Workplace mindfulness

Bringing mindfulness to the organisation

Why do it?

According to the UK-based organization The Mindfulness Initiative, randomised controlled trials of workplace mindfulness-based training courses have found positive effects on burnout, wellbeing and stress.

Studies have shown that those practicing mindfulness report lower levels of stress during multi-tasking tests and are able to concentrate longer without their attention being diverted.

Other research suggests that employees of leaders who practise mindfulness have less emotional exhaustion, better work/life balance and better job performance ratings. You can read the report here.

Introducing the idea

It’s probably fair to say that most people in any given workplace don’t really know what mindfulness is although they may well have heard of it. But it’s also the case that in any workplace you will find people who have experience of mindfulness or of meditation or who have attended various courses related to mental and emotional well-being. So you would not be starting off in a vacuum.

Brief session

Many companies offer a brief introductory session to mindfulness to whoever wants to come along, usually given by somebody who is brought in from the outside. The sessions last from 45 minutes to all morning or afternoon. In 45 minutes people can be introduced to the idea, given some resources, and told where they can find out more. An hour and a half to two hours makes it possible to give people a better foundation, with more practices and more time for questions and answers. Two hours seem to me to be an ideal amount of time. Lunchtime sessions of one hour are also common.

Weekly course

This might be a course running for 4-8 weeks, perhaps for an hour or two hours per session. Such courses give people an opportunity to embed mindfulness practice in their daily lives. You could hold the course on your own premises if you have the space or in a nearby hotel, for instance.

Online course

Here you would either subsidise employees to do an external online course (for instance, my course Working Well Mindfully ) or arrange for a version of that course to be provided for your own organisation. In the latter case, the course could use your own logo.

What I do

I present mindfulness courses in a wide variety of settings. Workplace courses have ranged from lunchtime introductions (but giving people what they need to bring mindfulness into their lives) to three day courses either over three successive days or for one day a week for three weeks. My favourite are 90 minute to two hour workshops which I think make a good length for people who may not be deeply into mindfulness. For a list of organisations for whom I have presented mindfulness or stress-related workshops scroll down my About page.

Maintaining a mindfulness program

The above activities could all be part also of maintaining a mindfulness program. You could also:

Include a mindfulness section on the organisation’s intranet if you have one. This could include:

Articles and tip sheets about mindfulness.
Mindfulness audios to download.
Mindfulness videos people to watch or download.
Links to external mindfulness resources such as my daily mindfulness reminder, the Daily Bell.

Create a visible mindfulness presence: This could include putting up posters with mindfulness quotes or an A4 size mindfulness tip sheet on noticeboards.

Make a space for mindfulness: This could be the provision of a room in which people could practice mindfulness meditation or stretching or yoga.

Introduce silence before meetings: If people attending meetings are willing to try it, you could have a minute of silence – a mindful minute – before each meeting begins. This idea will work better in some cultures than in others.

Create a workplace mindfulness group: Such a group could organise a weekly mindfulness session at lunchtime for those who are interested. It could also maintain the mindfulness section of the intranet or its members could be the ones who will put up mindfulness posters. The group might also introduce mindfulness introductory sessions once or twice a year. If you already have a group that works on the wellness aspect of your organisation then this is something that they could incorporate rather than setting up a separate group.

Add mindfulness books to a workplace library: Some workplaces have “give a book, take a book” library, usually a bookcase from which staff members can take books by replacing them with other books they’ve finished with. Adding mindfulness books to the library is as simple a way as you will find to introduce this skill to staff.