to increase it within yourself and across your organization. This course explains what happiness at work looks like, why it matters, and how to cultivate it. It begins by defining happiness and making the case that happiness at work improves the performance of individual employees and organizations as a whole, increasing innovation, productivity, engagement, retention, and the quality of their work.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see EdX's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

It then explores the key factors that empirical research has linked to workplace happiness, zeroing in on practices such as gratitude, developing a strong sense of purpose, and forming authentic, cooperative connections with others. The course will also highlight common barriers to workplace happiness, both at the individual and cultural level.
Finally, the course presents a practical framework for workplace happiness and explores accessible techniques for: a) evaluating happiness in an organization, b) creating an effective strategy to increase workplace happiness, and c) implementing that strategy in your own work life, within your team, or across the culture of your organization, with special tips for workplace leaders.
The course instructors are expert faculty from UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, Dacher Keltner, Ph.D., and Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Ph.D., whose earlier edX course, The Science of Happiness, has been a global phenomenon, introducing a half million students worldwide to the research-based keys to a happy, meaningful life. In this course, they tailor their scientific insights to the needs of the modern workplace.
This course is part of the Professional Certificate The Science of Happiness at Work.

What you'll learn

  • The personal, social, and professional advantages of happiness at work
  • How to identify barriers and pitfalls to achieving happiness at work
  • How to practice research-based activities for fostering positive emotions such as gratitude
  • Strategies for evaluating levels of happiness within an organization

Prerequisites
Recommended but not required: GG101x: The Science of Happiness.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

The Science of Generosity: Do Good…Feel Good (edX) EdX
University of Pennsylvania,PennX

The Science of Generosity: Do Good…Feel Good (edX)

Explore how generosity can increase your own happiness and make a difference in the communities around you. Skip About this course What does it mean to be generous? Can giving make you happier and healthier? In this course, we’ll hear from multiple experts and explore the many facets of generosity by looking closely at the meanings, traits, and motivations behind giving behaviors across communities and cultures.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Success (Coursera) Coursera
University of Pennsylvania

Success (Coursera)

Do you want to be more successful? This course was designed to help you define what success means to you, and to develop a plan for achieving it. Wharton Professor G. Richard Shell, an award-winning author and the creator of the popular Wharton School course on the meaning of success, created this course to help you answer the questions that arise when you consider how best to use your life. Drawing on his decades of research and mentoring, Shell offers personalized assessments to help you probe your past, imagine your future, and measure your strengths.

Oct 19th 2026
4 Weeks
The Career Design Lab: Change your Job, Change your Life (Coursera) Coursera
University of California, Santa Cruz

The Career Design Lab: Change your Job, Change your Life (Coursera)

If your work isn’t fulfilling, now is the time to change direction and design a life you love. This course is for people at any life stage who want a job they enjoy and a career aligned with their values. If you’re languishing at work or feel like quiet quitting is your only option, why not change careers and flourish professionally? University of California Santa Cruz life design educator Remy Franklin will guide you through the career design process from start to finish in 4-8 weeks.

Oct 19th 2026
4 Weeks
Managing Happiness (edX) EdX
HarvardX,Harvard University

Managing Happiness (edX)

Managing Happiness encourages you to explore the science of happiness, allowing you to find your truest self. Through cutting-edge survey tools, the best research, and trends in social science, neuroscience, and philosophy to help learners unlock the strategies to create a more purposeful life, full of long-lasting enjoyment and satisfaction.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Demystifying Mindfulness (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Leiden University

Demystifying Mindfulness (FutureLearn)

Discover the science of mindfulness, learn how it works and why, from a political, psychological, and philosophical perspective. Experience mindfulness for yourself, and learn whether it really works. Interest in meditation, mindfulness, and contemplation has grown rapidly in recent years. These practises are increasingly being seen as scientifically and psychologically valid forms of therapy.

Jul 5th 2021
5-12 Weeks
Resiliencia Familiar (edX) EdX
Universidad Anáhuac,AnahuacX

Resiliencia Familiar (edX)

Conoce algunas herramientas para afrontar las adversidades de la vida personal y familiar al propiciar un cambio positivo en tu persona y la de tus seres queridos, para alcanzar la felicidad. ¡Descubre tus emociones y capacidad de resiliencia! y ¡Sorpréndete de cómo se puede comenzar de nuevo tu proyecto de vida!

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Crafting Realities: Work, Happiness, and Meaning (edX) EdX
Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore,IIMBx

Crafting Realities: Work, Happiness, and Meaning (edX)

Learn to create and experience your work as a joyful and meaningful activity - for yourself and others. This course draws upon positive psychology, neuroscience, sociology, and philosophy to guide participants in proactively crafting their own work experience. It weaves inputs from these various fields into a series of lectures and experiential exercises.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Trabajar para ser feliz (Coursera) Coursera
Universidad Austral

Trabajar para ser feliz (Coursera)

En nuestra vida diaria nos movemos a toda velocidad por diferentes escenarios: la familia, el trabajo, la vida social. Muchas veces podemos quedar atrapados en la vorágine o en la rutina del día a día y olvidarnos de algo importante y que da sentido a todo lo que hacemos: cómo ser felices y cómo hacer felices a los que nos rodean en casa y en el trabajo. Hoy en día existe una confusión, porque estamos muy centrados en el “bienestar”. Vivimos en una cultura que tiende al consumismo, al activismo y nos olvidamos del “bienser”, entendido como ese sentido de plenitud que lleva a sentirse bien con uno mismo y con su entorno.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks
Existential Well-being Counseling: A Person-centered Experiential Approach (edX) EdX
KU Leuven University,KULeuvenX

Existential Well-being Counseling: A Person-centered Experiential Approach (edX)

Explore existential themes in your personal and professional life. Develop strengths and counseling skills to improve your well-being and the well-being of others. This humanities course offers you the opportunity to explore what really matters in life and teaches you how to nurture your well-being and enhance the well-being of others.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Teaching Character and Creating Positive Classrooms (Coursera) Coursera
Relay Graduate School of Education

Teaching Character and Creating Positive Classrooms (Coursera)

Positive psychology meets K-12 pedagogy. This course explores key ideas of positive psychology and shows how great teachers apply those lessons to maximize student engagement and accomplishment. Through lectures, discussions, interviews and footage of great educators in action, you’ll learn how to integrate character-based objectives into your own teaching.

Apr 27th 2026
5-12 Weeks