How Does Mindfulness Improve Organizational Effectiveness?

Today’s Organisations have become hyper-fast-paced, complex, and multitasking-oriented which has unfortunately created a high-pressure working environment of speed and goal attainment. As a result, it is easy for employees to encounter #stress, #anxiety, mood swings, frustrations, distractions, and #burnout. All of this leads to reduced #productivity – thereby costing the Global Economy nearly US$1 trillion annually, according to World Health Organisation (WHO). In the US, stress related to jobs is estimated to cost the US industry more than US$300 billion in losses as per The American Institute of Stress. Over 55% of employees in India are feeling stressed at work as per LinkedIn.

The mind is always in constant fight or flight mode. This creates a lot of tension that affects our #mind and body. We feel overwhelmed and can't think clearly. The good news is that we can start to break free from this by slowing down and living in the moment, as well as connecting with the world in a more #mindful, thoughtful, and compassionate manner. Such a #transformation can occur by practicing mindfulness.

#Mindfulness is not about stopping your thinking or emptying the mind. Rather, the goal is to focus our attention on bodily sensations, thoughts, and emotions so that we may discern them more clearly without making assumptions or fabricating stories. Most of the time, our mind is either in the past or in the future. We work on autopilot mode. The job of mindfulness is to make us come back into the present moment. Mindfulness can be practiced anywhere (home or office) and anytime of the day.

Dedicating at least 10-15 mins of your time to mindfulness every day has immense benefits to your mind, body, and soul. It reduces anxiety by 58% and stress by 40% in 4-5 weeks of regular practice as per Mental Health Foundation, UK - making you better equipped to deal with #uncertain times with #calm, ease, and grace. This is because mindfulness organises your thoughts, increases your efficiency at work, enhances the quality of work, builds quality relationships, creates #empathy & #compassion for self and others, establishes your connection with the heart, supports informed decision-making, and helps you become a good listener, enhances #creativity, and reduces overwhelm.

Mindfulness also creates better health for the body. According to a study published in the Journal of Pain, regular mindfulness practice for 15-20 minutes reduced pain intensity by 40% and made patients feel 57% less uncomfortable as a result of pain.

Many forward-thinking organisations such as 谷歌 , Intel, and Aetna in the last decade have already implemented and invested in mindfulness learning programmes to help their employees slow down, embrace the present moment, and recharge themselves to regain productivity.

1. When Aetna – a US-based healthcare insurance firm – established its own Mindfulness Programme for its employees in 2007, it saw a 7.3% drop in medical claims, resulting in a cost savings of US$9 million in 2012. Aetna's Mindfulness Programme helped each employee achieve an extra 62 minutes of productivity each week, which equated to about US$3,000 per employee per year. In 2018, Aetna launched a Mindfulness Challenge for its employees, which resulted in an 18% reduction in stress once the challenge was completed.
2. Intel launched its Awake@Intel mindfulness program in 2012. As a result, on a scale of 1-10, their employees reported a 2-point decrease in stress and overwhelm, a 3-point increase in overall happiness and well-being, and a 2-point increase in new ideas, insights, mental clarity, creativity, focus, quality of relationships at work, and level of engagement in meetings and projects.
3. When it comes to marketing products and services to clients, Google's Mindfulness Programme "Search Inside Yourself" has helped Google’s staff embrace the values of #courage and truth. This has helped them gain client respect and brand loyalty as a result of this.

Many other companies such as Adobe, Apple, Asana, Cisco, eBay, Facebook, Genentech, Juniper Networks, LinkedIn , Salesforce, Twitter , and more are offering mindfulness in their office in some way or other. As we can see, Mindfulness is a precondition for organisational effectiveness that boosts self-awareness among employees. “Being fully present” employees and teams stimulate thought and improve engagement - helping them to go above and beyond in their work. The benefits of this are enormous: increased productivity, higher revenue, improved brand positioning, and cost savings.

So, what are your thoughts? Do you have a #Mindfulness Programme at your Company? If yes, tell us more about it on how it has helped you be more productive. We would love to hear your views.