Meditation at work means more productivity.
And something even more important.
Some months ago, my workmates and I began meditating together. It began without fanfare, just a casual suggestion that we try out a meditation app called Calm. Starting with a ten-minute session, we settled easily into an occasional practice and even integrated it into our orientation with new hires. One new manager admitted that, during the experience, he had opened his eyes to see if we were “really doing it.” He was both surprised and impressed that we took it seriously. And indeed, we do approach it with openness and sincerity. Whether sitting on the floor or around a table, we’ve found a comfort with (and even excitement about) this new facet of our workday, which we engage spontaneously when energy seems to demand it–usually around three in the afternoon.
Since our first foray into the ancient practice, albeit initially through the modern magic of an app, we’ve brought in live meditation teachers, hired a meditation professional and explored other apps, like Headspace. While the idea of a company team meditating together is, perhaps, the ultimate expression of what some might deride as Bay Area out-of-touchness with real life, meditation is, in fact, the ultimate connection to real life. Meditation brings us into the present moment and resets us mentally and physically, leading to greater productivity and wellbeing. And it turns out, creative companies in San Francisco are not the only ones taking notice of the powerful practice. Far outside the Bay Area, and as far back as 1983, the Detroit-based chemical plant R.W. Montgomery instituted a Transcendental Meditation program and after three months, reported the following powerful statistics.
• Absenteeism fell by 85%
• Productivity rose 120%
• Injuries dropped 70%
• Profits increased 520%
And while some have known for years that meditation can boost business performance, we are today seeing a new level of commitment to the practice, as evidenced by both built-in programming and dedicated physical space. This represents a notable shift in thinking, moving meditation from the “nice to have” wish list to the “need to have” checklist. For example, Salesforce recently announced a new initiative to include meditation rooms on every floor of its buildings — a hard cost that reflects the very real belief in the power of the practice.
What’s fascinating about this trend — one popular expression of the oft-bandied phrase “workplace wellness” — is not merely the integration of a discipline still barely understood in the West, but the deeper implications of bringing mindfulness to the workplace. During my recent visit to the SF Zen Center, Abiding Abbess, Furyu Nancy Schroeder shared another powerful reason why meditation matters in the workplace: a code of ethics. She explained that the basic posture in sitting meditation is uprightness. That metaphor, she said, of the spine in alignment, is the physical enactment of something deeper: a moral uprightness. She explained that we can’t sit tall and still the mind if we’re not holding that same position in our dealings with the world. Meditation, through its inward work, forces us to confront who we are in our outward lives. And what better place to apply a sense of uprightness and ethics than today’s modern business environment?
While it’s easy to imagine some companies simply adding meditation rooms as a shallow effort to attract hip millennials and stay on trend (today’s meditation rooms may be yesterday’s keg-o-rators, bean bags and foosball tables), those outfits that facilitate a thoughtful program with dedicated space in the built environment will add immeasurable value to their own company’s worth. Those businesses may not only measure increased productivity and observe less stress in the workforce, but also invite a dialogue about what it means to be noble, graceful, sustainable and responsible in business practice.
In our own HQ here at Mod, where we test and refine concepts for the new shared workspace, we are creating dedicated wellness space, not only for meditation or yoga, but for retreat from all business conversation and goals — a place to take a private call, have a massage or even take a short nap. Understanding that work/life balance isn’t an equation to navigate before and after the workday — but throughout it — is core to developing a culture that attracts and retains talent through a sense of purpose and personal value.
In our ongoing work towards wellness in the shared or “coworking” environment, we’re exploring mindfulness in many modalities, from classical sitting meditation to practices like cooking, ikebana — even archery. To learn more about our concepts, follow this channel for weekly updates on how we’re shaping the future of work.
