Around 526,000 of us are suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety, according to the Health and Safety Executive. As part of our Clarity Cares initiative we have had our employees take part in ‘Meditation March’, as we continue to do our bit to look after the wellbeing of our staff.
As employers we value our greatest asset – our team – and, as part of our engagement with employee mental and physical wellbeing, we offered our team the opportunity to take a transcendental meditation course last year. With mindfulness and meditation becoming more mainstream, and lots of evidence to support the mental health benefits, as well as improvements in productivity, we encouraged our staff to consider making it part of their daily routine.
Research suggests 10 minutes per day engaging with meditation or mindfulness will result in benefits such as better focus and productivity and a reduction in stress, with more practice resulting in greater gains. As part of our wellness drive in 2019, we encouraged our staff to take part in Meditation March, providing the opportunity for each team member to take 20 minutes mid-morning to have a period of stillness and reflection.
Our Office Manager, Naomi Nunan, said: “Since completing the transcendental meditation course I’ve tried to keep up with the practice but have struggled over the last couple of months. I’ve also been having trouble sleeping and finding myself quite tired. Since we started Meditation March, I’ve seen a complete difference in how I’ve been sleeping. It’s notably better on the days I practice, and I’ve seen my attention improve.”
We’ve been pleased to see a positive uptake from staff members, even the newer additions to our team, such as Charlotte, our Marketing Executive.
“I haven’t done any training in how to meditate but I thought I would give it a try with the help of an app. Previously I’ve been sceptical about the benefits of meditation, but I’ve been really pleased in how it’s affected my day. I thought I would feel weary and indifferent after the meditations but it’s the opposite. I am the most productive for the two hours after practice, finding myself more focused and really motivated. It made such a difference I’ve started doing it on the weekend, I’ve clocked up over 5 hours so far.”
With so many benefits reported by our team members, we are due to start the next round of transcendental meditation training for those that have joined us in the last 12 months.
With more businesses benefitting from the increased productivity meditation allows, the uptake from employers is growing. From the NHS encouraging mindfulness, to Google and LinkedIn providing access to the headspace app, many businesses are finding meditation for employees of great benefit to the overall health, attention and focus of staff.
We want to enable our staff to take all opportunities to benefit their mental health and apply the benefits of meditation such as improved memory, better multitasking, improved productivity and accessing greater creativity.
Our most important asset is our people; their ideas, talents and dedication are the key ingredients of our success. We believe in providing a working environment that allows our people to grow, both professionally and personally, and one that makes our employees feel involved and valued. Find out more about what it is like to work at Clarity on our website.
