How paying attention to life questions improves your employees' mental health

Meaning has to do with being an employer in many ways. Theologian Leontien Dekker (i mindLife, part of Colbe) explains the role life questions play for both your employees and your organization.

What do you do it for? What makes your workday worthwhile? These kinds of life questions don't always have easy answers. Sometimes you struggle with them and it leads to stress or sadness. This month there is extra attention to these themes.

"Attention to meaning in organizations is becoming increasingly important," says theologian Leontien Dekker, program director of i mindLife. This is a company that offers employers and their employees help with life questions such as: why am I doing what I am doing, what choice should I make, how do I contribute to a better world? Dekker and her colleagues are life counselors; they are all officially registered as "spiritual caregivers. They can help people if they have problems because they are struggling with major life issues.

Attention to meaning in organizations is increasingly important

Life counselors help with life questions

A life counselor offers different kind of help than a company doctor or psychologist, Dekker explains: "A company doctor often has too little time to go into life questions in detail, and a psychologist is not always the right person to help either, because he focuses more on problem solving. We don't work with diagnoses and files, but above all we try to make real contact with someone, empathize with them and search together for acceptance and meaning."

Why delve into this as an employer? According to Dekker, paying attention to mental health is part of being a good, modern employer. "For many employers, in addition to growth and financial success, work happiness is an important goal," she says. "And knowing what you're doing it for is a big part of the experience of happiness."

More choices, less handholding

The theologian explains that meaning used to be determined primarily by a particular set of beliefs, but that has changed. Now people have to figure it out for themselves more, and that is quite difficult. She notices that people struggle with life questions more often than before.

"You have more choices than ever and at the same time less to hold on to," she says. "Even in the supermarket you are forced to choose based on your beliefs. For example, you can buy as many as 20 kinds of peanut butter, each with its own promise: sustainability, animal welfare, health... What you put in your shopping cart increasingly has to do with what you consider important, in other words: the answer to life's questions."

Life questions for organizations

Employees also have many options in the job market. Employees choose their workplace not only because of working conditions, but also based on their beliefs.

"We want to work for an organization that fits our values," Dekker says. "If you, as an employer, have a message and a mission that they are happy to commit to, that makes you more attractive in this tight job market."

Life themes are thus becoming more important for both individuals and organizations as a whole, Dekker summarizes. "We are constantly challenged to think about deeper drives, values and norms. This applies to both individuals and companies. After all, an organization also has life questions to answer. What role does the company play in society? What are your goals? What dilemmas are involved?

Stress and adversity

Furthermore, life questions arise when people experience adversity. For example, money problems, divorce or illness. "When life goes differently than planned, it can be confusing and an employee can sometimes need help," she says. "If you intervene in time as an employer, you can prevent Sickness Absence ."

Even without an immediate cause, life counseling can help relieve stress. "Go figure: young people have a lot of choices, less to hold on to, and they strive for perfection," Dekker explains. "That leads to stress. How do they know if they're on the right track? When is it good enough?"

Urgent theme

Because meaning is such an urgent issue for SMEs, i mindLife is part of Colbe. "We created i mindLife to make contemporary help with life questions accessible to the working Netherlands," says Dekker. "That fits well with Colbe's mission, which is to contribute to a healthier, more vital and happier Netherlands."

Life Questions Day is also on ZekerArbos SME FiT calendar. This is a tool for paying attention to the physical and mental health of your team throughout the year. The abbreviation FiT stands for Functioning in the Future. The calendar contains all kinds of dates related to vitality and sustainable employability.

"Use this day to engage in conversation with your employees," says Dekker. "What does their work mean to them? What makes it worthwhile? Open up the conversation and show that you take the issue seriously as an employer."