Mr. Thakur Powdyel
Preface Author
Professor Thakur S. Powdyel, former Minister of Education, Royal Government of Bhutan.
Thakur Singh Powdyel is an educator and former Minister of Education of Bhutan, recognized worldwide for integrating Gross National Happiness (GNH) into the educational system.
Creator of the Green Schools for a Green Bhutan program, he is dedicated to holistic, sustainable education and the promotion of integral human development.
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We believe that when a nation adopts a grand purpose such as Gross National Happiness, its subsystems—especially education and work—must reflect and sustain this vision. That is why Bhutan implemented the Educating for Gross National Happiness initiative through the Green Schools for a Green Bhutan program, promoting holistic education that considers the mind, body, emotions, values, and awareness.
Just as GNH is supported by foundational pillars and domains, the holistic educational model seeks to awaken multiple levels of human consciousness, fostering the integral development of both the individual and society.
In this context, three visionary women leaders—Claudia Cardillo, Luciana Tierno, and Chirles de Oliveira—joined forces to address a central question of contemporary life: work as a space for human expression, identity, mental health, and quality of life.
Happiness and Mental Health at Work is a sensitive and necessary invitation to reflect on the vital relationship between life and work. Work should not be merely a means of production, but a space for fulfillment, belonging, creativity, purpose, and human dignity.
Published under the curation of the Carreira e Suas Vozes project, this book brings together around 35 contributions from specialists, researchers, and real-life accounts, exploring in depth the interface between happiness, mental health, organizational culture, psychologically safe environments, and practices that foster human flourishing in professional contexts.
Thakur Powdyel
About Thakur Powdyel
Gusi Peace Laureate, Bhutan’s former Minister of Education, Professor Thakur S Powdyel, is a lifetime educator with particular interest in education as the noble sector of public good, gross national happiness, institutional integrity and national self-respect.
Translated into some 20 major languages around the world, his little book, My Green School: An Outline for Human and Societal Flourishing, has been hailed as an outstanding contribution to global education thought. A holistic development thinker, Professor Powdyel reflects on the outer and inner life of institutions and nations and believes that with all its imperfections, the world is still a good place ,worth caring for, worth improving, and worth celebrating.
An abiding quest for harmony and plea for a union of role and soul have defined his life and work. Inducted into the celebrated Marianense Academy of Letters in Brazil, Professor Powdyel has advanced goodwill and human relationships amongst diverse peoples and societies at home and beyond in a lifelong search for a better world and a healthier planet.
Deeply rooted in his beloved Druk Yul and tested on the sensibilities of a global citizen, here is an old faithful still at work, still building his nation, in honour of Life and pride in service
Preface Theme
Happiness and Mental Health at Work
In the preface, Thakur Powdyel presents happiness as a foundation for human development and sustainable societies. Inspired by Gross National Happiness, he broadens the perspective beyond economic indicators and emphasizes that well-being, balance, and dignity should guide collective decision-making.
His message connects purpose, ethics, and social responsibility, inviting leaders and organizations to cultivate environments where mental health and happiness are structural priorities, not exceptions.