Mindfulness and the workplace
Mindfulness is no longer an opaque concept reserved for yoga retreats and motivational memes, writes Vuyo Mkize
ARE YOU present in the moment – aware of where you are, how you feel and what you are doing? Are you sitting at your workstation at this present moment, mindlessly trawling the internet and putting off applying your mind to the pile of work on your desk? Ever tried just being mindful? According to Mindful, a non-profit organisation, mindfulness is “the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us”.
And leadership expert Debbie Goodman-Bhyat, author of a best-selling book on the subject of mindfulness, says the world’s top companies are increasingly introducing mindfulness practices into their organisations.
This is in an effort to help employees reduce stress and anxiety, increase focus and attention, and ultimately enhance productivity – and South African companies are starting to follow suit.
“Mindfulness is no longer an opaque concept reserved for yoga retreats and motivational memes,” Goodman-Bhyat explains.
“The concept and practice has – not surprisingly – found grateful and receptive audiences in many of the world’s leading companies, including here in South Africa,” she adds.
“The idea that people who practise mindfulness principles might be on the fringes of society belongs to a past era, and these days there is enough data, research and scientific information supporting not only the personal, but also commercial benefits of a more in-tune, holistic approach to life and work.”
Goodman-Bhyat explains: “Mindfulness is a respected, acknowledged global movement, pioneered by PhD professor of medicine emeritus Jon Kabat-Zinn.
“It is increasingly becoming mainstream, and a growing number of leaders are starting to incorporate mindfulness-based practices and principles in their personal and professional lives.”
Mindfulness programmes and practices are known to have been introduced at some high-profile organisations, including Google and Intel. Locally, Goodman-Bhyat recently published
the result of her years-long research into the impact of implementing mindfulness practices in the workplace.
It soon leapt to the business best-seller list post-publication, with business leaders enthusiastically backing the sixprompt formula that forms the basis of the guide.
Allon Raiz, chief executive of Raizcorp, noted that Goodman-Bhyat had managed to build the bridge between the hectic chaos of everyday business and the clarity and serenity that being present and in the moment brings. “IntheFlow takes quite an ethereal concept and makes it practical for people to understand and, more importantly, to apply,” he noted.
Global studies conducted on international organisations (including Fortune 500 companies) show a 19% decrease in stress, 37% increase in productivity, 40% increase in focus and 34% increase in emotional control in companies where mindfulness practices have been introduced. And a recent study found that participants in six- to nineweek mindfulness courses experience a 42% stress reduction, as well as improvement in productivity, time management and job satisfaction.
Goodman-Bhyat says introducing mindfulness practices in the workplace does not take massive amounts of time, strategising or financial investment.
“But it does take commitment and championing by leaders who are invested in shifting perspectives and changing the status quo of ‘how we do things around here’. When this happens, the impact on an organisation’s wellness, from individual level to company performance, is indisputable.”
Following the lead of their global counterparts, South African organisations are also starting to pay attention to the benefits of incorporating mindfulness-based programmes and principles in their work environments.
Large corporations like Woolworths and Old Mutual, as well as medium-sized and entrepreneurial businesses, are looking at mindfulness-based training.
“Further, more and more executive education, MBA and leadership development courses at South Africa’s top tertiary institutions are offering mindfulness training as an integral part of their curricula,” notes Goodman-Bhyat.