Wholely™ is a digital wellness platform that offers whole-person care for preventative health issues, starting with burnout. The platform helps professionals recover from burnout and build preventative health lifestyle habits through evidence-based digital pathways, group coaching, and community so they can live healthier and happier lives with more energy.
Read on to learn more about why I started a life-changing platform that encourages working professionals to live healthier and joy-filled lives:
When I landed in the ER after working around the clock for years on Wall Street, it was a wake-up call for me. I was exhausted, in an extraordinary amount of pain, and couldn’t do the most basic of tasks for months. I realized that no matter how ambitious I was or how much I loved my work to the point of using most of my time and energy on it, I am not a machine; I am human after all. After multiple diagnoses, in-depth research, and talking with professionals, I took time off to recover from burnout and design my own ‘wellbeing operating system.’
Despite having leadership training and degrees from schools like Columbia and NYU, I realized none of us are taught how to recognize and take care of our health needs as whole human beings. After watching friends and family members across industries and age ranges struggle to find the same balance I sought, I began training as a well-being coach and mentoring them on how to recover.
This was an issue that didn't only affect me or the people on Wall Street. In fact, Burnout has been classified as a workplace syndrome by the World Health Organization that can predict other preventable chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, high cholesterol, gastrointestinal issues, respiratory problems, and even death below the age of 45. It is a gateway to conditions that can have lifelong effects and could have been prevented.
This problem has only grown worse with the pandemic as people across walks of life struggled to balance their work-life. 89% of employees feel burned out and 42% are quitting due to burnout. This syndrome results in employees spending $125 billion annually and employers spending $68 billion annually in the U.S. on medical expenses related to burnout. Additionally, for the employer, the cost of replacing an individual employee can range from one-half to two times the employee's annual salary. As a society, the U.S. economy loses $500 billion from stress and lost workdays each year.
In order to bridge the gap between the recommended positive behavioral changes for lifestyle medicine that doctors, therapists, and wellness coaches recommend and the daily implementation of those practices in the lives of busy professionals, I believe the platform can be a transformative experience for everyone. Unlike other solutions that address only one aspect of well-being, such as physical health, our whole-person model fills the gap between the recommendation and implementation of healthy habits across the whole self, including mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being dimensions.
My passion for self-improvement, my experience as a healthcare investor, and my own encounter with severe burnout all inspired me to launch Wholely™. Together, our team uses evidence-based techniques from lifestyle medicine, cognitive behavior therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, positive psychology, mindfulness, and soul-based leadership for healing across the mind, body, and soul. We utilize the most proven methods for helping people remove their inner blocks so they can realize their wholeness and achieve whatever goals they set. We equip our members with the mindset, tools, and techniques they need to build sustainable habits and live the life they dream of.
Wholely™ is led and built by business professionals who themselves successfully recovered from severe cases of burnout. We’ve designed the entire experience with busy professionals in mind, with short content length, convenient meeting times, and flexibility. Beyond being a pure tech platform, our coaches and weekly support groups that members can join offer personalized guidance, encouragement, and accountability from others that are actively seeking to better their health. Sharing thoughts with a community of like-minded individuals and reducing loneliness is one of the many positive side effects of our platform.
Our platform strives to improve the lives of our community members so they can live with energy, joy, and purpose. It is supported by research and directed by wellbeing experts. Our aim to prevent chronic illnesses that burnout can cause, improve health outcomes, and lower medical costs for both employees and employers is driven by this vision.
The company name is a play on the words "whole" and "wholly", which means fully. Come join us on your journey to healing and living Wholely™.
Written By: Heran Getachew (MBA ‘17)
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