Mindfulness Takes Time
In considering workplace mindfulness training, one of the biggest implementation concerns is time. Doesn’t mindfulness training require hours of seated concentration? How can I justify having my employees sit around for hours a day “doing nothing”?
The good news is that, although there is an initial investment of time up front, research shows that practitioners experience positive results within the first few weeks of training.
For example, a high performance IT team from a Fortune 100 company engaged in a custom, one-month mindfulness intervention. With just 6 hours of training over a 4 week period, in combination with 10 minutes of practice during the work day, 100% of the team experienced an improvement in focus; 90% of the group experienced an improvement in awareness and 80% of the group experienced a reduction in stress.* Not bad for a month’s work.
The key to successfully retraining the brain for a more calm, focused, and resilient work experience is taking the time to implement a three-prong approach. Like a sturdy stool, all 3 components are required to see real results.
• Training of at least 45-60 minutes a week with an experienced teacher, preferably one who can make the business case for practice and articulately transfer the essential skills. Over the course of 4-8 weeks, this formal, “live” component of the training gives participants an experiential base from which they can build a personal practice.
• Personal Practice is where the rubber meets the road. Although length of the practice can be built over time, it needs to be done, and done regularly. I recommend starting with 10 minutes a day (enough time to see results but not any more time than taking a bathroom break) and encourage the practice during the workday as a part of regular job responsibilities. Giving employees access to a designated space with guided audio practices available is a powerful way to encourage compliance. Consider the “brain break” the new coffee break.
• Workplace Application that directly integrates newly developing skills from the formal training into everyday work tasks is the third and perhaps most important pillar on the stool. How does training attention apply to emailing, meetings, or customer sales and service? Developing a toolkit of short “micro-practices” is another way to bring the practice alive. Employees can discover pockets of “found time” to apply a moment of mindfulness while waiting for the elevator, drying hands in the washroom, or transitioning to a meeting. Without bringing the practice out of the training room and into the trenches, the benefits of mindfulness are lost in translation.
Both qualitative and quantitative studies of workplace mindfulness programs around the globe are showing that that an intentional investment of time up front, strategically spread across these 3 key areas, results in time gained in improved productivity, engagement and resiliency. And, unlike training for a software tool or new system function, the skills from this training apply to every minute of every day, ensuring a lifetime of opportunity to deepen the benefits.