If you died and then came back to life, how would the experience change how you spend your time at work?
My research assistant and I were interested in this question, so we conducted a study to find out.
Near-death experiences, or NDEs, are intense, mystical experiences that some people report having during a close brush with death as a result of an accident like a car crash, or a medical emergency like a heart attack. Common features of NDEs include floating outside of your body, finding yourself in a dark tunnel, speeding toward a brilliant light that envelops you in peace and love, meeting spiritual beings, and choosing or being forced to return to your body.
We interviewed 14 working adults who had gone through an NDE and asked them how it had affected their working lives.
All of our interviewees reported being drastically changed by their NDE. These changes occurred largely because of new insights they gained during the experience, such as learning that consciousness continues after death, that each person has a unique purpose in life, and that we are all part of a collective oneness.
These insights and personal transformations changed the way they approached their careers in three main ways.
First, they were no longer interested in external measures of success. Whereas before their NDEs, they were focused on climbing the corporate ladder, making a lot of money, and generally chasing outward signs of material success, that all changed after the NDE. Their interest in achieving external measures of success plummeted. As one participant said, “Before the NDE it was about boats and big houses and Range Rovers and trips and shopping. That doesn’t really matter anymore.”
Second, they only wanted to spend time on meaningful pursuits. Many reported that after their NDE, they lost motivation to invest themselves in what they perceived as pointless work. As one participant said, “I just was not gonna waste my time on nonsense… I felt like time was precious.” It became tremendously important for people to work in ways that aligned with what they perceived as their purpose in life, so they often changed jobs or changed how they approached their work. Once they made these changes, their motivation returned and even increased, because they felt like they were on a mission.
Third, they focused on cultivating strong relationships. A common insight of the NDE involved learning about the importance of love, empathy, and the unity of humanity. As a result, after their NDEs, participants’ relationships often changed. They became more loving toward others and themselves, took more interest in colleagues and customers, and even viewed financial transactions as supporting relationships. As one participant put it, “the money being transferred between me and clients is now more valuable. It’s not the concept, I gave you a service, you pay me money for it. Now it is, I was blessed by your presence. Thank you for choosing me… It’s more valuable. It’s more connected.”
In sum, people clearly changed how they approached their careers after an NDE, and these changes gave them a heightened sense of purpose, fulfillment, and joy. An interesting and unanticipated finding from this study is that the ways in which people reoriented themselves toward their careers after an NDE parallel the priorities that appear to foster well-being. For instance, research shows that well-being is promoted by pursuing intrinsic goals such as having satisfying relationships, as opposed to extrinsic goals such as financial success.
So, our study suggests that NDEs orient people toward the factors that promote well-being and the good life. It appears that people who have almost died can show the rest of us how to live.
