Today, September 28, is the International Day for Universal Access to Information. UNESCO proclaimed it in 2015, and the UN General Assembly adopted it in 2019. This year’s theme is about information integrity in the digital age and the role access to information plays in addressing information disorder.
That sounds like a conversation for governments, newsrooms and tech platforms, and it is. But there is another place where access to information shapes people’s daily lives: work.
Most employees don’t experience “information disorder” as a news problem. They experience it as a Monday morning problem:
- What exactly is expected of me this week?
- Where is the latest version of that document?
- Is the reorganization real, or just a rumor?
At Happy Work Studio, we see this every day in the teams we work with. Clarity is not a “nice to have” for communication teams. It is a well-being practice.
Why it matters
Two numbers say a lot.
- Only 46% of U.S. employees clearly know what is expected of them at work, down 10 points from a high of 56% in March 2020 (Gallup, 2025).
- 62% of people surveyed say they struggle with too much time spent searching for information in their workday (Microsoft Work Trend Index, 2023; 31,000 people in 31 countries).
When people can’t find what they need, they fill the gaps with assumptions. When leaders stay silent during change, the silence gets filled with rumors. Neither helps focus, trust, or peace of mind.
The good news: you don’t need a new platform to fix this. You need a few consistent habits.
1. Make expectations visible
Role clarity is the most basic form of access to information: knowing what “good” looks like in your own job.
In hybrid and cross-border teams, expectations often live in someone’s head, or in a meeting half the team missed. Write them down.
Try this: For each role on your team, write three lines: what outcomes matter most this quarter, how success will be measured, and what can wait. Review them together in your next 1:1, and revisit them monthly.
2. Create one source of truth
If information lives in ten chat threads, three drives and one person’s inbox, people will spend their energy searching instead of doing.
This is especially true for international companies operating in Türkiye, where local teams often depend on decisions and documents made elsewhere, in another language and another time zone.
Try this: Pick one place for decisions, key documents and “how we work here” guidelines. Give it a simple structure, name an owner, and link to it instead of re-sending files. When someone asks “where is…?”, treat it as a signal to improve the source, not a nuisance.
3. Explain the “why” during change
Change is when access to information matters most, and when it is most often restricted. Leaders go quiet because they don’t have all the answers yet. Teams interpret the silence as bad news.
Try this: Use a simple three-part update, even when you don’t know everything:
- What we know
- What we don’t know yet
- When you’ll hear from us next
Honest uncertainty builds more trust than polished silence.
The Happy Work Studio perspective
In our culture and well-being work, we treat clarity as part of the foundation, not a communication afterthought. Knowing what’s expected, where to find what you need, and why things are changing gives people a sense of control. That sense of control is closely linked to how safe, connected and engaged they feel at work.
Our programs, from culture design workshops to hybrid work handbooks and resilient leadership sessions, all start with the same question: does everyone have the information they need to do good work and feel good doing it?
Starting today: open knowledge, every week
It felt right to choose this day to start something new. From today, Happy Work Studio will share practical ideas on workplace culture, hybrid work and well-being every week, openly and for free, here on our blog and on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, X and Medium.
In October, our monthly theme is Mental Health at Work, leading up to World Mental Health Day on October 10. It’s a natural next step: uncertainty is one of the quiet drivers of stress, and clarity is one of the simplest ways to reduce it.
FAQ
What is the International Day for Universal Access to Information?
It is a UN day observed on September 28. UNESCO proclaimed it in 2015 and the UN General Assembly adopted it in 2019. It highlights everyone’s right to seek, receive and share information.
How does access to information relate to the workplace?
Inside organizations, access to information shows up as role clarity, easy-to-find knowledge and transparent communication during change. When these are missing, people spend time searching, guessing and worrying instead of working.
Where should a manager start?
Start with role clarity. Write down three priorities for each team member and review them together. It’s simple, it costs nothing, and it addresses the problem most employees face first.
Happy Work Studio Team
Want to build a clearer, calmer culture in your team? Talk to us.
Sources
- UN: International Day for Universal Access to Information. https://www.un.org/en/observances/information-access-day
- UNESCO: IDUAI 2026. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/international-day-universal-access-information-2026
- Gallup (2025): U.S. Employee Engagement Sinks to 10-Year Low. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/654911/employee-engagement-sinks-year-low.aspx
- Microsoft (2023): Work Trend Index, Will AI Fix Work? https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/will-ai-fix-work