It’s just after Christmas. His young child runs off and Helder wants to chase after him. He can’t manage it. Too heavy, too tired – he’s been neglecting his body for too long. A brief, almost trivial moment. And yet the moment when something shifts within him.
The dream job
Helder has been fascinated by technology ever since he was a child. He studied engineering in Portugal and later joined a major Canadian corporation. The company brought him to Switzerland, where he took charge of the after-sales division and looked after dealers and customers across Europe. He spent half his time on the road. It was exactly what he wanted. ‘He lived for his job,’ he says of himself.
The smile as a façade
Outwardly, Helder always seems in good spirits. But there’s a flip side to that smile. He eats irregularly, sleeps poorly, and loses sight of his family and himself. The more he works, the more tasks land on his desk. Eventually, it all comes crashing down. He makes mistakes, stops looking after his team, wants to achieve even more, and grows increasingly tired in the process. A vicious circle. On top of that, there are toxic colleagues who get on his nerves. Slowly, the joy of a job he actually loves begins to fade.
A new beginning, a relapse
The period after Christmas becomes a turning point. Helder begins to rebuild his life. He eats better, takes up sport and reads book after book on how to bring about change. What particularly surprises him is just how much of an impact exercise has on mental health and how much depends on sleep. Three years in Barcelona do him a world of good. But back in Switzerland, things get tougher again. The stress mounts, and he sees no way out. Until he realises that there’s another world outside the company. “I have two children and a wife, and I was the only one working. That was a huge risk.”
The decision at the spa
Helder didn’t actually want to go along when his wife suggested visiting a spa. Yet it was precisely there that he made the decision that would change his life: together, they wanted to bring wellbeing to employees within companies. Massages, nutrition plans, meditation for employees - Helder's company offers all these services. This had nothing to do with engineering, and at first Helder had no in-depth knowledge of this new line of business. He handed in his notice anyway.
His father and relatives thought he was mad. Giving up such a good job for the uncertainty? Helder can hardly explain it. He just senses it, and it feels completely natural. “But somehow it all worked out,” he says today.
Selling what you believe in
Of all things, Helder used to dislike sales. Today he enjoys it, because he’s selling what matters to him personally and what others really need. He feels this every day: a twenty-minute massage in the office is sometimes enough to make people burst into tears, such is the level of tension. Office workers are mainly stressed, whilst factory workers tend to struggle with physical ailments, he explains.
Then came Covid. There was great fear that fewer people would be in the offices and that orders would dry up. Looking back, the opposite happened: Many companies have realised just how important their employees’ health is to them.
What he would do differently
Does Helder have any regrets? Perhaps, he says, he could have managed the transition in parallel. His old company shared his values; he actually felt at home there, and the job security was not to be underestimated. And yet he stands by his decision: “If you’re so convinced that you’re doing something good, then there’s always a solution.”
Sleep as a barometer
Helder gauges how he’s doing today by the quality of his sleep. “I’m currently sleeping much better, have less stress and more control over my life,” he says. He advises others not to wait. There are always opportunities to take action. Helder has found his place; he’s happy and fulfilled. And he’s running again.
