From Cult Survivor to Wellness Expert: Why Your Office Needs More Than Just Pink Posters
- Chris Gore
- 10 hours ago
- 6 min read
When was the last time you truly felt connected at work?
Not the surface-level "how was your weekend" chat by the coffee machine. Not the forced team-building exercise that everyone dreads. But genuine, meaningful connection that makes you feel like you actually belong.
If you're struggling to answer that question, you're not alone. And according to mental health consultant and author Petra Velzeboer, this crisis of meaning and connection is destroying modern workplaces from the inside out.
In our latest Future Workplace podcast episode, Petra shared her extraordinary journey from being born into a religious cult, through the depths of addiction, to becoming one of the leading voices on workplace mental health and digital wellness. Her story isn't just inspiring—it's a masterclass in what actually matters when we design workspaces and workplace cultures for the next five years.
The Origin Story Nobody Expects
"I was born and raised in a religious cult," Petra begins, with a directness that immediately commands attention. "So I kind of was raised in one of the most toxic environments that you could think of."
Growing up across India, Brazil, Russia, and Kenya, Petra's childhood was defined by mission-driven community living. But beneath the surface of helping others lurked control, coercion, and extremism. They didn't go to school. They believed the world would end every three years.
When the cult's founder died and Petra was 13, cracks began to appear. "I led a double life for a number of years," she explains. "On the one hand, I knew how to play the game within the community. But then on the flip side, I would see my sister and just live this hedonistic life of alcohol, drugs, escapism."
The catalyst for change came at 23 when she fell pregnant with her son. Moving to London seven months pregnant, cutting off her entire past, she faced the terrifying reality of starting again: no education, no contacts, no understanding of how the system worked.
"I spiraled into addiction myself, depression, suicidal ideation, the full works," Petra admits. "I would be standing over my kitchen sink washing dishes with tears streaming down my cheeks, just like the most hopeless human you've ever seen."
The Two-Week Experiment That Changed Everything
Five years into sobriety, with life finally looking good, Petra made what she calls a dangerous experiment. Dating someone who didn't understand addiction, she convinced herself that maybe she could drink again. Maybe it was just depression back then.
It took two weeks for absolute carnage.
"I was checking the hood of my car to see if I killed anyone because I had driven in blackout," she reveals. "And I was standing over my sink crying, thinking my life's pointless. Within two weeks, that exact same scene in a totally different house, a totally different environment, was what took place again."
This brutal honesty about addiction—and the Matthew Perry-esque reality that "every minute that I'm awake, I'm trying to avoid that first drink"—cuts through the typical wellness narrative. Petra isn't selling quick fixes or morning routines that require waking up at 4 AM for ice plunges.
Instead, she offers something more powerful: "Just do the next right thing."
Why Your Wellness Strategy Is Probably Broken
Now 17 years sober and running a thriving mental health consultancy, Petra has seen it all when it comes to workplace wellness initiatives. And most of it makes her cringe.
"I've worked with construction companies where their well-being strategy is yoga classes and the posters are purple and pink," she says bluntly. "I mean, stop. It's just someone's ticked the box."
The problem isn't yoga or meditation or gym memberships. The problem is that organizations are treating wellness as an add-on, a perk, something separate from the actual work of business. They're asking "what do we do when someone's struggling?" instead of "how do we create environments where people can thrive?"
The real issues facing workplaces today are:
Information overload - Multiple departments (DEI, ESG, Culture, etc.) competing for attention and budget, bombarding employees with initiatives
Generational friction - Five generations in the workplace with vastly different expectations about boundaries, mental health, and work-life balance
Technology overwhelm - AI supposedly making us more efficient, but actually stacking more meetings, more learning, more "do your work afterwards"
The efficiency paradox - Hour-long meetings back-to-back with no recovery time, leading to burnt-out leaders operating in fight-or-flight mode
"When we're in survival mode, we make terrible leadership decisions," Petra explains. "We're blaming, we lack trust, we're not taking time for connection."
The Digital Wellness Wake-Up Call
Perhaps Petra's most urgent message centers on our relationship with technology. As someone who's raised teenagers and works with organizations globally, she's witnessed firsthand how our devices have become sophisticated avoidance mechanisms.
"Our digital devices and addictions are the best way to avoid feeling how you feel," she says. "And why is that a problem? Because when we never feel our feelings, they stack up in our body and mind."
The statistics on depression, anxiety, burnout, and male suicide rates tell the story. But so does your algorithm.
Petra has a brilliant diagnostic question she asks friends: "What's your algorithm showing you?" Your YouTube recommendations, your social media feed—they're mirrors reflecting who you actually are, not who you think you are.
Her definition of digital wellbeing is refreshingly simple: Technology supports your intentions, not the other way around.
When technology aligns with your goals, you can reach siblings anywhere in the world, work remotely, learn anything. When it doesn't, you're doom-scrolling at 2 AM, feeling empty despite the dopamine hits. She breaks all of this down in her latest book which you can get here.
What This Means for Your Office in 2026
So how does all of this translate to office design and workplace strategy over the next five years?
Petra's advice challenges the conventional wisdom:
Stop thinking in extremes. Offices that are completely open-plan for "connection" often create noisy, unsafe environments. (Petra herself has PTSD and can't work in spaces where doors slam.) But private offices with no collaborative spaces kill spontaneous interaction.
Make in-office time purposeful. If people are commuting two hours to sit on Zoom calls all day, question why. When you ask people to come in, create opportunities for the meaningful connection that remote work can't replicate.
Design for different needs. Some need quiet focus spaces. Others need collaborative zones. The best workplaces offer choice and flexibility based on the actual work being done.
Lead by example. The most powerful thing leaders can do is model healthy boundaries. Put "pick up my kids" in your calendar. Talk about how you invest in yourself. Show vulnerability.
But here's the critical piece that ties it all together: Your technology needs to enable these intentions, not work against them.
If your meeting rooms don't work reliably, people won't come in. If your video conferencing creates friction, remote connection fails. If your office technology creates stress instead of reducing it, you're undermining every other wellness initiative.
The Next Right Thing for Your Workplace
Petra's journey from cult survivor to mental health expert to digital wellness author wasn't linear. It was messy, painful, and required immense bravery. But it taught her something crucial: transformation happens one small step at a time.
"Do the next right thing," she repeats. "Just do the next right thing."
For your workplace, that next right thing might be questioning a "paper wall"—those assumptions about how work has to be done that nobody challenges. It might be having one tech-free meeting per week. It might be calling a team member just to say "I noticed this thing you did."
Or it might be ensuring that the technology foundation of your workspace actually supports human connection instead of hindering it.
Ready to Transform Your Workplace Technology?
Creating meaningful connection in modern workplaces requires technology that actually works. But with five generations, hybrid work models, and rapidly evolving tools, how do you know what AV solutions your organization actually needs?
Take our AV Questionnaire and receive a personalized report showing exactly what type of AV partner can support your unique workplace vision: www.sporgroup.net/avreport
In just a few minutes, you'll get clarity on the technology strategies that align with your goals for connection, collaboration, and culture over the next five years.
Because the future of work isn't just about where we work—it's about how we work together.
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