Determinants for Health and Purpose

As our understanding of human behavior and motivation deepens, businesses are starting to realize the importance of providing holistic support to their employees. Mental health is becoming a major point of conversation in our society with a number of events and individuals bringing it to the forefront. The recent pandemic and subsequent inflation, the focus on mental health by the Surgeon General and new research have all highlighted the damaging effects of poor mental health, and notable people like athletes, celebrities, and influencers are talking more openly about their own mental health struggles.

As employee wellness and benefits satisfaction decreases, companies are starting to realize the role they should play in helping their workers with their mental well-being. There is a growing consciousness that good work isn’t just about how much money one earns, but also about how work can give meaning to one’s life.

So, how can businesses leverage behavioral science to create better work environments?

On this episode of SECURE, host Charles Lattimer, FinFit’s Chief Innovation & Growth Officer, is joined by his friend and colleague, Victor Strecher, Chief Executive Officer of Kumanu. They discuss the science behind motivation, purpose, and well-being, and the ways organizations can better support employee well-being.

Lattimer and Strecher speak about:

• The science behind motivation, purpose, and well-being
• Ways organizations can better support employees’ well-being
• The impacts of transforming traditional businesses into wellness-minded organizations

The two speak very frankly about how loss and pain can be transformed into one’s why. Strecher talks about the death of his daughter, Julia, and how it drove him to hopelessness. In the middle of a crisis, Strecher decided to write down what he calls “be goals”. These are all the things that kept him alive: his work, family, and students. He decided that day to “teach every student as if they were my daughter.”

Today, Vic Strecher is a celebrated professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health. He enjoys teaching his students and he serves as the School’s Director for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship. He’s a passionate researcher and successful author of  “Life on Purpose” where he shares his expertise in health, well-being, and human behavior. Vic founded Kumanu to enable individuals to pursue their well-being while offering organizations a more purpose-driven means to support positive, healthy change.