Happiness at Work: Advances in Brazil and the Role of HR

A study shows progress in happiness and engagement, but reveals a lack of inspiration in companies. HR and leadership play a crucial role in transforming culture and well-being

In recent years, there has been much talk about well-being, purpose, and emotional health. In a way, we've learned to name what was once invisible—and which is now essential to business sustainability. Happiness and engagement are no longer "aspirational" topics, but have become integral to the strategy of those who understand that an organization's success begins with the experience of the people who build it.

The second edition of the Pluxee Happiness and Engagement Index, in partnership with The Happiness Index, showed significant progress: Brazilian workers are 4% happier than the previous year. Even so, the country remains 6% below the global average. This data reinforces that, although we have evolved, the challenge goes beyond indicators: it lies in transforming rhetoric into practice, intention into culture, and purpose into daily life.

Happiness, after all, is a reflection of the emotional health of companies. When people feel safe to be authentic, when they have the freedom to contribute, when their achievements are recognized and their growth is encouraged, work ceases to be routine and becomes a source of energy and fulfillment.

In this context, the study highlights significant progress in professional recognition (+6.2%), personal growth (+6.3%), and security and purpose (+4.2%). But it also highlights a sensitive point: the dimension of inspiration is 12% below the global average. This means that many professionals still don't feel emotionally connected to their organizations—and that's precisely where the urgency lies. Inspiration is what drives engagement, the invisible link that connects the individual to the collective and the company's purpose to each employee's personal purpose.

The role of HR and leadership in building happiness and engagement

To bridge this gap, companies need to offer more than goals and tasks. They need to create contexts in which people feel they belong, recognized, and inspired, with real space to grow and contribute. Clear communication and consistency between values ​​and practices are fundamental to giving meaning to the work experience.

Here, the Human Resources department plays a crucial role. It's HR's job to strengthen the organizational purpose, working with leaders, ensuring it is lived—not just communicated. This means building authentic cultures that value continuous learning, listening, and recognition. Small gestures, like genuine feedback, an open conversation, or a sincere celebration, build bonds of trust that sustain collective well-being. No salary, no matter how generous, can buy this kind of motivation, which is born of appreciation and true connection.

But perhaps the biggest difference lies in how leaders inspire and trust their people. Happiness and engagement flourish in environments where there is freedom, psychological safety, and space to be authentic. Feeling safe to express ideas, make mistakes, and learn is, in practice, one of the greatest protectors of mental health in the workplace.

The good news is that we are making progress. Growth in the areas of recognition and purpose shows that Brazilian companies are beginning to understand that caring for people is not a cost: it is an investment. And this investment returns in engagement, creativity, and sustainable productivity.

Ultimately, happiness at work is not a destination, but a collective journey. It arises from the intersection of purpose and practice, between trust and recognition. There is no single formula, but there is a clear direction: happiness and engagement are not built with grand speeches, but with consistent actions, repeated every day.

When people flourish, work gains meaning.

And the business — you can be sure — thrives along with it.

Source: Mundo RH