How Rotterdam companies can keep teams happy

ROTTERDAM, 1 May 2026 – Rotterdam has never been a city that waits around for perfect conditions. We build, fix, organise, serve, teach, cook, ship, clean, create and carry on, preferably before anyone has finished the meeting agenda.

That energy is part of the city’s charm. But it also raises a very practical question for local employers: if Rotterdam runs on people, what can companies do to keep those people healthy, motivated and willing to stay?

Rotterdam works hard

Rotterdam’s work ethic is almost part of its branding. You hear it in “niet lullen maar poetsen”, the blunt Dutch motto often associated with the city’s no-nonsense attitude. You hear it in Feyenoord’s “geen woorden maar daden”, a line tied closely to the club’s identity and its famous song Hand in Hand, Kameraden.

Especially since the Second World War, Rotterdam has built much of its identity around recovery, rebuilding and getting on with the job. That sleeves-rolled-up mentality is one of the reasons people admire the city. But even a city built on action has to ask how its workers are doing.

Wellbeing needs a better image

Workplace happiness can sound a bit soft at first. In Rotterdam, where people tend to prefer action over slogans, the subject needs to earn its place at the table.

So we wanted to look at the topic in a more Rotterdam way: practical, direct and grounded in real working life. To find out, we asked Lisa Kofflard, happiness coach (gelukscoach) at Inner Smile Company, for their view on work, energy and employee engagement.

Lisa Kofflard, happiness coach at Inner Smile Company, shares practical insights on employee wellbeing, work pressure and keeping Rotterdam teams engaged.

Retention starts before resignation

For Rotterdam employers, wellbeing becomes practical when you look at retention. The question is not only how to attract people. It is also how to keep the people who already know the work, the clients, the systems and the team culture.

That matters in the Rijnmond region, where the labour market remains tight. UWV’s regional labour market overview says there were on average 29,000 open vacancies in Rijnmond in the first half of 2025, with almost three times as many vacancies as short-term jobseekers. On top of that, replacement demand remains part of the challenge, as employers need new people when experienced workers retire or leave the labour market. 

Work pressure affects retention

If people are hard to replace, employers need to notice earlier when work starts taking too much out of them. Work pressure does not always announce itself dramatically. Sometimes it looks like shorter answers in meetings, less patience with colleagues, more mistakes, less creativity or people slowly checking out.

National figures show why the issue deserves attention. TNO and CBS reported that in 2024, 16% of Dutch employees had stressful work, meaning high demands combined with little freedom in how they do their job. 

Employers can notice earlier

That is where Kofflard believes employers can make the topic more concrete. “It is not just about insight, but above all about what you then do with it,” she says. “Through personal attention and open conversations, you help people make small changes that can make a big difference in the long term. That gives me a lot of energy.”

That may sound simple, but it is often where the gap appears. Many organisations ask how people are doing, but the follow-up is where the real work starts.

Diverse teams need nuance

Rotterdam adds another layer to the conversation. Many workplaces in the city bring together people with different backgrounds, ages, cultures, home situations and expectations of work.

“In a diverse city like Rotterdam, many organisations work with teams with different backgrounds, ages and needs,” Inner Smile Company explains. “Precisely then, personal attention is important, because wellbeing does not work the same way for everyone.”

Employers see the risk

Work pressure is not only something employees talk about. Employers see it too. TNO reported that in 2024, 34% of employers named work pressure as one of the main occupational risks in their organisation or branch. More than half said they had worked on creating a more open culture to reduce psychosocial risks.

That is where wellbeing becomes practical. If people are running low on energy, losing focus or quietly disconnecting from the organisation, the cost is not abstract. It shows up in planning, quality, absence, recruitment and team morale.

Insight needs action

Kofflard works with participants through tools such as a recurring moodmeter, which helps map energy and mood levels over time. The idea is not to reduce people to a score, but to make patterns easier to discuss.

“In practice, we see that people often feel they are out of balance, but cannot properly identify where that comes from,” says Kofflard. “Offering tools for sustainable behavioural change can then really make a difference.”

Inner Smile Company uses a happiness wheel (Gelukswiel) to look at different factors that influence wellbeing. The company says the model is inspired by scientific insights from Erasmus University research into happiness and uses 15 factors to make life happiness more concrete and measurable. 

That phrasing matters. Happiness at work is not about pretending every day should be wonderful. Work is still work. Mondays still exist. Inbox chaos remains undefeated.

Sustainable employability matters

In HR language, keeping people healthy, motivated and able to keep working is often called sustainable employability (duurzame inzetbaarheid). The term may sound formal, but the basic idea is very human: people need enough energy, support and clarity to keep doing their work well.

We also heard from Jacco Vingerling, founder and CEO of Inner Smile Company. He argues that organisations need to look beyond workload alone. “Organisations are experiencing an increase in stress-related absence, declining engagement and greater challenges in retaining talent,” he says. “Recognising that work and private life constantly influence each other is important for sustainable employability.” Vingerling adds:  “Not just workload or stress influence happiness. When organisations embed the overall wellbeing of employees in HR policy, they build a culture of motivated and resilient team members.”

Rotterdam companies can start simply

The useful lesson for Rotterdam employers is not that every company needs a formal wellbeing programme tomorrow morning. A better starting point is simpler: notice earlier, ask better questions and make wellbeing part of normal conversations about work. If people are tired, disconnected or quietly looking elsewhere, the problem probably started long before the resignation email.

The most 'Rotterdam way' to look at workplace happiness may be the most practical one. It is not about making work cute. It is about making sure people can keep doing good work without losing themselves in the process. Rotterdam can keep its “niet lullen maar poetsen” energy, while also learning when to pause, listen and adjust before people are too worn out to keep polishing. That does not make the city less ambitious. It may make its workplaces stronger.