News & Insights

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Register — Courage to be Kind: The Surprising Power and Benefits of Kindness

We all know we should be kinder, yet many opportunities to do so escape us. But did you know that we are also wired towards kindness? Doing good makes us and others feel good. Kindness is powerful with research showing that being kind boosts your energy and happiness, and even increases your lifespan, preventing pain and anxiety. In this PurposeCast, Vic Strecher will speak with Brandon Peele to explore ways to build your kindness muscle, both to harness its benefits and to bridge differences with others.

July 22, 2021

Kumanu Partners with Aunt Bertha to Better Connect Employees to Community-based Resources

Austin-based Public Benefit Corporation teams up with Kumanu to help employers solve social, mental, and economic challenges — often called Social Determinants of Health. Aunt Bertha connects people seeking help with verified social care providers and resources, improving the way companies support their employees, helping people meet their essential needs with dignity and ease. This partnership expands the abilities of our recently-launched employer-based solution, Resourceful, which supports employers by addressing employee essential needs not traditionally addressed with employer-based solutions such as food, transportation, and childcare.

July 20, 2021

Future of Work Fuels Kumanu’s Record Growth

“The silver lining in a very difficult 2020 is that a growing number of diverse employers discovered the powerful impact purpose and a people-centered approach to wellbeing can have on their people’s lives and on their ability to retain and bring out the best in their people,” Strecher said. Amid its rapid growth, Kumanu secured a round of Series A funding and launched key partnerships with ProMedica, the Harris Poll, and the South Carolina Hospital Association, among others. It expanded globally to service employees in major markets like the UK, Canada, Australia, the EU, and elsewhere.

July 7, 2021

Watch — Livestream: Is your wellbeing strategy keeping up with changing employee needs?

Employee wellbeing is changing. For good. And organizations today must move their wellbeing strategy from a sideshow solely focused on exercise and nutrition to something central to your employee experience, centered around the new wellbeing outcomes: meaning, purpose, connection, authenticity, inclusion, and growth. But where should you start to rethink your approach to employee wellbeing?

June 28, 2021

July Newsletter — Bridging the gap in employee wellbeing

As pandemic regulations and realities rapidly shift, and our doors begin to reopen, your employees need more support than ever. But even though it feels like we’re finally seeing the horizon and hearing answers to questions that have kept us awake for over a year, we’re all wounded by the impact of COVID, social injustice, and lingering uncertainty. Organizations need to move their wellbeing strategy from a sideshow solely focused on broccoli and treadmills to something central to your core employee experience, focused on new wellbeing outcomes: meaning, purpose, connection, authenticity, inclusion, and growth.

June 24, 2021

Watch — Mindset: The Power and Impact Our Beliefs Have on Our Lives

Few of us have been spared adversity this past year– we’ve collectively endured a pandemic and reckoned with upheavals of norms and comforts we once enjoyed. Whether we faced these challenges head-on or avoided them depends on our mindsets. Mindset is what we feel and believe about our talents and capabilities and has a profound effect on how we lead our lives. In this PurposeCast, Heidi Grant, Ph.D., a former student of Carol Dweck, will help us understand how to shift our mindset towards growth

June 17, 2021

Research Minute – Retain talent with Purpose

How can you close those gaps and make your organization a place people want to stay? Start by re-centering your approach around the new wellbeing drivers: meaning, purpose, connection, authenticity, inclusion, and growth. Employees who report their employer supports their personal purpose are 3.5 times as likely to have a strong sense of dignity at work — and as a result, they are 2.3 times more likely to stick around / not leave for greener pastures.

June 15, 2021

Watch — Employee needs have changed. Has your wellbeing strategy?

The cracks were there; events of the past year widened them. Today, 2 in 3 employees struggle with anxiety, 1 in 3 face food insecurity, 4 in 10 lack purpose at work, 1 in 4 plan to leave. And 2 in 3 leaders report programs today fall short. Wellbeing is changing. For good. Join us to learn how to offer more of what employees expect today: authenticity, equity, and programs centered on social and emotional wellbeing. See new research and real-world results from diverse settings.

May 27, 2021

Kumanu Supports Mental Health Month

Announcing updates to our emotional and social wellbeing platform, Purposeful, and the date for or upcoming PurposeCast “Taming Your Inner Voice: Transforming the Critic Into Your Strongest Guide.” The event is open to the public and designed especially to support Mental Health Month with evidence-based ways people can harness their inner voice for good.

May 18, 2021

Listen — Taming Your Inner Voice: Transforming the Critic Into Your Strongest Guide

Do you talk to yourself? The voice in our heads can add richness to our lives, create meaning out of our experiences, and help us to solve problems. Few could imagine a life without it. Yet this voice can turn from companion to critic when it bombards us with incessant negative self-talk or “chatter”. Giving in to chatter can be debilitating for our moods, health, work, and relationships. But what if there was a way to control it?

May 17, 2021

Watch — HERO Learning Series Webinar: Time for a purpose-driven fresh start?

Dr. Strecher will present a model and supporting evidence for a purpose- and social determinants-driven approach to emotional self-regulation, resilience, and mental health. Vic will be joined by Kate Sommerfeld, President for Social Determinants of Health, from ProMedica, who will describe how their organization is supporting both their community and their employees in coping with the pandemic.

April 26, 2021

Watch — Job Purposing: Why Your Values at Work Makes You Happier and Healthier

Vic Strecher and Bea Boccalandro, founder and president of VeraWorks, a global consulting firm helping people find opportunities to do societal good through their everyday jobs, will walk us through job purposing and its benefits including higher job satisfaction, better performance, reduction in stress, and improved wellbeing. Through their stories and examples, you will learn why Bea encourages everyone to mess with their jobs for the greater good and how you can start doing the same today

April 19, 2021

Kumanu and ProMedica Co-launch Solution to Help Employers Identify and Address Employees’ Unmet Social and Economic Needs

Kumanu, a leading purpose-centered well-being technology firm, in partnership with ProMedica, a mission-based, not-for-profit integrated health and well-being organization, announced today the launch of a new employer-focused solution Resourceful. Powered by Kumanu’s PurposeCloud™ platform, Resourceful supports employers by addressing unrecognized Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) issues that can have a profound impact on employees’ quality of life and work.

March 23, 2021

Watch – Energize Your Life: How to Boost and Better Manage Your Energy

In this PurposeCast Dr. Vic Strecher explores personal energy management with Dr. Jim Loehr: world-renowned performance psychologist, author, and coach. Dr. Loehr has written over 17 books including the national best-seller The Power of Full Engagement. Co-founder of the Human Performance Institute, he has helped hundreds of top performers in sports, business, and medicine. In this conversation, you’ll learn why Dr. Loehr says “The ultimate measure of our lives is not how much time we spend on the planet, but rather how much energy we invest in the time that we have.”

March 18, 2021

Register – WELCOA Idea Collective Event: Workplace Resilience

Workplace Resilience takes center stage in Q1 of WELCOA’s Idea Collective series, and they’ve asked Kumanu Founder and CEO Vic Strecher, PhD, MPH, to share his expertise during week 3 of the series. Dr. Strecher will share his insights on how to use data-driven solutions to help employees take charge of overall wellbeing and improve resilience. Later in the week, Dr. Strecher join Stuart Chittendon, Founder of Squishtalks & host of the podcast Lives, for a Fireside chat to dive deeper into the topic.

February 26, 2021

Watch – Better Together: Community as a Powerful Antidote to Loneliness Even in a Pandemic

Despite our digitally connected world, we find ourselves living in the most lonely era in history. More than 60% of US adults report being either always or mostly lonely. And those numbers are pre-COVID-19. Each of us has the power to change this. We can learn to foster belonging and build deep communities at work and at home to help us feel more connected and defeat loneliness. In this PurposeCast, learn time-tested principles on how to create a culture of belonging.

February 16, 2021