Workplace Wellness: The Key to Higher Profits, Employee Happiness, and Work-Life Balance

1. Workplace Wellness: The Key to Higher Profits, Employee Happiness, and Work-Life Balance The hottest buzzword in the modern day work world also starts with a w: wellness. From bad bosses to toxic co-workers to unsustainable hours — we’ve all had an unpleasant employment experience in one form or another. Everyone can relate to not wanting to get up and go to work in the morning. There’s nothing worse than hating a job, and when it’s so bad that it gets in the way of personal wellness, the negativity has a ripple effect on our health, the people around us, and the companies we work for. But the opposite is also true! When we spend 40+ hours a week in an environment that facilitates our health and wellbeing (and gives us the warm fuzzies), everyone wins. Considering that we spend a quarter to a third of our life at work… it’s pretty important that it’s a positive experience. Google Is All About It Because workplace wellness has proven so important, it’s what cutting-edge organizations are all about these days. Big names like Google (everyone wants to work at the Googleplex), Apple, Target, General Mills, and Zappos have madeheadlines for their commitments to employee happiness and wellbeing. When staffers are satisfied — so is the company’s bottom line. And when they’re not, well, the stockholders probably won’t be either.

2. Scary Stats Unfortunately, unhappy workers are everywhere. According to Mental Health America (MHA), 70% of people currently employed are searching for other jobs. Less than one-third of Americans are happy with what they’re doing, and some are even actively sabotaging the success of their workplace. Ouch. As the numbers above reflect, how employees feel about their work environment trickles down into everything, from medical costs to mental health status to absenteeism. If a workplace is dysfunctional or overly stressful, everyone suffers. Luckily there’s an easy method that organizations (and employees) can employ to help minimize stress, enhance community and connection, and promote healthy habits. Meditation Makes Everything Better While things like exercise incentives, nap rooms, and healthy meals are all fantastic efforts by employers to improve the lives of their employees, arguably nothing is as effective as meditation —  and with a generally smaller investment of money and time. Just minutes a day can affect all aspects of a workplace, from the boss’ behavior to the ability of employees to focus to how often people come down with colds. One study found that eight weeks of meditation training — in a high-stress work environment — made workers stay on tasks longer and helped their memories improve. They also reported fewer negative emotions after finishing tasks. Researchers in another study looked at the effects of mindfulness training on employee wellbeing. They found that participants increased their mindfulness skills including observing and acting with awareness. Employees also reported higher levels of satisfaction with life, hope and lower anxiety.

3. And the myriad generalbenefitsof meditation are well established: it helps people get happier, stay younger, decreases pain, decreases anxiety, improves learning and memory, makes memory better, boosts self-esteem, and improves health. What Employers Can Do For business owners and managers, encouraging mediation among employees (and higher-ups, too) is one of the best bets for improving company culture and work performance. Workplace wellness starts at the top, after all! As a perk, companies can offer a meditation subscription to all team members — and incorporate incentives to encourage everyone to make it a daily ritual. As leaders, it’s crucial to model healthy habits for employees. SOS Method has meditations that are effective in only five minutes, so they can easily be incorporated into the office schedule to boost workplace wellness. There are 50+ specialized meditations made with a unique formula of music, words, and tones that encourages daily use because they are so enjoyable. And, SOS Method’s 11 Discovery Programs can also be listened to daily in under 6 minutes; with something for literally every situation, individual, and need that helps to make life simpler and happier. There are many ways to power up for more inspiration; meditate together at the beginning of meetings; have a meditation break in the afternoon when stress takes hold; and/or start the day with meditation in the car on the way to work. Get creative! There are countless ways to use meditation to motivate, encourage, and incentivize employees at all levels of responsibility.

4. What Employees Can Do For those who don’t have access to employer-sponsored wellness meditation programs — have no fear. It’s still totally doable toincorporate meditationinto a daily work routine and reap all the benefits. It’s easy to jump into a quick meditation during a break while taking a walk, or any five-minute window of opportunity. Choose one that meets the current work-related need — stress release, powering up (energizing), focusing, etc., and fire up the SOS Method app. And doing an 11 or 22 minute at night to aid your sleep is also a great way to end your day. The key component to seeing a positive change in daily work life is doing the meditations as often as you can. It gets easier to commit to it when you enjoy how they make you feel! The benefits are endless, and life is too short to be miserable at work. Share this Blog