The ROI of Mindfulness
Imagine for a moment that there’s a new software program on the market today that is scientifically proven to improve your organization’s success. It helps leaders make better decisions, enhances teamwork and collaboration, and even increases the physical wellbeing of your employees- lowering blood pressure, increasing immunity, and decreasing the risk of depression. This software is easily accessible and backed by many of the world’s most respected business leaders- from Oprah to Mark Bertolini to Ray Dalio. Best of all, this software lives on the cloud- you don’t even need to budget for any infrastructure!
If all this was true, what lengths would you go to in order to procure this incredible toolkit?
If you’re like most organizations, financing this implementation would skyrocket to the top of your list. Tech remains among the biggest forecasted expenditures of the majority of organizations; in fact, in 2019, worldwide IT spending is expected to reach nearly $4 trillion!
Now, what if we told you that this software is 100% real? However, it’s not actually a tech program, but instead a behavioural practice called Mindfulness. Would you still be rushing out to buy it?
The Misconception of Mindfulness
As a society, we’ve become accustomed to reaching outside ourselves for answers. When the team isn’t collaborating, we purchase a channel messaging tool to encourage communication between offices. When sales are in a slump, we hire a consultancy firm to study the clientele. When we’re not getting the results we want, we fire and hire in an attempt to shake things up. We’re quick to spend on external solutions. But the idea of cultivating internal wellbeing as a method of obtaining greater success? It can feel a little riskier.
At SIGMA Assessment Systems, we’ve taken a science-based approach to leadership development for more than 50 years, and we believe in the power and science of mindfulness.
The greater acceptance and understanding associated with present moment awareness and mindfulness has made the concept more accessible to a greater number of enterprises in recent years. But we still do encounter skeptics who find it difficult to believe that tools as simple as diaphragmatic breathing or meditation could kick start measurable business results.
Return on Investment
John Kabat-Zinn defines mindfulness as, “Paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgementally”. We’ve seen first-hand the ways in which our programs increase resilience, reduce stress, enhance mood, and cultivate emotional intelligence. And the latest research continues to back up these assertions.
International research conducted by Aetna Insurance found that mindfulness training resulted in:
- 62 extra minutes of productivity per week
- $3000 gain in value per employee
- 7% reduction in health care costs
German Tech giant SAP reported[1] a 200% ROI for mindfulness training, which included:
- Improvements in focus and collaboration
- Decreased stress
- Increased employee engagement
- Lower employee absenteeism
The UK’s Mindfulness Initiative[2] consolidated research showing that:
- Employees of leaders who practice mindfulness experience decreased emotional exhaustion, better work-life balance, and increased job performance scores.
- A meta-analysis of 209 clinical research studies with more than 12,000 participants found mindfulness training to have “large and clinically significant” effects in treating depression and anxiety.
- Mindfulness training reduces reactivity to emotional stimuli and improves attention and cognitive capacity.
- 45 workplace mindfulness studies have connected mindfulness to improved relationships at work, increased collaboration, and employee resilience.
- A 2012 study found that supervisor mindfulness reduced employee emotional exhaustion and increased employee work-life balance.
- MRI scans following an 8-week mindfulness course showed shrinking of the brain’s “fight or flight” centre.
- Reduced stress has been associated to increased creativity- a necessary skill for business success in today’s marketplace.
Mindfulness and Your Organization
While expenditure on mindfulness training may seem unorthodox compared to budget line items like IoT devices or market outreach, few tools have such a breadth of scientific research to back up their claims. SIGMA offers mindfulness workshops and a science-based 8-week online training program that teaches enterprises to harness the power of present moment awareness, and bring greater creativity, collaboration, and decision making into the boardroom and beyond.
To learn more about how your organization can gain the impressive and sustainable ROI of mindfulness training, reach out to our team today.
[1] Reuters, “At Germany’s SAP, Employee Mindfulness Leads to Higher Profits”, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-world-work-sap/at-germanys-sap-employee-mindfulness-leads-to-higher-profits-idUSKCN1II1BW
[2] The Mindfulness Initiative, “Mindful Nation UK Report”, https://www.themindfulnessinitiative.org/mindful-nation-report