Jon Nielsen

Jon has worked independently as a consultant, author and podcaster since 2006, and his three books offer specific help for employees and leaders alike. His first book, Happy in 6 Weeks, showed how small, daily changes can shape our work lives for the better. His third book – the international bestseller Happiness at Work – includes 100 chapters with specific, try-this-tomorrow tool. As such, Jon’s writings are like his keynotes: Focused on what we can do next.

Alongside his own writings, Jon is frequently interviewed for articles in newspapers and magazines, and he has made numerous appearances on talk radio and TV news shows. His two podcasts include The HappyWays Podcast and well as a Danish language counterpart, with both focusing on happiness in the workplace, culture, leadership, personal productivity and daily habits.

Since the university years, Jon has been passionate about helping organizations, leaders and employees create great workplaces. He holds an M.Sc. in engineering, but it was never his desire to land a classic engineering job. His Master thesis centered on learning theory and the hardships of creating organizational change, and he has worked passionately for the past two decades, shaping better company cultures.

The years before independent consulting included working in IT, media and finance. Since then, he has worked with clients across industries, from manufacturing, healthcare, government, education and retail. His thousand+ events have been held in more than 20 different countries, and he has given talks all over Scandinavia and Northern Europe, as well as in the USA, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Australia, The Bahamas and more. In 2012 he was invited to talk at TEDx SquareMile in London. Alongside his talks, Jon runs a Mastermind for leaders sharing his mission of happier workplaces, as well as an online membership for all Danish people sharing his mission. In 2014, Jon was included on a list of Top-10 speakers in Denmark.

As Jon puts it, work should be something we enjoy, not just endure. But life is more than work, and beside his own work, Jon is engaged in the larger community. For more than a decade he was active with the global NGO JCI – Junior Chamber International – culminating with a tenure as Chairman and National President of the Danish branch. Lately, he has volunteered for several supply runs to war-torn Ukraine, delivering donated cars, generators and pre-hospital supplies. When not working or volunteering, Jon reads, rides his offroad motorcycle, passionately cooks or works in his garden.