a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.
THE ISSUE
Through our research, we have looked deep into the heart of companies to find ways in which their employees can become more engaged and enthralled in their day-to-day lives in a professional setting. “Stress is the no. 1 epidemic of our civilization,” according to author Deepak Chopra. “Indirectly or directly, it’s related to things like insomnia, anxiety, fear, but [also] cardiovascular illness, inflammation in the body, heart disease, autoimmune illnesses. So meditation is a very effective way to start tackling this problem, this epidemic of stress.”
Think to the last time you were sitting at your desk at work, that may even be right now. Now think of how often your mind wandered or how often you were distracted by things like text messages, personal (and professional) emails, phone calls, social media, and the like. It’s probably much more than you may realize. In fact, research has shown that our minds wander 50% of the time which can have a detrimental effect on everything from productivity to stress levels.
THE SOLUTION
What’s a company or even employee supposed to do to remain productive throughout their day and focused on their day-to-day tasks? For some, it can seem as if this is an impossible feat in the age of technology. However, this isn’t the case, it’s even more so the opposite. Mindfulness has been proven to boost everything from morale to productivity to many things in between.
Countless studies have been done regarding the effects of mindfulness in the workplace and beyond. According one study, after two weeks of mindfulness training, participants found an “increased sense of well-being, decreased emotional exhaustion at work, and even increased job satisfaction.” The benefits of mindfulness have been proven time and time again; some statistics on people who practice it have included results like:
- Heart rate, respiration, blood pressure and oxygen consumption are all decreased.
- People who deliberated daily were less fearful of death.
- Production of the stress hormone Cortisol is greatly decreased, thus making it possible for those people to deal with stress better when it occurs.
- Women with PMS showed symptom improvements after 5 months of steady daily rumination and reflection.
- Thickness of the artery walls decreased which effectively lowers the risk of heart attack or stroke by 8% to 15%.
- Relaxation therapy was helpful in chronic pain patients.
- 60% of anxiety prone people showed marked improvements in anxiety levels after 6-9 months.
These benefits aren’t solely personal either. In fact, many companies have found tremendous success in the workplace by providing their employees with opportunities and practice mindfulness throughout their day.
Organizations and businesses alike have an incredible opportunity to develop a life-changing experience for their employees by giving them the tools for success and helping them succeed both in and outside of the workplace. We have found that when companies actively participate in their employee’s goals both personally and professionally, the results can be staggering.
Through daily and weekly mindfulness practices, you can elevate your company to its fullest potential and provide your employees with a desire to push themselves and the company further.
Stats On the Importance of Mindfulness within the Workplace:
- The connection between mindfulness and well-being has been a consistent finding in almost 10 years of research. One study found that two weeks of mindfulness training increased well-being, decreased emotional exhaustion at work, and even increased job satisfaction. (Source)
- Use mindfulness to help clients: become more self-aware (70%); be calmer or less anxious (59%); manage stress (55%); be more centred (55%); manage reactions or responses (51%); gain clarity (47%); improve their wellbeing (45%); be more emotionally intelligent (39%); and see the bigger picture (36%), among other reasons. (Source)
- Aetna estimates that since instituting its mindfulness program, it has saved about $2,000 per employee in healthcare costs, and gained about $3,000 per employee in productivity. (Source)
