This year's Festival of Happiness produced by the Alliance of Independent Agencies will see 300 agency leaders descend on Google HQ, Kings Cross. The event will focus on the relationship between how ensuring the wellbeing and therefore happiness of the team results in greater commercial success.

The agency sector is dynamic and exciting but often creates highly pressurised working environments. To succeed, agency leaders must balance team energy with individual wellbeing and happiness.

This equilibrium is crucial for agencies, as research shows it leads to stronger employee engagement, better decision-making, and higher standards of creativity and innovation.

For example, happy people at work are 12% more productive, according to research from the University of Warwick. Researcher Dr Daniel Sgroi says: "The driving force seems to be that happier workers use the time they have more effectively, increasing the pace at which they can work without sacrificing quality.”

Reflecting this spirit, November's Festival of Happiness event, organised by The Alliance of Independent Agencies, is focused firmly on the theme that to achieve a high performing agency, independent agency leaders must pay attention to the wellbeing and happiness of their people

Centred on the belief that happy agencies are successful agencies, the Festival will explore how performance improves through happy people, positive cultures and recognition - offering key insights and provocations for talent managers and senior leaders of every agency.

Time for action

The Wellness Tracker recommends three clear actions for agency leaders looking to improve these worrying statistics.

- establish a peer-to-peer support program.

- develop "innovation labs" that ensure employee representation to develop effective strategies that promote a healthier and happier work experience.

- create skills-based volunteering opportunities to mitigate stress and improve job satisfaction.

This focus on action runs as a thread throughout the planned Festival of Happiness day. Each of the keynote presentations is themed heavily on improving performance - titles include "Are you ready for high performance?" (speakers Victoria Hall and Clive Hyland) and "Winning performance starts with exceptional culture" (speaker Bruce Daisley). Meanwhile, Matt Phelan will address the vital issue of growing client value through the happiness of people.

The event will take place at Google King’s Cross conference venue and host 250 agency leaders keen to propel their agencies to the next level of high performance.

Conducted over four areas of the event space, the Festival's format features keynote speakers, breakout and workshop rooms, a live podcast studio and a large space for networking and discovering the latest publications on the topic of culture and performance.

Tickets for the Festival of Happiness are available now. The Alliance also continues to monitor aspects of wellbeing and happiness through the Alliance People Pulse and urges all agencies to participate in this quarterly survey to gain insights into how their people are feeling across a number of areas.