Juraj Kocar Of Somavedic Technologies On 5 Ways That Businesses Can Help Promote The Mental Wellness Of Their Employees
An Interview With David Liu
Create and nurture a company culture that encourages inclusion and embraces differences. Knowing we are all valued for the unique perspectives we bring to our roles will help your employees, and ultimately the company, thrive.
As a part of my series about the “5 Ways That Businesses Can Help Promote The Mental Wellness Of Their Employees” I had the pleasure of interviewing Juraj Kocar, CEO of Somavedic Technologies.
Juraj Kocar is the CEO of Somavedic Technologies Inc. Juraj joined the company after his own life-changing experience with a Somavedic device. He became CEO in 2019, and has been instrumental in developing the brand’s strategy for expanding into the U.S. market. He’s a serial entrepreneur and biohacker, and sees Somavedic as an opportunity to bring healing and harmony into the world.
Thank you so much for doing this interview with us! Before we dive into our discussion, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
Before joining Somavedic and developing a go to market strategy for what eventually became a beloved device that neutralizes the harmful effects of indoor wireless and 5G pollution, I was leading a team at an AI Startup incubator providing first stage evaluations of startups. I also co-founded two companies; one developing a smartphone case with a unique app to provide real-time parent-child communication, and the other — a writing and translation service. Living such a fast-paced, high-pressured lifestyle filled with increasingly stressful situations led to my own personal health struggles, which I was eventually able to better manage by using the Somavedic. This is how I came to understand the fantastic attributes of this product, by experiencing it firsthand — after it was initially introduced to me by its founder and inventor Ivan Rybjansky (who is also a good friend of mine). I thought why not share this product with the world and allow other people to discover its amazing benefits.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
One of our advisors in Silicon Valley had a parrot that lost its feathers years ago. We sent him a Somavedic as a thank you. After two months with the Somavedic in his home, he started sending me photos of his house plants. The leaves of the plants had doubled in size since he received the Somavedic. But even more astonishing was that the parrot’s feathers grew back within those two months! He said the only thing that changed in his home was the addition of the Somavedic. Unfortunately, the parrot ended up flying away, but it’s definitely one of the most interesting and memorable situations I’ve encountered.
What advice would you suggest to colleagues in your industry to help them thrive and avoid burnout?
In order to thrive in any circumstance, you need to have a healthy body, mind and spirit. As a biohacker myself, I follow certain rules to keep myself healthy. For example, some of the rituals I practice include intermittent fasting and not eating at least 3 hours before bedtime — which allows the body to start the self-healing process that regenerates damaged parts of our cells. Another way to thrive and stay in shape is high-intensity training (HIIT) which activates NAD, a coenzyme central to metabolism. I also take supplements like Niacin and Magnesium. And most importantly, I make sure my cell phone is on airplane mode when I sleep. I also do not use Bluetooth devices. I try to create the greatest possible distance between myself and my devices, especially when they are not in use.
What advice would you give to other leaders about how to create a fantastic work culture?
Here at Somavedic, we take great pride in having built a company culture that’s more of a “community.” In that sense, Somavedic is not just a product. We think of it as an offering to the world. I’m also fortunate to have a dedicated team that’s passionate about their work and people who really view their roles here as more of a mission than “just another job.” It’s great to know we are all committed to redefining how people think about their wellbeing, while also being able to provide solutions to support them on their wellness journey.
Can you please give us your favorite “life lesson quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?
The life lesson that would most characterize my personality would be “life goes on.” I’m a hopeless optimist. I try to not overthink too much when something “bad” happens. My mindset is that it already happened, and there isn’t anything I can do to change it now — so, why waste time blaming myself. Of course, I do allow myself to momentarily experience the various emotions tied to those situations, but as an eternal optimist, I’m much more likely to “let it go” a bit faster than many others might.
Ok thank you for that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. As you know, the collective mental health of our country is facing extreme pressure. In recent years, many companies have begun offering mental health programs for their employees. For the sake of inspiring others, we would love to hear about five steps or initiatives that companies have taken to help improve or optimize their employees’ mental wellness. Can you please share a story or example for each?
The topic of mental wellness is, fortunately, becoming more normalized within our society and our workplaces as well. I think many would agree that life and work stresses are at an all-time high over the past couple of years given the added challenges of the ongoing pandemic. Workers and companies alike are absolutely experiencing the effects, and it really has never been more important to put systems in place to ensure we not only survive this difficult time but thrive as well. Below are some steps companies can take to help improve their employees’ mental wellness:
- Invite wellness experts to host in-person or virtual training sessions for your staff. Learning basic meditation or mindfulness techniques, strategies for managing stress, etc. are crucial to fostering a mentally healthy workforce.
- Have regular check-ins with employees that also factor in how they are balancing their work and personal life stresses. Understanding a team member’s situation outside of work can be key to helping them stay productive and committed to their roles within the company.
- Create and nurture a company culture that encourages inclusion and embraces differences. Knowing we are all valued for the unique perspectives we bring to our roles will help your employees, and ultimately the company, thrive.
- Offer Your employees benefits and perks that will contribute to better work/life balance — making sure they use their vacation days, instituting a mandatory company-wide mental health day off, alleviating the expectation for employees to be available 24/7, etc. are just a few initiatives that can go a long way in promoting mental wellness within your company.
- Create a healthy physical work environment for your employees. EMF — mitigating products like the Somavedic can help alleviate the negative effects of indoor air pollution promote a sense of calm and reduce the stress and anxiety caused by radiation from digital devices and routers. Indoor plants, proper lighting, and even a space for on-site workers to go to have some alone time during the workday can also be helpful.
What strategies would you suggest to raise awareness about the importance of supporting the mental wellness of employees?
Researchers are finally starting to understand that EMFs are negatively impacting human biology, including mental wellness. For a long time, people viewed EMFs as a tinfoil hat-type conspiracy theory for alternative health nuts. But now EMF shielding has become more mainstream. We have to educate society about the negative effects of EMFs, and at the same time we have to create solutions to help protect our indoor environments. This is why our company developed a project called Actively Harmonized Space, which allows people to experience an EMF-harmonized environment — whether they work in a big corporation, small business, at home, or even in an intimate boutique yoga studio.
From your experience or research, what are different steps that each of us as individuals, as a community and as a society, can take to effectively offer support to those around us who are feeling stressed, depressed, anxious or having other mental health issues? Can you explain?
COVID disrupted millions of work routines. The remote workforce increased from 20% to 70% virtually overnight. This also impacted sleep routines. Homes became classrooms, gyms, yoga studios, and home offices. We also became more isolated than ever before, and this creates many mental health issues that many of us aren’t equipped to deal with. Since I’m not a fan of phone calls, I prefer taking the time to meet someone in-person and to listen to them. Offering your time, I believe is the greatest gift you can give to another person.
This might seem intuitive to you, but it will be helpful to spell it out. Can you help articulate a few ways how workplaces will benefit when they pay attention to an employee’s mental health?
Companies are now shifting to more meaningful, holistic approaches encompassing everything from changing company culture to focusing on the office environment. Wellness now means far more than a facial or spin class, with a growing focus on mental wellbeing and the importance of work-life balance. Frequency therapy and EMF mitigation have both been proven to enhance physical mobility, mental wellness, and performance potential. For workplaces, this simply translates into healthier and happier employees.
Do you use any meditation, breathing or mind-calming practices that promote your mental wellbeing? We’d love to hear about all of them. How have they impacted your own life?
Yes, those things are very much a part of my usual daily routine. Currently, I’m enjoying the Wim Hof breathing method. It works wonders for improving your mood and overall sense of wellbeing. Plus, I also utilize solutions like grounding devices — which have anti-inflammatory effects and support faster body regeneration. And of course — the SOMAVEDIC is my go-to device, which I take with me everywhere. In addition to the EMF mitigation, it supports better focus and concentration and helps me stay calm.
As you know, there are a variety of communication tools such as video conferencing, phone, text, and push-to-talk. What changes or improvements would you suggest for these technologies to help foster better mental health?
My suggestion is to not overwhelm your people with countless online meetings. Modern technology makes it so convenient these days to work from practically any place in the world — at any time. However, at the same time, it makes us available 24/7. People need to be able to take time off away from work and to regroup. Only then will they be able to contribute their best work and be their most productive.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I am fortunate to already be in a position where I can genuinely say that SOMAVEDIC is my life’s mission. We are very much in the process of disrupting the Health and Wellness sector globally. Our devices offer users around the world protection against potentially harmful exposure to EMF, 4G, 5G and 24/7 Wi-Fi radiation at home or at work. On top of that, we are on a mission to change work environments holistically. Bringing more awareness about the quality of the air, water, and even the lighting in our workspaces and how all of it affects our mood, health, and productivity. Our legacy is every life we touch, and we truly believe we are changing lives simply because we care.
What is the best way our readers can further follow your work online?
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
