Why is corporate meditation practice important? Companies have started to read the studies and now know this leads to balanced workers who get things done. And they understand that putting the mental health of workers first, increases both creativity and focus.
There are many benefits of mindfulness backed by scientific research. You can read about the neuroscience of meditation in this recent post by neuroscientist Sarah McKay.
But what are the specific benefits that companies report? Corporate meditation coach Golbie Kamarei, whose career involves both teaching mindfulness at work and studying the effects, led a survey to gather data at her corporate firm, in an attempt to prove the concept of meditation in the workplace.
Here is some of the research she reported on related to the impact of mindfulness in the workplace, as told to Berkeley Greater Good:
- 91 percent reported it positively impacted the culture
- 88 percent would recommend it to a coworker
- 66 percent said they felt less stress or had improved stress-management capabilities
- 63 percent are better able manage themselves at work
- 60 percent reported increased focus and better decision-making skills
- 52 percent are able to better manage work relationships
- 46 percent reported increased innovation and creativity
It seems like all the innovative CEOs are joining the mindful movement. Whether these companies introduced corporate meditation as a productivity hack or as a genuine way to enhance lives, here’s whose meditating and what these meditating corporations have to say.
1. Apple
Steve Jobs took a practice that worked for him and shared it with Apple’s corporate culture. He was considered a pioneer of “mind technology” when he introduced Zen mindfulness meditation to the corporate structure at Apple. Workers have access to a meditation room, 30-minute daily meditation breaks, and on-site yoga and meditation classes, which were all part of a process that Steve used to reduce his own stress, gain more clarity, and enhance his creativity.
2. Google
Google was lucky enough to have one of their original software developers spearhead a program at Google that began in 2007 called, “Search Inside Yourself.” Google offers an on-site meditation space and meditation courses, believing that meditation can help improve not only employee mental health and well-being, but the company’s bottom line as well.
3. Yahoo
Yahoo offers meditation rooms and free meditation classes for employees to benefit from and reduce stress while at work. It seems that tech companies like Yahoo are the early adopters of the mindful meditation at work culture with magazines like Fast Company touting meditation as a “must-do” to get hired.
4. Proctor & Gamble (P&G)
When other companies were installing gyms, P&G CEO A.G. Lafley was starting a meditation instruction program and installing meditation spaces in P&G’s corporate buildings. He’s quoted as saying, “You cannot out-work a problem, you have to out-meditation it.”
5. Nike
Nike employs a mindfulness and meditation coach. Mindful leadership events have become a benefit of working for Nike.
6. HBO
The company boasts a gym, yoga classes, and weekly meditations. They may produce television, but they don’t encourage a culture of couch potatoes.
Whether you own a small business or work for a big corporate company, it’s the ideal time to introduce corporate meditation as part of the new way of balancing work and life.
Do you work for a company that promotes meditation? We’d love to know where you work and how they bring mindfulness to your workplace.
