“I started from scratch at the age of 54 and it was the right decision”

Years of insecurity, toxic work environments, stress and anxiety caused Mallorca’s José Antonio Mateu to make a “radical change” in his life.

It’s never too late to start over. let them say José Antonio MateoRestarting life at the age of 54: “Starting from scratch was the best decision I’ve ever made”, yesterday, a few minutes before his speech at the conference, he reassured this newspaper. ‘Healthy Companies: committed and productive companies’.

From painting, he became the owner of a bar and later an advertisement. Far from finding happiness at work, José found it increasingly difficult to reconcile his private life with his work. “They were very toxic work environments for years.”he explains: “I took my work home with all my work, I didn’t disconnect. I slept in the basement of the bar I owned for a long time. I worked 24 hours, no free time and no vacations.” remembers.

When he got home one night, he couldn’t get out of the car. “I called a colleague and told him how I could be blocked, that I couldn’t move because I was stiff.”. It was the first anxiety attack for many. A short time later, a diagnosis came from his psychologist: stressanxiety, excessive responsibility, and also excessive empathy.

“The company’s problems were mine. It included me like everyone else because I know what it means to be an entrepreneur and I empathize with my bosses. He answered the phones at one o’clock in the morning. Of course, companies were happy with me,” he says. also dealing with an immersive job.

“I exploded, I was not omnipotent”

“I exploded. I couldn’t handle it all,” he sums up. That’s when it came to the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation’s Incorpora program. He was looking for a change that would make him happy. With the help of the program’s technicians, he quit his job, took two training courses and did an internship.

This is how the Mallorcan company came to the Cicle Carbon SL. works as a gardener on company landShe says: “Now I have a schedule, I do what I love and I can enjoy my children and my private life. I am happy.” After “radical change”, it still bears its consequences: “Those years affected me a lot. The stress messed up my endocrine system.”.

After all, despite entering a completely new and unknown world, José was not afraid: “I knew I was doing the right thing and I was lucky they helped me”. José Antonio, who is fond of travel and nature, has found a passion that has remained behind until now at the age of 54.

“They listen to me and take care of me in this job. Besides, I now have time for myself. I no longer have to choose between my children, friends or sports because I can do anything”, explains Mallorcan: “I discovered that life isn’t just about work, and I’m making my dreams come true.”

José Antonio’s statement was shown yesterday to attendees at the CaixaForum conference organized by the Impulsa programme. importance sanity in employment and well-being at work.