The benefits of mindfulness & meditation in the workplace

Personally, I have now been practicing mindfulness & daily meditation for over 10 years.  I am often asked “what are the top 4 things for your health & energy?” and these always include mindfulness & meditation, along with great sleep, great nutrition and morning exercise.

In 2014, energiseYou celebrates its 10^th year in helping companies to improve the health, energy & performance of their employees.  For almost a decade we have brought mindfulness & meditation into the workplace via our workshops, webinars, podcasts & health events.

That aside, I have observed a very interesting polarity with this subject. On one hand, there are so many amazing benefits associated with mindfulness & meditation, such as:

-       Improves happiness

-       Increases your energy levels

-       Improves sleep

-       Makes you more successful in business

-       Helps you manage pressure at work

-       Improves problem solving & creativity

-       Lowers blood pressure & boosts the immune system

-       Reduces negative emotions, stress, anxiety, fear and anger

Yet, on the other hand, there are so few people that actually practice mindfulness & meditation on a daily basis.

So given all of these benefits why is it not practiced more? Here are some of the reasons:

-       People and companies are not fully aware of its transforming benefits

-       Some of these benefits cannot be fully appreciated until they are personally experienced

-       People often expect to be able to quieten the mind and meditate like a Buddhist monk on day one, which just doesn’t happen

-       People often try meditation without being shown how, find it very hard and then immediately give up

-       People often over look mindfulness as a practice because it seems too basic and simple, yet it is in its simplicity that the magic lies.

-       As with many things, people need to be inspired by someone to start.  My personal inspiration to start TM meditation was the film director David Lynch who has been meditating everyday for the past 35 years and he’s still loving it!

So the reasons that mindfulness & meditation should be a key part of your wellbeing programme are because of their profound benefits that can transform overall health & energy. To achieve this we need to address the challenges in the list above to ensure we can actively and regularly embrace the gift of mindfulness & meditation into our lives.

We must help our employees work more smartly

Reports suggest the pressure is on and an increasing workload has left 72 per cent of UK employees having to put in around ten hours extra a week without being compensated, according to recent research from Travelodge.

Whilst working hard is always good, long working hours is not always a good thing and does not necessarily mean an increase in productivity. In fact, long working hours can be counterproductive and have a negative impact on businesses, such as reduced productivity and poor performance.

The key to success is to work smartly. As employers and leaders we need to ensure that we put the right support in place in terms of training, tools and systems to help our employees work smartly.

This does not simply mean providing access to the right IT systems/technology and support functions but there other factors that impact on our effectiveness, such as time management.

Timothy Ferris, author of The 4 Hour Workweek, really put the concept of working smartly to the test when he went from working 80 hours per week to just 4 hours. He says, "By working only when you are most effective, life is both more productive and more enjoyable. It's the perfect example of having your cake and eating it, too."

Whilst Ferris has some critics what he really does emphasise is the need to work when you are at your optimum and to focus on the tasks that are going to add most value.

By helping our employees to prioritise tasks effectively, focusing on what will add most value to the business and giving them the skills to manage excess pressure/challenges when they arise we really have the opportunity to improve the effectiveness of our people.

This is not only good for our business, in terms of productivity etc, but it will also improve the wellbeing of our employees and this means improved employee engagement, a nicer working environment and so much more.

To find out how you can help you employees develop mind management practices to improve effectiveness in the workplace click here and sign up to my free 30 minute webinar.

Creating a healthy mind really can boost success

It’s not just famous athletes and celebrities that are reaping the success of mind management and meditation.

If you listen to any ‘great’ leader they attribute much of their success to having a healthy mindset and adopting the right attitude. Steve Jobs, Richard Branson and Bill Ford have all spoken about their use of meditation and the benefits associated with creating a healthy mindset.

Now, if we can get our employees to do the same then we are really onto a winner.

A healthy mind offers huge benefits to us as individuals in terms of increasing happiness, improving creativity and aiding weight loss etc. But it also offers huge benefits to our businesses.

People who manage their mind effectively are more successful at work because they have higher energy levels, are generally much healthier and they are able to handle with pressure more effectively.

Our research, of over 4,500 individuals, shows the large majority of people score just 42% on the key drivers of positive mind management. This highlights a huge opportunity for us as employers to improve performance within our businesses.

In today’s nonstop 24/7 digital world, we lead such busy lives and as a result our mind rarely stops thinking. Most people’s habits mean they are using technology non-stop from the minute they open their eyes to the minute they close them at night. This over stimulation of mind and body can drain energy and cause poor health, such as sleep problems and mental health fatigue.

By helping our employees to manage their mind effectively we can really improve performance. 

To find out how you can create healthy mind and body in the workplace click here and sign up to my free 30 minute webinar today.

This is taking place on Wednesday 15 May 2013, at 12pm 2013. I will cover:

- How supporting your employees' health & energy can improve business performance
- Why your staff need a healthy mind & body at work
- The 7 essential ingredients to create a healthy body
- Innovative mind management practices to improve performance
- Practical steps to improve the health & energy of your staff this summer

The Best Companies Understand The Importance Of Wellbeing

With The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For Awards taking place this week I reflected on where we are now and what the future holds for employee engagement and wellbeing.

When I founded energiseYou, eight years ago, things were very different. Employee engagement was quite a new concept and as for wellbeing, well it was only a small minority of companies that were really leading the way.

I’m pleased to say things have really moved on since then. More employers understand that their people are key to the success of their business and as a result are focusing on employee engagement.

And this does not simply mean investing in people in a monetary way. The eight key factors that Best Companies feel drive employee engagement include:

-       Leadership
-       My company
-       Personal growth
-       My manager
-       My team
-       Giving something back
-       Fair deal

-       Wellbeing

 

We know that the large majority of organisations do now have employee wellbeing on their agenda in some shape or form. But it is the pioneers in this group, like the Top 100 Best Companies, leading the way and taking a proactive approach to wellbeing that are seeing a real return on investment. This is set to continue.

With research showing employee burnout is becoming more common employers can no longer afford to simply dabble in employee wellbeing. The best companies know they need to take a proactive approach to wellbeing and make it part of their people strategy – only when they do this will they prevent burnout and reap the rewards in terms of helping employees are able to perform at their best.

So in a further eight years I predict organisations will be doing more with regards to wellbeing. I will be as bold to say there won’t be any companies around just dabbling or dipping their toe in the water because these organisations just won’t be able to survive in the current climate.

To find out what the forward thinking companies are doing to engage staff click here to sign up to our free webinar. Guest speaker, Wayne Clarke, from The Sunday Times Best Companies Partnership will join me to discuss:

- The 8 key ingredients for a fully engaged workforce
- Best engagement practices from some of the Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies
- How to get directors to buy into your staff engagement programme
- Q&A session with Oliver Gray (energiseYou) & Wayne Clarke (Best Companies Partnership)

 

What are you doing to tackle sleep deprivation in your business?

Chronic sleep deprivation can do more than cause tiredness, it can have many negative effects. Employees with sleep problems may find it difficult to pay attention at work, struggle to remain alert and unable to concentrate.

But employees themselves aren’t the only ones suffering the consequences of sleepiness at work; it’s costing businesses money and, in some cases, may be putting the safety of others at risk.

Not only does a lack of sleep affect people’s health, which can cause an increase in sickness absence and have a negative impact on productivity, it can also be the cause of poor performance and injuries in the workplace.

Fact – sleep deprivation and poor quality sleep is not good for business. Clearly, it is a problem that needs to be addressed. Our research, of over 3,000 people finds the large majority of people score less than 50% on the drivers that help them achieve a good night’s sleep.

Although workers’ sleep habits are largely out of an employer’s control, businesses need to be aware of the effects of sleep deprivation and take a proactive approach to limit the impact of poor sleep, so that employees do their jobs more safely and efficiently.

There are companies, such as Google, that are taking action by providing sleep pods so employees who have to put in long hours sometimes or need to re-energise are allowed to take a power nap during their working day.

But it’s not just allocating enough time to sleep that determines how tired we feel or has an impact on performance, it’s also the ‘quality’ of sleep. And this is where education comes in. There are many factors that have an impact on the quality of sleep and these will depend on individual’s daily habits - only when we understand how to improve the quality of sleep can we improve it.
 

Whilst every workplace is different, there are a couple of simple steps that businesses can start with to limit the negative impact of sleep-deprivation:

1.     Help employees identify the problem

To help employees understand whether sleep is a problem area for them and understand how to start addressing this get them to complete our free online health and energy check. For more information about this check click here.

2.     Education

Forward thinking organisations, like eBay and TES Aviation, are taking a proactive approach and providing their staff with workshops where experts are on hand to offer sleep related advice. 

To mark National Sleep Awareness I am holding free 30-minute webinar focusing on the secret to great sleep in 2013.

This is being held on the 6 March 2013, at 12pm. Places are limited so you will need to register in advance – please click here for more information.

Within this webinar I will cover:

      - The benefits of great sleep
      - Why your habits are the key to your sleep
      - The top seven habits to avoid for great sleep
      - The top seven best habits for great sleep

3.     Culture of your organisation

Fatigue can affect more than the employee involved. It can create health and safety risks and have a negative impact on performance and productivity. It’s important to ensure you have the policies and procedures in place, within your organisation, so that employees are able to achieve a positive work-life balance and are able to take regular breaks throughout their working day to re-energise.

Remember to thank staff this Christmas

Remember to say ‘thank you’ this Christmas. These two words can make all the difference in terms of retaining, engaging and motivating employees.
  

Whilst giving recognition needs to be part of a wider reward strategy and should definitely not be limited to the end of the year, Christmas is a perfect time to give staff an end of year reward and it is an ideal time to formerly thank staff for their hard work.

Do this successfully and you will not only make staff feel great before they take time off over the festive season but you will also set the tone for 2013. So instead of January being the month many employees hand their notice in, you have an opportunity to make staff feel excited about returning to work.

Get the end of year thank you right and employees will be more motivated, to hit the ground running in 2013.

Face-to-face communication is the ideal way to say thank you, as this really allows messages to be delivered in the way you want them to be, but thought also needs to go into the reward if you are giving one.

The research shows money isn’t the number one motivating factor. Whilst it’s important to give employees something that they will appreciate and value it is also worth thinking about what will help support your objectives – what will motivate them to come back to work feeling refreshed and ready to hit the ground running?   

There are lots of options in terms of low cost presents that employers can give their staff, from financial rewards to an activity based gift or something they can take home. Try to think about what you want to achieve and what fits into your culture. 

As Edenred highlight in their recent report, Christmas Rewards Unwrapped, who delivers the thank you is also important. The year end marks a more formal occasion and therefore it makes good business sense for the thanks to come from someone in the senior leadership team.

Doing this will enable you to not only make sure that employees feel valued and that they have made a difference to the success of the business but it will also enable you to set the tone for 2013.

A little thank you goes a long way so let’s get it right…

P.S. Click here to join our live webinar, on the 12 December, to find out how you can improve energy levels and performance this Christmas.
 

What we can learn from our Olympic team for workplace performance

What a fantastic Olympics – it really is inspiring to see Great Britain (GB) scooping so many medals! The coaches and the wider GB team have clearly put everything into helping our athletes reach their peak.

This got me thinking about what we, as employers, can learn from our Olympic team for workplace performance...

I saw a really inspiring interview with David Brailsford, Performance Director of the Great Britain cycling team, whose team won eight out of 10 track cycling gold medals in London. He attributes four key things to their success:

1. Talented athletes
2. Hard working athletes
3. Set a specific goal
4. Make a list of all the elements that impact on the success of your goal and work on improving each element

Brailsford refers to the different elements as ‘marginal gains’. He says that if you break down everything that goes into achieving that goal and improve each element by 1%, you will get a significant increase when you put them all together.

He focused on obvious things like fitness and conditioning, the technology of the bike and clothing, but also other things like sleeping in the right position and having the same pillow when athletes are away and training in different places. Brailsford said, “They're tiny things but if you clump them together it makes a big difference to performance”.

The GB cycling team used experts in each area to help achieve these marginal gains; technology experts to improve the performance of the bike and sleep experts to ensure athletes got sufficient sleep.

Every aspect of preparation for the cycling has been meticulous. The medals are not a fluke. It’s the preparation, hard work and talent – talented athletes, talented coaches and other talented experts in each of the marginal gain areas – that has led to success.

The formula should be no different for businesses – we need to ensure we have talented people who are working hard. We also need a clear goal and by breaking this goal down we can identify and improve the different elements to ensure success. One of these elements has to be achieving a healthy, energised and engaged workforce.

I am not suggesting that we buy all of our employees a comfortable pillow, but by educating them about the simple changes they need to make to improve their health, energy and performance we have a real opportunity to help them maximise energy, improve their performance and increase business profits.

Click here to listen to our August 2012 webinar. This focused on how you can use the Olympics to inspire your workforce, drive business performance and get your employees to focus on gold.