We were thrilled to see that our friends and long-time collaborators Action for Happiness have gained so many headlines about their wellbeing workshop and the new evidence that shows they have a powerful and lasting impact on participant’s happiness. 

What Works Centre for Wellbeing have conducted a Randomised Controlled Trial to evaluate the impact of Action for Happiness’ Exploring What Matters course and the results show that participating on the course significantly increased measurements of subjective wellbeing in life satisfaction, happiness and worthwhileness, whilst anxiousness also significantly decreased. 

Whilst there is already a wide range of research showing the benefits of wellbeing training or courses, this new research is particularly impressive as randomised controlled trials are considered to provide the most reliable evidence on the effectiveness of interventions. In other words, researchers are confident there’s a clear causal link between participation on the course, and improved wellbeing. 

It’s fantastic news that so many people have benefited from these accessible and (donation  funded) courses. And it’s a testament to the power of taking action, together. Many participants report the powerful sense of possibility that emerges when you share a collective goal to improve happiness.

Of course, this is something we’ve always strongly believed in here at Centre for Thriving Places. That when we set happiness, or wellbeing as an explicit goal, we are much more likely to achieve it. But the research also points to the importance of measurement in understanding wellbeing. Measurements like the Happiness Pulse are a way of gathering data on wellbeing and making evidence-based decisions on wellbeing – reinforcing the argument that happiness deserves to be taken seriously. 

It also sends a hopeful signal that interventions designed to improve wellbeing at a scale broader than the individual – such as at community or local authority level could have similar effects. We’re looking forward to seeing what else comes out of this exciting research.

Inspired to start measuring wellbeing? Open a free Happiness Pulse account today and use your first data set as a benchmark to understand the impact your work is having on your team, service users or community.