Mindfulness for workplaces
Mindfulness Matters programs for industry and business are practical and grounded in industry experience, with sessions designed to build understanding through activities you can use at work and home to build resilience, reduce stress, and stay safe. We use mindfulness as the core foundation of all our stress reduction programs and retreats.
Mindfulness does matter.
Studies are emerging about the impact of Covid on work-based stress, showing that the last two years have had, and will continue to have enormous negative effects into the future. There is an emerging discussion about pandemic fatigue, which researchers are linking to a range of emotional and physical symptoms such as memory loss, memory fog and overwhelm. When the body is under stress for prolonged periods of times, the stress hormones build up and affect cognitive function, physical health, and emotional health. This has been an unprecedented time of isolation, stress, and fear. A time where staff have managed being at home, home schooling children and managing their work activities in an underpinning environment of unknowns and rapid change. Now more than ever, staff require effective tools and techniques to manage stress and develop resilience.
Why it is important to stay in the present and how this helps us stay safe and reduce stress.
When you are distracted thinking about the past or drifting into the future, it is easy to be unaware of where you are or what you are doing. Distractions can lead to dangerous situations, near misses or worse still, fatalities. Even if you are highly skilled, you need a degree of mindfulness or presence to avoid difficulties and injury.
Mindfulness also helps you keep your cool during stressful and dangerous situations. Mindfulness can help you feel better and reduce stress. It is a useful technique that can help you deal with difficult emotions and situations, stay connected to inner warning signals that are occurring in your body all the time and keep you safe in the workplace.
[1] * https://www.inc.com/marissa-levin/harvard- research-reveals-how-mindful-leaders-develop- better-companies-happier-employees.html
Mindfulness in the Workplace
Mindfulness does matter
“Workplace stress is a very real occurrence in the modern workplace, with the incidence of stress-related claims having risen dramatically in the last ten years. Employers must be aware of their duties and the significant costs they can incur should they breach their obligations to employees.”
Legal Bulletin Article, Australia 2018
A study conducted in 2003 by recruitment company Morgan and Banks found that sick leave costs Australian businesses $2.56 billion each year. In 2018, absenteeism estimated to cost Australian employers $14 billion. According to a study in 2018 by Eastern Kentucky University’s online Bachelor of Science in Occupational Safety program, companies in the USA, spend about $300 billion annually for health care and missed workdays because of workplace stress. Further, there is statistical evidence that businesses which have implemented work/life initiatives have experienced fewer stress-related absences, lower staff turnover, and increased employee motivation. In conjunction with decreased absenteeism for stress-related illness, managing workplace stress also has the reciprocal effect of minimising workers compensation payouts and thus premiums. Australian courts have recently found that employers may be liable to pay compensation in situations where workplace stress leads to employees suffering from serious illnesses such as terminal cancer.
Why use Mindfulness based stress reduction programs?
People across the world are using mindfulness techniques to build their resilience to manage stress. This is particularly useful where those demands require them to be dealing with constantly changing priorities and a heavy workload as well as working around equipment that could inflict harm if used incorrectly. Research published by the Harvard Business Review in 2018[1] documented how corporate leaders used mindfulness to manage their stress, which reduced their employee’s anxiety and created a better workplace. The study revealed stressed leaders stress their staff, often to the point where good employees walk away from a job to save their own health. Staff viewed stressed managers as ineffective leaders, reducing employee’s engagement and their drive to advance within the company. A 2015 Safe Work Australia report also found direct links between higher levels of staff mindfulness and better workplace safety.
Mindfulness techniques are flexible and can be personalised to fit individual lifestyles. You can benefit from short meditations and, believe it or not, you can practice mindfulness anywhere
