The recent parliamentary roundtable on Mindfulness meditation has been examining why mindfulness meditation is proving to be so popular in the modern day work place. As part of the Mindfulness Initiative originally set up by Exeter, Bangor and Oxford University, the group aims to look a number of topics including the quality of meditation teaching in a corporate environment and the role meditation plays in public policy.
If we look back over the last 10 years there have been many noticeable differences in the modern work place. The goliaths of the digital revolution and their accompanying beanbags have all played their part in ensuring the modern work environment has fundamentally changed the way we feel about work. A more welcoming environment to promote happy, hard working and dedicated employees.
This trend has continued to evolve into what we now call corporate wellbeing. A multitude of services, support and programs that are all designed to ensure the happiness and contentment of staff. The reasons for wanting to do this are far-reaching and diverse. Staff retention, attracting quality talent, productivity and fostering a culture of creativity and abstract thinking are all benefits that employers will get in return for these ethical and moral considerations.
One particular trend that is finding its way into the boardroom is corporate meditation. Everyone from city banks to media agencies are starting to embrace the concept. Apple has long promoted meditation to its employees, allowing employees 30 minutes each day to meditate.
Steve Jobs who regularly attended meditation retreats and was even married at a Zen ceremony first introduced the principal to the company. Arguably the mental concentration and clarity he received from meditation helped foster a culture of innovation and creativity that led to so many ground-breaking designs. Other companies adopting this new approach include Google, AOL Time Warner, Deutsche Bank and Procter and Gamble.
The purpose of these programs is to positively influence an employees feeling of wellbeing. It’s a term that we hear frequently and yet it’s still relatively difficult to quantify. David Cameron has tasked the Office for National Statistics to measure the nations “wellbeing” and not solely focus on statistics relating to economic recovery.
The definitions of wellbeing vary widely; they mean different things to different people. One definition states that there are three aspects to consider:
- The hedonic aspect refers to our feelings, emotions and levels of anxiety and happiness.
- The eudemonic aspect refers to an individual experiencing a sense of competence or meaning to their lives.
- The evaluative aspect refers to the way people evaluate their life, at work this recorded by measures of job satisfaction.
If there’s a large discrepancy or shortfall in any of these areas then it can affect, in some cases severely, our mental health and our ability to work efficiently.
The Chief Medical Officer’s (CMO) annual report focusing on the mental health of the nation, published on 9 September 2014, makes a number of recommendations relating to mental ill health and work. According to the report:
- 70 million working days were lost to mental illness last year at a cost of £70-100 billion cost to the economy.
- The number of working days lost to stress, depression and anxiety has increased by 24% since 2009 and the number of working days lost to serious mental illness has doubled.
- 60-70% of people with mental health issues are currently employed.
- 40.9% of those on Employment & Support Allowance had “mental and behavioural disorders “ as their primary condition.
With almost half a million people experiencing work related stress to the point where they’ve become ill, it’s of no real surprise that companies are starting to positively change their corporate culture to one of support and consideration towards their employees.
Not only is there a legal and moral duty to support their employees, but businesses both large and small, with the help of supporting research, are starting to understand that finding measures to manage stress can have a positive impact on the bottom line, staff retention, absenteeism and recruitment.
A study by the Swedish government found that the rate of mental health issues among the 35,000 people in the country who regularly practiced Transcendental Meditation program was 100 – 200 times lower than the rest of the population.
The primary objective for the study was to determine if meditation and other self-help techniques were actually increasing the risk of mental health related issues towards the population. 182 questionnaires were sent to 182 psychiatric care units where they found that for the general population of Sweden, the incidence for psychiatric hospital care was 1 in 20. Among regular meditators the number was 1 in 3,500. 150-200 times less that the general population.
At a time when there is still unfortunately a certain amount of social stigmatisation towards mental health, corporate wellbeing and the influx of corporate meditation programs may not just help improve efficiencies and revenue, but may be the first step to helping individuals achieve their full potential in all aspects of their lives.
About the author: Nick Huxsted works at Will Williams, a centre providing meditation in London, Geneva and Brighton. Providing individual training and corporate wellbeing programs. He is a regular contributor to Hip & Healthy.
