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On September 26, 2024, Binqy was one of the finalists at the Next Gen Awards during the HR Technology Awards 2024 in Eindhoven. While they didn’t win the top prize, they proudly secured the public award. In a recent interview with Jelle Houben, the founder of Binqy, we discussed the company’s journey, its innovative approach to preventing psychological absenteeism among employees through scientific data-driven insights, and the challenges of tackling mental health in the workplace.
Can you tell me more about Binqy and how it all started?
“We started Binqy because a friend of ours experienced burnout, which led to severe depression. Unfortunately, she never recovered and passed away. That incident made us realize how burnout and psychological issues are increasing despite greater awareness. We kept hearing stories of mental health challenges, and despite HR teams being more involved and services like psychologists and confidential counselors being available, the numbers kept rising. So, we teamed up with experts, including Prof. Dr. Wilmar Schaufeli, one of the world’s leading researchers in this field. We focused on using the Job Demands-Resources model to provide preventative measures for mental well-being. At Binqy, we now provide tools to assess mental health early on, offering insights and training to employees, managers, and HR leadership to make data-driven decisions.”
Even though organizations are more aware than ever of rising absenteeism rates, the numbers still increase. Why do you think this is happening?
“There are several reasons. We see that psychological absenteeism is most common in people aged 26 to 42, particularly among women. It’s understandable because people go through intense life stages during this period—career pressure, family responsibilities, and even issues like menopause after this life stage. Additionally, there’s the growing challenge of work-life balance and pressure from social media, where people feel they must meet unrealistic ideals. This especially affects younger generations, who are dealing with expectations they can’t always meet.
With Gen Z, the challenge is keeping them engaged at work. They’re constantly exposed to the idea that everything should be fun and exciting, which can make retention difficult. I hope that the younger generations, like Gen Alpha, will be more resilient. However, it’s still too early to tell if they’ll face similar or new challenges as they grow older.”
What makes Binqy unique in the HR technology sector?
“What sets us apart is that we tackle all levels of an organization. We don’t just focus on employees—we also support managers and HR leadership. We offer insights to everyone, plus access to psychologists or coaches when necessary. The scientific foundation of our product is also unique, thanks to our collaboration with Wilmar Schaufeli. Many other platforms don’t have that level of scientific rigor, which gives us a real edge. We got in touch through mutual contacts and built a relationship with him and his son, who was working on a consultancy platform. We were fortunate that it aligned with what we were doing at Binqy.”
Is there a difference in absenteeism between white-collar and blue-collar workers?
“Yes, there’s a difference in how they deal with mental well-being. Front-line staff often face a larger stigma when it comes to discussing mental health issues. They don’t have the same flexibility to check in via well-being platforms, and addressing this challenge requires a different approach.”
What does a typical year with Binqy look like for clients?
“Our goal is for organizations to use Binqy continuously, not just for a year. We offer regular (or so-called pulse) check-ins and continuous reports where we make sure goals and progress are met. It’s not about ending with one big report at the end of the year; we provide insights through our dashboards in real-time, that are relevant for you and your personnel at this exact moment.”
How was the experience from self-nomination to receiving the public prize?
“It was smooth overall. One thing I would have liked was to see the other participants’ pitches during the semi-finals. That could have provided some interesting insights. We had a great evening and made valuable connections. The public prize drew a lot of attention to us. People came up to us afterward, wanting to set up meetings, so it ended up being a great result.”
Do you have any advice for future participants of the HR Technology Awards?
“Absolutely! If you’re involved in HR tech, and you feel like you fit within the event’s theme, you should participate. It’s a highly relevant event, and it was one of the best we’ve ever been a part of.”
What are Binqy’s plans?
“We’re continuing to develop our tools. If some of the big partnerships we’re working on come through next year, things will accelerate quickly. We want to keep building our “digital twin” concept, helping organizations monitor their emotional well-being in real time. There’s still so much potential with this technology, and we’re excited about where we can take it.”
