Meditation practices have moved from the New Age fringes to the decidedly-mainstream, and corporate well-being is everywhere these days. Industry leaders such as American Express, Ford, Google and Comcast have already added mindfulness training to their corporate culture.

There’s a reason for this: it works.

Research continues to show that corporate meditation and well-being programs have enormous potential for transforming the lives of participants. With the pandemic brought the explosion of remote trainings, opening the (virtual) door to study with the experts from all over the world from the comfort of y0ur desk.

Here at studio BE, we bring well-being training into the 21st-century workplace. At the heart of that mission is the belief that mindfulness and well-being training is a human-to-human experience. These practices are just as important for — and should be just as accessible to — Human Resources professionals as they are for Tibetan monks.

Meditation, movement, breathing practices, and other well-being approaches are rooted in the knowledge that we can use these practical, psychology-based mind-training tools to reduce human suffering. And if there's one thing that's certain, it's that everyone suffers: from CEOs to grocery clerks, to plumbers to professional athletes, we all age, experience loss and disappointment, grieve the deaths of loved ones, and struggle with minds that sometimes go off the rails: worrying about the future, stressing about the past, or planning the perfect retort to that argument we had last week.

So here are seven great reasons to bring mindfulness training into your workplace:

  1. Mindfulness makes employees less miserable. We're teaching folks skills for being alive in the world: for finding work/life integration, increasing compassion and empathy, improving emotional regulation, and thriving in relationships, both professional and private — but most importantly, with themselves. Those relationships mean everything, both in and out of the workplace.
  2. Mindfulness creates a more cohesive team. So many of the well-being practices we teach clients are actually life and career skills wrapped up in emotional intelligence and improved communication. There's a reason progressive industry leaders like Facebook, Twitter, Aetna, and Nike offer mindfulness to their employees. It not only attracts premier applicants; it retains them. And long-term employee retention is key not just to a successful business, but to a satisfied and cohesive workforce.
  3. Mindfulness offers practices to counter the potential losses of stress, burnout, anxiety and depression. Studies show  "online mindfulness intervention seems to be both practical and effective in decreasing employee stress, while improving resiliency, vigor, and work engagement, thereby enhancing overall employee well-being." In addition to improved health, fewer sick days, increased happiness, and lower stress levels, mindfulness builds resilience. And resilience means less turnover in the long run, which is a big win for overworked human resources professionals everywhere.
  4. Mindfulness is a sound investment in your employees' and company's future. Corporations and non-profits are made up of human beings. They deserve to be treated as such. Ethical business owners operating with integrity know that healthy employees are ultimately so much more important than the financial bottom line. When you invest in your employees' success and well-being, they feel cared for, seen, and valued. This is not just socially-responsible business; it's being a good human.
  5. Mindfulness means less drama. Meditation practice teaches us how to choose to respond, rather than react. You can cut down on workplace drama by enhancing employees' communication skills, offering them tools for healthy interactions, and cultivating their emotional intelligence.
  6. Mindfulness offers essential skills for managing the perpetual technological onslaught of contemporary life. In the age of the smartphone, we need this ability now more than ever. Unplugging is a fantasy for most of us. Even when we're 'on vacation,' we're not. There are always urgent emails to be answered or that deadline that just can't be ignored. How many times have you read your kid a bedtime story or had a meaningful conversation with your partner, only to be distracted by an urgent ping on your work phone? Mindfulness can offer you the tools to better manage your attention, so at the end of the day, you've been fully present both in your work and in your personal life.
  7. Mindfulness leads to increased productivity.  A meditation practice offers employees tools to move through the workday with better concentration, increased focus, and fewer distractions. This leads to attentive employees who get more done — and who want to stay.

The bottom line: mindfulness training is stellar for both recruitment and retention.

Want to attract the best employees? Acknowledge their humanity, and offer them training benefits that enhance their lives, relationships, and passions, both in and out of the office.

Want to keep them? Cultivate a corporate culture that makes space for laughter, resilience, compassion and empathy. It's a win all around.

For a free consultation about bringing mindfulness training into your workplace, drop us a line here. We’d love to chat about the possibilities for transforming your workplace from surviving to thriving.

Feature photo courtesy of wocintechchat.com