Innovation of the Day: The Dawn

Asia’s first retreat for burnt-out executives

A Thailand-based rehab and wellness center, The Dawn, launched a therapeutic retreat for burnt-out executives in Q2 2019, the first of its kind in Asia. The program is designed to help overworked executives cope with and prevent workplace stress. Participants undergo a psychological evaluation and are involved in activities such as personal training, meditation, yoga, one-on-one and group therapy, trauma release sessions and transcranial magnetic stimulation treatments. The cost of the two-week program is USD 6,000.

In a world that glorifies performative workaholism and #hustle culture, burnout has become a global issue. But today’s example is one of the latest to signal the turning tide. Here are two key takeaways for you:

💡Commitment to wellbeing. Thanks to rising consumer awareness of the medical consequences of burnout — including diabetes and death — the ‘self-care’ industry is now worth USD 11 billion (HBR, August 2018). Not a surprise, considering almost half of Americans have cried at work. This represents a massive consumer need — and an opportunity — for businesses to serve. Okay, you’re probably not going to start offering transcranial magnetic stimulation to customers. But what can you do to show a commitment to their personal wellbeing?

💡Internal culture. We love that this is the first burnout retreat in Asia, a region that actually has a term — “karoshi” — for death by overwork. One of our Asian Trends for 2019, ANTI-AFFLUENZA, explored how Asians’ primary pursuit is shifting from economic wealth to personal wellbeing, and the sentiment has only escalated; see the recent backlash to Jack Ma’s 996 comments. One implication? Consumers are now looking to the businesses they engage with to treat their own people better. Thai corporations are adopting online mental health platforms, while Japanese companies are paying employees to sleep. In a world in which internal culture is a part of your public-facing brand, it’s time you asked: are you taking steps to ensure the wellbeing of your employees?

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