Matthew Phelan

Matthew Phelan is Co-Founder and Co-CEO of the Happiness Index, a platform that transforms workplace culture through real-time employee feedback and neuroscientific insight. As host of The Happiness and Humans Podcast and author of *Freedom To Be Happy: The Business Case for Happiness*, he translates data into actionable strategy, recently presenting 12 million happiness data points from over 100 countries in a compelling TEDx talk. Matt equips leaders with practical tools to strengthen engagement, empower employee voice and drive measurable performance improvements, helping organisations build healthier, more productive cultures rooted in genuine human connection.

Matthew Phelan stood on the TEDx stage and distilled 12 million data points from over one million people across more than 100 countries into a single, compelling 15-minute presentation on what makes people happy at work. As Co-Founder and Co-CEO of the Happiness Index, he has spent years building a platform that transforms how organisations understand and respond to the people who power them. His work centres on a simple but vital principle: when businesses listen to their employees with rigour and empathy, they unlock stronger cultures, better performance, and more meaningful human connection. What began as a mission to give employees a genuine voice has grown into a neuroscience-backed system that helps leaders move from guesswork to clarity, turning real-time feedback into strategies that create lasting change.

Matthew's credibility rests on both innovation and application. The Happiness Index combines pre-built survey methodology grounded in neuroscience with flexible tools that allow organisations to identify engagement priorities, measure cultural health, and act on what truly matters. His approach goes beyond data collection: it empowers continuous feedback, cross-theme analysis, and action planning that reflect the lived experience of employees across their entire journey. As founder of The Happiness and Humans Community and host of the podcast by the same name, Matthew has created spaces where leaders, practitioners, and thinkers explore the intersection of wellbeing, performance, and organisational purpose. He is also the author of *Freedom To Be Happy: The Business Case for Happiness*, a book that makes the commercial and human case for putting employee experience at the heart of business strategy. His leadership reflects a rare combination of entrepreneurial vision, technical rigour, and a deep commitment to making workplaces more human.

Matthew helps audiences understand that happiness at work is not a soft ambition but a strategic advantage. He equips leaders with practical frameworks to strengthen engagement, improve retention, and drive measurable outcomes by listening better and acting smarter. Whether speaking to senior executives, HR professionals, or cross-functional teams, he translates complex data into clear, actionable insight that organisations can implement immediately. His presentations inspire leaders to rethink how they measure success, challenge outdated assumptions about employee satisfaction, and build cultures rooted in trust, transparency, and genuine care. Audiences leave with a renewed sense of purpose, equipped with tools to create workplaces where people thrive and businesses perform at their best.