In 2001, just a manager, I was about to pass up an expensive management training program.
My marriage just broke down. Emotionally shaky.
I decided to share it with the group. Terrifying. But it changed everything.
Not only did I stay, I even received recognition from the biggest ego in the room.
My lesson? Vitality is not hiding what you feel, but daring to show what is going on. That gives strength.
What is going on in the workplace?
One in four young workers already has burnout symptoms.
Absenteeism due to stress lasts an average of 57 days. Cost? Over €3 billion a year.
Not just with overtime workers. Also, with employees who put out fires every day,
behind the times or simply feel redundant.
Why is that?
1. A library full of distractions
When I started working, we had a secretary. She typed memos, put them in envelopes, and they went around.
Now? Slack, Teams, mail, Trello, Jira, WhatsApp. Everything is beeping. Everything is calling.
You want focus, but your head is full.
Like trying to read in a library where someone taps your shoulder every five seconds.
2. A bar that keeps moving itself
You work hard, do your best, and yet you feel like you’re falling behind.
Where does the standard lie? No one knows. But everyone is running.
Smart, young, ambitious colleagues drop out. Not because they can’t,
but because they clash with systems where “that’s how we do it here” is more important than good ideas.
My adolescent son worked at a fast-food chain.
He saw how many chicken nuggets were thrown away. He had a better idea.
The answer? “That’s just the way we do it.”
He quit his job. Then worked for years in a beach bar, where ideas did count.
“Sorry, guys, I’m at 60% today”, he said. And that was allowed.
Since then, they have been asking each other every day, “What percentage are you today?”
3. Working from home as a stage without a script
You dial in. You hear words, but miss looks, jokes, nuance. No coffee moments. No “just a whine” at the machine. You participate, but don’t feel involved. Like playing along in a play, without knowing what scene you’re in.
And meanwhile, insecurities pile up: temporary contracts, no house, student debt.
The ground under your feet moves.
4. Invisible backpacks
Private concerns. Guilt. The urge to do well.
No one sees it, but you feel it. Every day.
Like carrying a backpack that gets heavier and heavier, but no one asks if you can still lift it.
So what is vitality anyway?
From red numbers to knights of the Wednesday.
We sat in a room, peering at red numbers.
Someone said, “We won’t straighten this out. We need gamechangers.”
That afternoon, gamestorming was born. Not brainstorming. Gamestorming.
Teams were formed. Ideas formed. Chosen together. Implemented together.
Wednesday became the most fun day of the week.
Our department- once an underdog- became a lighthouse. An example for the entire international organisation.
Vitality is also: feeling ownership. And building a story together that is bigger than you alone.
It’s like the traffic light in your day that says, “Close your laptop. Go for a run. Look outside. Zoom out.”
It’s being allowed to say, “I’m at 40%.”
And then not being judged, but helped.
What can you do, dear employer?
- Normalise mental health. Facilitate a coach. Ask more often how things are really going.
- Take pressure off. Reduce noise. Make room for what really matters.
- Give influence. Let people figure it out together.
- Connect. See my example: nothing like working together toward the same goal.
- Make wellness strategic. If you want to attract and retain the best people, there’s no way around it.
Is it really that bad?
Nobody used to have burnout, right?
Not true.
Only then was it called “overworked” or “nerves.
Burnout is more visible now. Not because people are weaker,
but because work is different: faster, more digital, more uncertain.
Vitality does not belong on the yoga mat
Vitality is not soft. It is strategic.
Without energy, ownership and connection, every team eventually collapses.
Want to avoid that? Start small.
Ask your team today, “What percentage are you?”
And then wait for the real answer. Just like I did at the time in my training.
Showing vulnerability is the beginning of strength.
And if you also give them an online coach?
Then you see that 50% feel better quickly. With a coach, you dare more. Like being vulnerable.
Curious what it can do for your organisation?
We like to show the effect. For your people as well as for your numbers.
Read more at http://inukacoaching.com/nl/voor employers
