Elke Van Hoof

At a glance

• Elke Van Hoof is a clinical psychologist with a PhD in psychological sciences. At Vrije Universiteit Brussel she teaches medical and health psychology and primary care psychology.
• She specialises in trauma, stress, burnout and return to work, and is also a guest lecturer at Vlerick Business School.
• She founded Huis voor Veerkracht, an expertise centre for stress, burnout, resilience and return to work. She is also the face of Oh My People, which supports organisations with stress prevention, leadership and return to work.
• Her books include First Aid for Stress and Burnout, published in Dutch, English and French, as well as Weer aan de slag, De Chief Happiness Officer and Burn-out in de zorg.
• She is a regular voice in the Flemish media on work stress and burnout, and hosts the podcast Stress als BFF.
• Her message is that stress can serve as an inner compass rather than a toxic threat, provided people and organisations respond to it in time.
• For healthy ageing this matters because prolonged stress often comes at the expense of sleep, eating habits and exercise.
• Takeaway: take signals such as persistent fatigue, poor sleep and irritability seriously, and discuss them with your GP early.