Mindfulness is defined as awareness of moment-to-moment experience – paying attention to the here and now with an appreciative, open and nonjudgmental attitude and spirit of enquiry.
Mindfulness training uses scientifically-proven techniques to help employees develop:
- self-management skills
- social-emotional awareness
- interpersonal skills.
- attention and concentration
- relaxation and improved mind-body awareness
- enhanced overall health and wellness.
Job Stress Costs Canada $12 Billion a Year
Employers know that decision-making skills, creativity, problem-solving skills, focus, and concentration are all compromised by prolonged, ongoing stress.
Productivity lost due to work-overload and feelings of burn-out are the most commonly-cited reasons for employee absenteeism. Emotional distress and mental illness account for 20-30% of all employee absenteeism. 70 – 90% of all illnesses and employee hospital visits have been linked to job-related stress.
The Mindful Workplace Key to Innovation & Productivity
Research into the effects of mindfulness meditation programs along with an increasing number of hospitals, health centres, corporations, prisons, universities all over the world agree that mindfulness meditation gets results – human resourcefulness and creativity is activated and enhanced in a state of inner calm and relaxation. Memory improves, as does the ability to envision options, shift perspective, see opportunities, collaborate and discover solutions.
According to the National Institutes of Health, the University of Massachusetts and the Mind/Body Medical Institute at Harvard University, meditation enhances the qualities companies need most from their knowledge workers:
- increased brain-wave activity
- enhanced intuition
- better concentration
- alleviation of the kinds of aches and pains that plague employees most.
Early Adaptors value Mindfulness Training
Companies worldwide are incorporating the use of mindfulness practices into their Human Resources tool box. Early adaptors recognize the value of workplace mindfulness programs to generate positive results in executive performance, leadership development, employee engagement, employee retention, customer service and bottom-line results. They include:
- AOL Time Warner Inc
- Aetna
- Apple Computer
- AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals
- Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton
- Deutsche Bank
- General Mills
- Hughes Aircraft
- IBM
- McKinsey
- Medtronic
- Nortel Networks
- Pacific Investment Management Co.,
- Raytheon
- Reebok
- Starbucks
- Target
- United Online Inc.
- Xerox
- Yahoo!
Mindfulness Research
“…By practicing meditation, we can play an active role in changing the brain and can increase our well-being and quality of life.” says Britta Hölzel, PhD, a research fellow at MGH and Giessen University in Germany.Learn more in this Science News January 21, 2011 article
More recently, in an article published October 25, 2012 in Frontiers in Human Neurosicence, David R. Vago* and David A. Silbersweig “provide an integrative theoretical framework and systems-based neurobiological model that explains the mechanisms by which mindfulness reduces biases related to self-processing and creates a sustainable healthy mind.”
Research indicates that Mindfulness Training in the Workplace results in
- improved self-esteem
- increased coping and stress management skills
- enhanced ability to relax and enjoy life
- improved energy and greater sense of happiness
- improved work-related performance
- enhanced ability to respond (rather than react) to situations
- improved concentration and mental focus
- enhanced self-management skills
Inspiration
You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose. Indira Gandhi
Awareness is the greatest agent of choice!
Mindfulness Training and Coaching Services
Mindfulness training and coaching are proven methods of helping organizations develop their leadership capacity, address and overcome employee engagement and productivity challenges.
About Julia von Flotow
