How a near -death experience can change the way you live

WHats happens when someone comes close to death and then returns to everyday life, including work? Experience can be transformative for some.

Near -death experiences (NDES) are deeply personal experiences that some people report on a close brush with death.

These experiences can encompass sensations such as floating over one's own body, check moments from one's own life, encounter spiritual beings and feel a deep feeling of unity and love.

Although NDEs have been examined since the 1970s, we know relatively little about how they influence people after the event. Studies indicate that people with almost death experiences can feel increased empathy, spiritual growth, a sense of purpose and even changing their approach to their work.

In our most recent study, it was examined how the experiences of nearby people affect people's return. We interviewed 14 working adults who had an experience nearby due to medical crises such as a heart attack or accidents such as a car accident.

What we found challenges conventional ideas for success, motivation and workplace culture.

Do meaningful work

One of the most common changes in the participants in our study was the desire to do work that felt sensible and was brought into harmony with their newly discovered purpose.

After their close death experiences, many time wanted to spend work that was important to them and made a positive difference.

“I was not interested in doing nonsense … I didn't want to waste my time with nonsense,” a participant told us. Her perspective shifted dramatically after her heart had beaten unusual for 20 minutes and she lost consciousness.

Other describes similar shifts. Many participants changed their career by concentrating on various labor priorities, changed jobs or even found their own companies.

One participant described after terminating a highly earning job after being a headhinted. She founded her own business, which made it possible for her to use her own NDE to support individuals during the end of life.

As a participant put it:

“I would like to say that when I woke up in this hospital bed, I knew that the character I played no longer worked for myself and I had to change the characters and to change this character to change this job.”

Rethink motivation

Another significant postponement reported by the participants was a repreiority of their values, which in turn changed their attitudes to work and their career.

After many experience had experienced near death, many interest in external success measures such as salary, unusual titles and prestige lost. In the participants of the study, everyone was reported that they were no longer motivated by extrinsic factors such as money or recognition for the work.

Instead, they focused on internal orientation and authenticity. Instead of being driven by external rewards, the participants were motivated by personal growth and a positive difference.

At some workplaces, the motivation of the employees is driven by extrinsic incentives such as bonuses, advertising campaigns or external recognition. According to their NDEs, however, the participants stated that they were driven by their own internal benchmarks or their own purpose.

As one of our respondents said:

“The motivation that was there came from this very strange, deep place that I suddenly wanted to have a big influence, you know, in every part of my life … it is difficult to get out of this experience and not to feel that there is a reason why you are here and you hate to say it, but you feel that you now have this special gift.

Relational transformations

We also found that almost dead experiences changed the way people interacted with others at work and were associated with others. This is in accordance with previous examinations that show different personality and attitude changes reported by the survivors of NDEs.

In particular, the individual prospects for life change and can serve as catalysts for transformation in order to influence the way people are related to others.

Before their near -death experience, many participants regarded job relationships as task -oriented and transactional. But after that, the same relationships made more sense for them.

Colleagues, customers and customers were no longer viewed as business contacts. Instead, several participants spoke of their service and sales interactions as small files of relationship structure, rather than just exchanging economic exchanges.

One participant said:

“My relationships across the board are deeper, are more connected to people, a hundred percent … I was a decent seller before, but this is like spirituality in a sales position of quote that comes to mind.”

Lessons for the rest of us

What does that mean for those of us who have not had near -death experience?

The participants in our study said that they reoriented their close death experiences, which is really important in life. The after -effects require traditional organizational values ​​that celebrate hyperproductivity at the expense of importance and high -quality relationships.

As previous studies suggest, employees who deal with meaningful work ultimately show greater productivity and performance in contrast to burnout due to revisions.

Since the interest in well-being in the workplace continues to increase-especially after Covid-19 and the “big resignation”-the survivors of the curve may be preceded.

The aftermath of a close death experience is what workers want from their workplaces. In general, employees want to satisfy three basic needs: economic security, sensible work and high -quality relationships.

Our results suggest that NDE subsequent effects reduce the importance of satisfying the drive for economic security and to increase the importance of meaningful work and authentic relationships.

The stories of survivors of the near death experience offer a kind of blueprint for the redesign of our work. For employees, this could mean that the re -assessment of the success of what the success looks like, or to explore roles that match the personal values ​​more closely. For employers, it can be about promoting cultures in the workplace, prioritizing the connection, purpose and well -being.

One participant offers a permanent memory for everyone who is looking for more meaning in our lives and in our lives: “It's about relationships, not about success.”

Akierah Binns is a doctoral student at the University of Guelph

Jamie Gruman is a professor of organizational behavior at the University of Guelph

This article was originally published in conversation and is published again as part of a Creative Commons license. Read that Original article