Lionesa Business Hub (LBH), has just been awarded the National Sustainability Award, in the category of Well-Being and Health, promoted by Jornal de Negócios, following the Lionesa Hapiness Pyramid project, which it has been implementing since 2020
Photo: FB Lionesa BH
At stake is a unique and innovative strategy in Portugal, based on its own happiness model, which was born with the purpose of ensuring employees' happiness and well-being at work. The results of the first study measuring the impact of happiness now known reveal, among others, that "the opportunities created to meet other colleagues", are referred to as one of the most important items for happiness.
It was based on the premise of "building a happier working world", that the Lionesa Business Hub has been directing its activity throughout these two decades of existence. With a business vision that transcends profits, and is essentially based on maintaining the indexes of happiness on campus, where over 7 thousand employees of 47 different nationalities work, the implementation of the Lionesa Happiness Pyramid was crucial.
Through this model, which contemplates five different processes - "Collegiate Spaces", "Design Thinking", "Green Spaces", "Art & Culture" and "Lionesa Business Club" - the company won the opinion of a prestigious jury, composed by Aldaberto Campos Fernandes (Professor Nova ENSP), ana Rita Martins (Architect, Senior Associate Sustainabiliy Woodalls, Cláudio Vicente (Director of Human Resources IKEA), Marisia Girgi (Director of Human Resources Pingo Doce), and Sandra Maximiano (Professor ISEG) among the greatest specialists on the subject of the competition, and thus secured the award.
With extensive and thorough research, demonstrated with the implemented project, the Lionesa Business Hub evaluated the level of happiness at work of the employees of eight companies based on campus and demonstrated that through the application of university ecosystems, which involve the most advanced technology, employees, especially those who have made a recent transition to the labour market, are able to experience lower levels of stress and anxiety, thus fostering the concept of happiness at work.
Design thinking
The same happens with the introduction of the "design thinking" model, where the business centre challenges each new company that joins the campus to "adapt the new office space to the needs and interests of its employees". A challenge that arises following the fact that this is the place where people spend the most hours of their day, which has a huge impact on the well-being and happiness of each worker.
Green Spaces
Contact with nature, art and culture is also essential for the health and well-being of the campus community. In this way, the "Green Spaces" model becomes primordial, based on a green policy that encourages the planting of different species of trees and the implementation of artistic interventions focused on sustainability. "Several studies show that contacts with green spaces contribute to increase happiness by 15% and productivity by 6%", details the LBH. Aware of the direct connection of happiness and creativity with culture and art, the business centre, belonging to the Lionesa Group, which presents in its portfolio cultural entities such as Livraria Lello and Teatro Sá da Bandeira, created the "Open Air Gallery", which embodies a concept of democratization in the access to art and opens doors to the community for access to works that, commonly, are enclosed within four walls.
Of the five processes elected, the one that, according to the business centre, obtains the most visible results in favour of happiness is the "Lionesa Business Club", where multiple free experiences are offered to employees, in order to meet their tastes and interests. It's a space where all members can "connect, grow and have fun", with initiatives ranging from free surfing classes, pilates and yoga, to afterworks and conferences, to stimulate networking and discussion of topics relevant to the community.
Happiness at work - study data
The results in question, in order to assess employees' level of happiness at work, were obtained on the basis of an empirical survey, carried out in 2022, which involved 409 members of eight companies that are members of the LBH (Apgar, Cofco International, ITIM Profimetrics, Market Access, Oracle, Unilabs, Veolia and Vestas), 54% of whom were male and 46% female. The age of the employees who responded to the interviews and surveys varies between 22 and 62 years of age, with Portuguese nationality being the most representative (83.6%), followed by Brazilian nationality with 9%. There were also 5.4% of employees from other European countries and 9.8% from Latin American countries.
91.9% are proud members of LBH, 96% would recommend LBH as a place to work, and 84.3% admit it would be important to stay at KBH even if they were to change jobs.
Among the methods most valued by workers, within the Lionesa Hapiness Pyramid project, the opportunities provided by the LBH for them to feel connected to their co-workers stood out, with the recording of a score of 8.04 points out of 10 totals. In this sense, the words "Hapiness" (87) and "Fun" (68) were the words chosen by employees to describe the culture of the business centre.
It should be noted that the National Sustainability Award, promoted by Jornal de Negócios since 2020, is fully aligned with the Sustainability objectives of the United Nations, and aims to distinguish companies and organisations that stand out for their performance and good sustainability practices in the different areas: environmental, social and financial (ESG).
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