Why should you promote mindfulness in the workplace?
Mindfulness has been shown to have great benefits for employee productivity and health. This, in turn, translates into success for your business and helps to tackle major problems such as distracted and sick employees that every business leader struggles with.
Find out more about why mindfulness in the workplace is such a great tool and how Flexi Personnel's HR Consultants can help.
How mindfulness improves concentration and work quality
More companies are catching onto the benefits that come from encouraging mindfulness in the workplace.
One example of a company that successfully encouraged employees to practise mindfulness is an insurance business called Aetna. The company leaders taught employees mindfulness techniques such as how to take short breaks and clear their minds with meditation and yoga.
This was enormously successful, according to the Harvard Business Review writers Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage and Before Happiness, and Michelle Gielan, a University of Pennsylvania psychology researcher. The organisation calculated cost savings and found that, on average, the people who were mindful gained 62 minutes of productivity a week, which was an increase in productivity of about $3,000 per employee for the business.
Why was there such a boost in productivity? Ellen Langer, a Harvard social psychology professor, explains that mindfulness, or "noticing," is an act of engagement. This, she says, allows people to spend less time worrying about making the right decision and more time worrying about making the decision right. If you're present, you're able to focus more on the task at hand and therefore less likely to make mistakes.
How do you encourage people to practise mindfulness?
On Aetna's website, it suggests tactics for making sure that mindfulness is an appealing tool for employees.
People want to see the facts that something works.
It says that motivating employees to share their personal experiences has proved to be effective. "Word of mouth" recommendations are more powerful because they are more personal and this is especially important when suggesting something relating to wellbeing.
Furthermore, Aetna says that companies should present quantitative data to show there are tangible benefits to mindfulness. While personal stories are well and good, people want to see the facts that something works if they're going to take time out of their busy work schedule to try out a wellness program. For instance, Aetna was able to boast that stress levels dropped by 28 per cent, sleep improved by 20 per cent and pain reduced by 19 per cent.
Contact Flexi Personnel's HR Consultants to find out more about how we can help you transform your workplace by making mindfulness part of the culture.
