Cómo el Bienestar Organizacional Inspira el Desempeño: Lecciones del Sector de Cambio Social Cómo el Bienestar Organizacional Inspira el Desempeño: Lecciones del Sector de Cambio Social

Stories from the Hearth

Publicación invitada de:

Ricardo Paz

People & Culture Elder, The Wellbeing Project
🌍 Bogotá, Colombia

Lectura rápida

  • The Wellbeing Project, junto con ocho organizaciones de todo el mundo, el Instituto Tavistock y el Center for Healthy Minds estuvieron cinco años investigando el valor del bienestar organizacional y cómo fomentarlo.

  • Aprendieron que cualquier organización, pública o privada, puede beneficiarse de promover el bienestar organizacional: mejora el desempeño de los empleados, lo que se traduce en un mejor desempeño organizacional.

  • Además, todos estuvieron de acuerdo en que era menos costoso invertir en el bienestar organizacional que no hacerlo.

  • Cultivar el bienestar organizacional es un proceso continuo, dinámico y de largo plazo, pero el valor agregado para los empleados, su organización y su comunidad vale la pena.

Ricardo (izquierda) habla en Hearth Summit Bogotá, compartiendo los hallazgos del Programa Exploratorio Organizacional (OEP) de The Wellbeing Project.

En mayo, tuve el placer de presentar en el Hearth Summit Bogotá, que se centró en el bienestar y los negocios sostenibles. En este evento, la sostenibilidad se exploró de tres maneras: 

Trabajo sostenible: centrado en el bienestar de los empleados y el balance vida-trabajo

Negocio sostenible: centrado en la producción y el consumo sostenibles dentro de las empresas

Ecosistemas sostenibles: centrándose en cómo las empresas pueden tener impactos sociales y medioambientales positivos

La audiencia estaba formada por cientos de líderes del sector empresarial: directores ejecutivos, gerentes, expertos y otros se unieron en el Hearth Summit para tomar medidas colectivas y cambiar la cultura corporativa hacia una de bienestar y desempeño.

Me sentí agradecido de compartir los aprendizajes del sector social sobre cómo al promover el bienestar dentro de las organizaciones se conduce a un mayor desempeño.

No soy el único que piensa en la importancia del bienestar de los empleados: la Organización Mundial de la Salud ha clasificado el burnout como un problema de salud ocupacional dada la magnitud de casos presentados. Múltiples estudios en todo el mundo muestran un aumento del burnout en organizaciones de todo tipo. Gallup ha estimado las pérdidas globales por ausentismo, rotación y agotamiento en 322.000 millones de dólares. ¡Mil millones!

La situación es clara: las organizaciones deben centrar su atención en el bienestar de sus empleados. Pero ¿cómo pueden hacer esto?

En el Hearth Summit Bogotá, compartí los aprendizajes de un Programa Exploratorio Organizacional (OEP, por sus siglas en inglés) de cinco años que The Wellbeing Project cocreó con ocho organizaciones de todo el mundo: de Brasil, Canadá, China, Egipto, Mozambique, Pakistán, Senegal y Estados Unidos.

Con el Instituto Tavistock de Relaciones Humanas y el Centro para Mentes Saludables proporcionando apoyo en investigación y metodología, buscamos trabajar con estas ocho organizaciones para desarrollar un marco efectivo para apoyar el bienestar organizacional de manera participativa, basado en evidencia empírica.

Los aprendizajes de estas ocho organizaciones sociales pueden ser útiles para organizaciones de otros sectores, tanto públicos como privados, ya que comparten un mensaje común: el bienestar de los empleados de cualquier organización lleva a un mejor desempeño y, por lo tanto, a un mejor desempeño de las organizaciones y del ecosistema que las rodea. En resumen: el bienestar inspira el desempeño.

Pero ¿cómo pueden las organizaciones crear una cultura de bienestar? Compartí tres aprendizajes clave de OEP con agentes de cambio en Bogotá:

1. Crea tu propia definición y visión de bienestar.

La definición de bienestar organizacional puede ser muy diferente para una organización que para otra, así como a nivel individual. Por esta razón, es relevante hacer una definición de manera participativa con todos o la mayoría de los involucrados. Esto significa que será un proceso lento, de largo plazo, con una visión estratégica, de acuerdo con los retos, objetivos y entorno de cada organización.

2. Dar pequeños pasos, llegarás lejos.

De esta forma, es necesario centrarse en unas primeras y pequeñas acciones para avanzar poco a poco en un plan de trabajo que evidencie avances y refuerce la evolución de la organización. La idea es que, a la hora de tomar decisiones estratégicas, se tengan en cuenta las necesidades de las personas involucradas en todos los niveles de la organización.

3. Encuentra el “camino del medio”.

A veces, una organización se centra únicamente en lograr su misión y objetivos. En el otro extremo, existe la posibilidad de estar demasiado centrado en el bienestar de las personas. Las organizaciones que están muy enfocadas en su misión a menudo tienen una alta rotación de personal, bajos niveles de compromiso, hipersensibilidad a la desadaptación organizacional y una alta frecuencia de casos con burnout. En el otro extremo, en aquellos demasiado enfocados en el bienestar de las personas, hay dificultad para lograr la misión de la organización, las necesidades individuales están constantemente insatisfechas, sus responsabilidades no están claras y su energía se consume en tareas innecesarias.

Una tercera vía, una vía intermedia, se compone de un entorno en el que las personas están inspiradas por la misión y la estructura de la organización, se identifican claramente sus habilidades y competencias individuales, se tienen claras las responsabilidades de sus funciones y se les reconoce por sus contribuciones profesionales.

La conclusión

A través de la investigación de OEP, aprendimos que generar la capacidad de bienestar organizacional es un proceso de gestión del cambio de cuatro pasos:

Definición de objetivos,

Cocreándolos con todos los miembros,

Implementación, y

Aprendizaje constante.

Es un proceso lento, sin soluciones rápidas ni un enfoque lineal. Lo más importante es la dirección de los cambios más que los resultados inmediatos. Es importante que los líderes den el ejemplo también, y vimos tres factores fundamentales en la generación de esta capacidad de bienestar organizacional: Liderazgo, Comunicación y Mentalidad de Crecimiento.

¿Y la última pieza del rompecabezas? Estas ocho organizaciones sociales descubrieron que desarrollar su capacidad de bienestar organizacional era menos costoso que no hacerlo. 

Como dijo uno de los participantes del Programa de Desarrollo Interior de The Wellbeing Project: “Si no tienes bienestar en tu personal, ¿cómo puedes proporcionar bienestar en tu comunidad? Nadie puede dar lo que no tiene”.

Lo mismo ocurre con su organización. Ya sea que trabajes en una organización sin fines de lucro, una empresa o cualquier otro tipo de organización, el mensaje puede ser el mismo:

El bienestar inspira el desempeño: si estamos bien, lo haremos mejor.

EXPLORE THE REGIONAL SUMMITS FURTHEREXPLORE THE REGIONAL SUMMITS FURTHER

Dive Into Stories From Around the World

Discover Organizational WellbeingDiscover Organizational Wellbeing

Meet and hear stories from the changemakers championing wellbeing in their organizations.

How Organizational Wellbeing Inspires Welldoing: Lessons From the Social Change Sector How Organizational Wellbeing Inspires Welldoing: Lessons From the Social Change Sector

Stories from the Hearth

Guest post by:

Ricardo Paz

People & Culture Elder, The Wellbeing Project
🌍 Bogotá, Colombia

Quick Reads

  • The Wellbeing Project, along with eight organizations from around the world, the Tavistock Institute, and the Center for Healthy Minds spent five years researching the value of organizational wellbeing and how to foster it.
  • They learned that any organization, public or private, can benefit from promoting organizational wellbeing: it improves employee performance, which translates into improved organizational performance.
  • They also all agreed the approach was cost-beneficial: it was less expensive to invest in organizational wellbeing than otherwise.
  • Cultivating organizational wellbeing is an ongoing, dynamic, and long-term process — but the value added for employees, your organization, and your community are worth it.

Ricardo (left) speaks at Hearth Summit Bogotá, sharing findings from The Wellbeing Project’s Organizational Exploratory Program (OEP).

In May, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Hearth Summit Bogotá, which focused on wellbeing and sustainable business. At this summit, sustainability was explored in three ways: 

Sustainable work: focusing on employee wellbeing and work-life balance

Sustainable business: focusing on sustainable production and consumption within businesses

Sustainable ecosystems: focusing on how businesses can have positive social and environmental impacts

The audience was filled with hundreds of leaders from the business sector: CEOs, managers, experts, and others joined together at the Hearth to take collective action and shift corporate culture towards one of wellbeing and welldoing.

I was grateful to share learnings from the social sector about how promoting wellbeing within organizations leads to greater welldoing.

I’m not the only one thinking about the importance of employee wellbeing: the World Health Organization has classified Extreme Burnout as an occupational health problem given the magnitude of cases presented. Multiple studies around the world show an increase in extreme burnout in organizations of all kinds. Gallup has estimated global losses from absenteeism, turnover, and burnout at $322 billion. Billion!

The situation is clear: organizations must turn their attention to the wellbeing of their employees. But how can they do this?

At Hearth Summit Bogotá, I shared learnings from a five-year Organizational Exploratory Program (OEP) that The Wellbeing Project co-created with eight organizations from around the world – from Brazil, Canada, China, Eygpt, Mozambique, Pakistan, Senegal, and the United States.

With the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations and the Center for Healthy Minds providing research and methodology support, we sought to work with these eight organizations to develop an effective framework to support organizational wellbeing in a participatory way, based on empirical evidence.

The learnings from these eight social organizations can be useful for organizations in other sectors, both public and private, as they share a common message: the wellbeing of the employees of any organization leads to their improved performance and, therefore, the improved performance of the organizations and the ecosystem that surrounds them. In short: wellbeing inspires welldoing.

But how can organizations create a culture of wellbeing? I shared three key learnings from OEP with changemakers in Bogota:

1. Create your own definition and vision of wellbeing.

Defining organizational wellbeing can be very different for one organization than for another, as well as at the individual level. For this reason, it is relevant to make a definition in a participatory way with all or most of those involved. This means it will be a slow, long-term process, with a long-term strategic vision, according to the challenges, objectives and environment of each organization.

2. Take small steps – they go far.

In this way, it is necessary to focus on a few first and small actions to advance little by little in a work plan that evidences progress and reinforces the evolution of the organization. The idea is that, when making strategic decisions, the needs of the people involved at all levels in the organization are considered.

3. Find the “middle way”.

Sometimes, an organization is focused solely on achieving its mission and goals. At the other extreme, there is the possibility of being too focused on people’s well-being. Organizations that are very focused on their mission often have high staff turnover, low levels of commitment, hypersensitivity to organizational maladjustment, and a high frequency of cases with extreme burnout. At the other extreme, in those too focused on people’s wellbeing, there is difficulty in achieving the organization’s mission, individual needs are constantly unsatisfied, their responsibilities are unclear and their energy is consumed in unnecessary tasks.

A third way, a middle way, is made up of an environment where people are guided by the mission and structure of the organization, their individual skills and competencies are clearly identified, the responsibilities of their roles are clear, and they are recognized for their professional contributions.

The Bottom Line

Through the OEP research, we learned that generating organizational wellbeing capacity is a four-step change management process: 

Defining objectives,

Co-creating them with all members,

Implementing, and

And constantly learning.

It is a slow process, without quick solutions or a linear approach. What is most important is the direction of changes rather than the immediate results. Leadership by example is also important, and we saw three fundamental factors in generating organizational wellbeing capacity: Leadership, Communication and Growth Mindset. 

And the final piece of the puzzle? These eight social organizations found that developing their wellbeing capacity was less expensive than not doing so. 

As one of the participants of The Wellbeing Project’s Inner Development Program said, “If you don’t have wellbeing in your staff, how can you provide wellbeing in your community? No one can give what they don’t have.”

The same is true for your organization. Whether you work in a non-profit, a business, or any other type of organization, the message can be the same:

Wellbeing Inspires Welldoing: if we are well, we’ll do it better.

EXPLORE THE REGIONAL SUMMITS FURTHEREXPLORE THE REGIONAL SUMMITS FURTHER

Dive Into Stories From Around the World

Discover Organizational WellbeingDiscover Organizational Wellbeing

Meet and hear stories from the changemakers championing wellbeing in their organizations.

Teaching, Learning, and Co-Creating Teaching, Learning, and Co-Creating

The Science of Wellbeing x Regional Hearth Summits

How does wellbeing “work”? What can we learn from ancient wisdom and contemporary research? The regional Hearth Summits are on a journey of head and heart — fueling a curiosity for the science of wellbeing!

Around the Hearth, leading academics, researchers, elders, topic experts, and holders of traditional wisdom serve as guides to:

Bring intellectual depth to the transformative experience of the Hearth Summit

Encourage a holistic understanding of wellbeing that respects different types of knowledge

Share best practices, methodologies, and case studies

Unite qualitative and quantitative sources of knowledge

Spark new, multi-disciplinary, and cross-cultural ideas and innovations

With plenaries, collaborative dialogues, workshops, and interactive sessions, changemakers are equipped with key knowledge about how wellbeing works and why — helping to inform their work as drivers of social transformation.

Discover what changemakers are learning at the Hearths around the world. For more research on wellbeing, visit our research hub.

UNDERSTANDING WELLBEINGUNDERSTANDING WELLBEING

“Whoever teaches learns in the act of teaching, and whoever learns teaches in the act of learning.”

Paulo Freire

COMPASSION, ALTRUISM, AND ECONOMICS

WITH PROF. DR. TANIA SINGER

In Brussels, Prof. Dr. Tania Singer, a world expert on empathy and compassion, led changemakers on a journey from inner work to a more caring economy by explaining how motivation psychology and neurobiology can inform economic models. In fostering pro-social behaviour, she explained, we can enable the impactful collaboration needed to solve our world’s biggest problems, such as climate change, social injustice, and economic inequality. The research offers decision- and policy-makers a new look at how the individual and the collective interact in order to create more sustainable macro-economic environments.

EMOTIONS, HEALING, AND PEACEBUILDING

WITH DR. OLGA KLIMECKI

In Brussels, Dr. Olga Klimecki (pictured above right), Senior Researcher at the University of Geneva, spoke on two panels to bring a neuroscience perspective to conversations on healing and peacebuilding. Citing a new research project from the Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, she explained the growing understanding of the role emotions play in conflict resolution. Through a mix of behavioural and neuroscientific experiments with field studies in conflict areas, the work seeks to aid and inform peacebuilding and diplomacy efforts.

HEALTHY MINDS AND WELLBEING

WITH DR. RICHARD J. DAVIDSON

In Bogotá, Dr. Richard J. Davidson from the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison shared his pioneering research on the neural bases of emotion and emotional style and how they relate to inner and organizational wellbeing. His work explores how brain function is related to wellbeing and mental health, particularly through the study of contemplative practices such as meditation. Through neuroimaging and behavioural techniques, his research captures the neuroplastic changes that occur and thereby enhance emotional resilience, reduce stress, and promote positive health outcomes.

Neuroscientific Dimensions of Wellbeing

SESSION AT Hearth Summit São Paulo

In São Paulo, Dr. Raquel Tatar, Chief Scientific Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Center for Healthy Minds, shared the dimensions of wellbeing as seen through a neuroscientific lens. Take a deep dive into how the brain works and influences wellbeing, as well as the emerging Healthy Minds Framework. Watch the session (in Portuguese).

ARTS AS THERAPY

WITH ALESSANE SECK

In Dakar-Thiès, art therapist Alassane Seck shared learnings from Fann Hospital, where the Moussa Diop psychiatric clinic is home to Senegal’s first arts therapy programme. Alassane opened the L’Atelier d’EXpression (“The Expression Workshop”) in 1999 aiming to provide holistic care to the clinic’s patients. Engaging with the arts can help alleviate symptoms of many psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety, schizophrenia, cognitive impairment and dementia, and autism, in an alternative, non-pharmaceutical approach.

In the specific case of L’Atelier d’EXpression, Alessane explained that only does the programme help patients self-reflect, understand their emotions, express themselves, it also helps shift cultural attitudes towards mental illness in Senegalese society. The participants’ art creations are also often exhibited in various forums and exhibitions, including the regional summit hosted by Tostan, promoting social inclusion and empathy while sharing the story of mental health with wider audiences.

NUTRITIONAL SCIENCES

WITH RUBAIYA AHMAD

In Dhaka, animal welfare activist and educator Rubaiya Ahmad led a workshop on nutritional sciences for changemakers, explaining the physiological relationship between diet and mental health. Conversations about inner wellbeing are incomplete without considering one’s physical wellbeing, she said, as she covered topics such as nutrition, physical exercise, and emotional relationships with food.

As the founder of Bangladesh’s first vegan eatery, The Bangu Vegan, she also shared the human and environmental benefits of eating plant-based foods. She also explained the cultural relevance of plant-based diets in Bangladesh, noting the presence of vegan and vegetarian elements in many authentic Bengali dishes.

SOCIO-EMOTIONAL LEARNING

WITH BRAC INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

In Dhaka, a team from BRAC Institute for Educational Development (BRAC IED) introduced changemakers of all ages to Socio-Emotional Learning (SEL). In the hybrid session mixing instruction and interactive play, participants learned the basics of SEL and how its five core competencies — self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making — relate to fostering wellbeing individually, collectively, and in the workplace. Through games and reflective conversations, the session also looked at how these competencies are taught, exercised, and perceived in Bangladeshi culture.

EXPLORE THE SCIENCE OF WELLBEING FURTHEREXPLORE THE SCIENCE OF WELLBEING FURTHER

Dive Into Research and Knowledge From Around the World

Healing From Trauma: The Leadership Skill You Didn’t Know You Needed Healing From Trauma: The Leadership Skill You Didn’t Know You Needed

A CONVERSATION WITH:

Benoît Legrand

Business leader, psychogenealogist, former CEO and Chairman
🌍 Paris, France

As the conversation around the impacts of trauma in the social change sector continues to grow, changemakers can take an opportunity to reflect on how their wellbeing impacts their leadership skills.

Last November, TheMerode Club brought together seasoned executives from the government, business, civil society, and academic sectors to reflect on wellbeing at the individual, collective, and planetary levels.

Benoît Legrand, a visionary business leader with over 25 years of experience in various C-level positions in the European financial sector, joined The Wellbeing Summit Brussels to share reflections from his career in business and newfound venture as a psychogenealogist.

Speaking on a panel about the impacts of intergenerational trauma with The Wellbeing Project’s co-lead, Aaron Pereira, and Katherine Milligan, Director of the Collective Change Lab, Benoît encouraged changemakers to connect the individual with the organizational by asking themselves: how do my traumas impact my leadership style?

We sat down with Benoît to dive deeper into this topic. Drawing on his business and personal experiences, hear from Benoît about why acknowledging and addressing one’s traumas is an essential leadership skill, plus encouragement for leaders to start this important journey.

“It should be part of the essentials of leadership. Because, knowing your own darkness is, I think, the best method for dealing with the darkness of other people. You cannot have change, have people change, and change yourself before you accept that something is really wrong. Right?”

Tell us about the impacts of trauma.

Trauma, for me, is something which we all go through, and something absolutely necessary to be aware of to give the best of yourself and find your place in this world. The idea of “trauma” might give or have a sense of drama, which is of course very true when we think about those very macro-level traumas which have affected large populations or very deep traumas that some individuals can go through. Yet, trauma goes also into more subtle dimensions of things which traumatize you. You can be affected by what happened to you consciously, but also by what happened in your family, school, community, country, continent, or race. These impacts are being inherited, which we see now from an analytical and empirical point of view. So in a way, we are all traumatized. But it’s okay. The point is merely for every one of us to just first acknowledge it, dare to look at it and think beyond everything which we know consciously. 

I’ll always have in my mind what Carl Jung said, “who looks outside, dreams, and who looks inside, awakes.” I’ve learned that from this process. I thought just looking outside would make me smart and intelligent. But the awakening comes from looking inside of myself, not being scared and not being afraid. By facing reality, we can unlock a lot of situations.

Leaders care about so many people and they don’t want to let anyone down. But they should realize that if they go down themselves, they let everyone down.

When leaders do inner work, including healing from trauma, how does it impact their organization’s wellbeing?

It’s just essential to face your trauma as a leader. You will notice anyone who’s just going out there and showing his vulnerability, just making himself more human. As a leader, if you effectively radiate this positive energy, then it diffuses around the organization. It’s a bit like a pendulum: if at the very top, the positive radiation is there, the radiation at the bottom will be just proportionate. And if the organization is big, or you go to a company or a country, then the impact you can have is just immense. So it’s our own responsibility to think for ourselves: What do I want to be in this world? Do I want to be an agent of positive radiation? Or do I still want to keep all this hatred and and violence and fear and negative energy in myself and overload the world with that right? 

Do you think leaders understand the importance of caring for their wellbeing?

Let’s say, okay, we know it’s important to eat. We know it’s important to sleep. We know it’s important to read good things. But do we take, as leaders, the time to step back to sit with someone and just have a conversation? Get a couple of things out, talk and discuss, just to say, “Well, I’m not alone here, right?” and to take care of yourself? It’s fantastic because leaders care about so many people and they don’t want to let anyone down. But they should realize that if they go down themselves, they let everyone down. So having a preventative strike, taking a step back, breathing it, having a discussion and looking at your psychological health is very important. But that can be very hard for leaders, to say, “I need to ask for help.” I personally have been very bad at this.

Can you tell us a bit more about that?

I’ll just testify what I’ve been through. I was having a very intense business life. I was managing teams all over the world and travelling 80% of the time. I was also under heavy stress, with a new CEO that was misaligned with what I was thinking. There was a combination of things, including me having worked like hell for the last 20 years, going all over the place, with pressure from left to right. And at one point, my body – because my brain didn’t want to understand it – sent the signal: stop. My heart gave me a very strong signal that I needed to stop. I stayed in the hospital for four or five days, where I realized that I went over a limit because I was not sufficiently courageous to face my limits and ask for help.

I kept denying reality. I thought, because I’ve been through so many challenges and successes as a leader, I’m going go through it this time also. I’m not going to ask for help or say I’m vulnerable. But the second problem is once you effectively realize you’re not OK and you might not manage to deal with the situation, there’s some kind of taboo. So you just keep fighting on your own. This is what leaders might face. I know that in France, about one out of two leaders or entrepreneurs is close to being in burnout. One out of two, which is just dramatic. 

So what should leaders be doing to care for their own wellbeing, which then will have a positive impact on their organizations?

You, as a leader and manager, have been doing nothing else than daring right? You have been taking risks. This is what you do daily. But there are also risks to take about yourself so you can see a couple of things. It’s okay. You will be more powerful by doing it. And really, what do you have to lose? Even if you’re 40, 50, 60, you still have life to live. What do you want to do with it? So look forward and say, “Is it worth taking the time and challenging myself just to try to be at the best place can be on this planet?” If you take that time, once you’re there, nobody can stop you.

Look forward and say, “Is it worth taking the time and challenging myself just to try to be at the best place can be on this planet?” If you take that time, once you’re there, nobody can stop you.

And the systemic approach is so powerful. We live in systemic environments: whatever changes something which influences something which changes, and so on. Once you start talking about something, you see things happening around you. The power of communication, daring to put things on the table and explain things, starts to unlock a lot of things that can bring a lot of peace.

But do this in a secure environment: bring safety and security around you. It can be hard, but if you do it with the right spirit of care, love, and positivity, it will come right back to you.

About Benoît

Benoît Legrand is a visionary business leader with over 25 years of experience in various C-level positions across multiple countries. Throughout his career, Benoît’s driving conviction has been centered around putting people at the heart of the company. He believes in genuine care for employees and customers to achieve lasting success. Having served as CEO of ING Direct France, Country CEO of ING France, and Chairman of ING France, he demonstrated his dedication to innovation by spearheading ING Ventures, the EUR 300m Corporate Venture Capital arm. After leaving ING in 2021, Benoît now advises organizations on innovation and transformation. He holds degrees in International Relations and Economics. Belgian and based in France for over 10 years, he has lived in 8 different countries and speak 5 languages. 

Want to know more about trauma and its impacts?

Watch the first virtual convening in our webinar series hosted by The Wellbeing Project and the Collective Change Lab. You can also visit our new hub for research and stories on intergenerational trauma. Together, we explore how we can move from trauma-informed to healing-centered ways of working for systemic change.

Discover the Wellbeing Movement in Europe Discover the Wellbeing Movement in Europe

Meet and hear stories from the changemakers championing the wellbeing movement in Europe.

Welcome to the Good Feeling House: Home to Peer-to-Peer Youth Mental HealthcareWelcome to the Good Feeling House: Home to Peer-to-Peer Youth Mental Healthcare

INTERVIEW WITH:

Thieu Scheys

“Conflixer” student volunteer at the Goed Gevoel Huisje (The Good Feeling House)
🌍 De Prins Secondary School, Diest, Belgium

In 2022, a passionate 17-year-old student, Noor Van Reet, won a grant to construct a small house on her school campus where peers could counsel and support each other about mental health. 

Today, the Goed Gevoel Huisje (or “The Good Feeling House”) welcomes students of all ages at the De Prins Secondary School to join their peers for a moment of calm, connection, and creativity throughout the school day. Students are trained as “Conflixers” by mental health professionals from the Flemish School Association (VSK) on how to provide age-appropriate peer support in an inviting and welcoming space. Seventeen-year-old volunteer Thieu Scheys joined the Peer-to-Peer Wellbeing Practices Forum at The Wellbeing Summit Brussels to share with changemakers the youth perspective on mental health and community wellbeing. Here’s his point of view.

What is the Goed Gevoel Huisje ?

The Goed Gevoel Huisje (the “Good Feeling House”) is a wooden house built on the playground of our school where students can come talk about their problems with other students. They can also come to hang out, play board games, and read books. We also plan other activities in the house outside of school. It’s a very cozy and fun place.

How does it work?

People can walk in to hang out or start talking to us, or they can send us a message beforehand about what they may want to talk about. We received training about how to talk to kids about their feelings and how to listen to them. We also give everyone the option to sit in different places at school to talk, because the house is on our playground where everyone can see, and maybe they want to talk in a private space.

How did the Goed Gevoel Huisje start?

It started with a student named Noor. When she was little, she was in the hospital for a while and couldn’t go to school. She realized how hard it was to be alone and have no other students or friends around to talk about her feelings. So she had the idea for the Good Feeling House and won a competition in Europe with the idea, which gave her a budget. Our school agreed to build the house on the playground and the company Wood-You built it based on our designs.

Why do you think the Goed Gevoel Huisje is important for your school?

Some people have good home environments where they can talk about their feelings but some people don’t, so it’s nice for kids to have a place at school where they can talk about their feelings with other students. It can also be really hard for kids to talk to adults about what’s going on because of the age difference. The volunteers are in the fifth year of school and we’re mostly focused on inviting students from the first and second grade to join. It’s easier to talk to someone when they are closer in age to you.

How can kids support each other with their mental health?

I think kids can support each other by listening to someone else, but also saying if they have a problem. If you can give an example, and other people feel that it’s possible to share their feelings, then it becomes something that just becomes so normal to talk about. It becomes an open conversation. In society, I don’t think it’s very normal and it would be really good to get rid of this stigma.

The Flemish School Association (VSK) equips students to serve as peer supporters with conversational skills for talking about mental health and resolving conflict. Conflixers also learn about topics like bullying, harassment, mental health first aid, hate speech, bias, and more.

“It is often small things that affect the atmosphere or wellbeing of students at school. The Conflixers are doing something about it!

Conflixers are students who support other students at their own school where necessary. It can take different forms, but one thing is certain:
students will get it done.“

What have you learned since being involved with the Goed Gevoel Huisje?

We all had training about how to talk to each other about our feelings and mental health. It was really interesting because I learned that when we communicate, we often put our perspective on the other person. The main thing we can do to help each other is listen, not look at ourselves, and maybe not offer them a solution — just listen to the other person. It’s also important to take the time to care for ourselves and sometimes say no to other people. Sometimes, saying no to other people and thinking a little bit about yourself will mean that you can give more to other people eventually.

I’ve also learned how fun it is to be involved in a project. It’s very nice to work with other people, do activities, and do nice things for other people.

What is wellbeing to you?

I think wellbeing is feeling good in your skin, having the chance to do what you like, be who you are, and just feel good in general. I think other kids would agree with me that it’s about feeling good and happy in general, without too many bumps on the road.

What do adults not understand about young people’s mental health?

I think most adults are doing a good job helping young people express their feelings. Teachers, for example, do a lot for us. But I think they don’t understand that it can be very hard to go to someone who is a lot older than you. That can be a really big step, so we’re trying to make that step smaller so students will be quicker to act when something is wrong.

What do you need from adults to see the change you want in the world — to make it easier for kids to talk about their mental health?

I think adults need to be more open about how they feel. With kids, they may not want to share how they are feeling. But I think that if they start sharing from a young age, like if they are tired or not having a good day, then it will be easier for the young kids to share the same when they are older.

What advice do you have for other youth who want to do something positive in their community?

Spread the word about your project and just have fun! Make a good impression on the world and hopefully start to make it a better place. There are a lot of different little projects in the world and eventually, the world will become a much better place.

If someone wanted to start a Feeling Good House at their school, what would you tell them?

All schools are different and all people are different so just see what works for you. Do whatever you want and fun!

Discover the Wellbeing Movement in EuropeDiscover the Wellbeing Movement in Europe

Meet and hear stories from the changemakers championing the wellbeing movement in Europe.