Six Ways in Which Meditation Boosts Productivity and Workplace Performance
Over the last decade, many big businesses and multinational companies have integrated meditation into their employee development and wellness programs. The reason is simple—a growing body of scientific research shows that meditation not only ensures employees’ physical, mental, and emotional well-being, but it also brings to the workplace a plethora of tangible benefits. Some companies have even quantified the direct financial benefits of bringing meditation and mindfulness programs into the workplace. Those benefits are double-fold. There is a cost-cutting component, resulting from a reduced healthcare cost per employee. More important, however, is the other, revenue-generating component, coming from the increased productivity per employee. (1)
From increased focus and productivity to enhanced problem-solving skills and creativity, meditation boosts performance along multiple parameters of business success. Some of the most successful CEOs and entrepreneurs, such as Bill Gates (founder of Microsoft), Jack Dorsey (CEO of Twitter), Arianna Huffington (founder of Huffington Post), and Jeff Weiner (Executive Chairman of LinkedIn) have embraced meditation as a vital component of their daily dynamics and lifestyle. Meditation rooms and free on-site meditation classes have now become standard in Google, Apple, Adobe, Goldman Sachs, General Mills, Procter & Gamble, Nike and across many other Fortune 500 companies around the globe. (2)
1. Meditation reduces work-related stress and creates work-life balance
Work-related stress has been named ‘the silent killer’ in the office. It leads to hypertension, a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases, and diminished mental health. Chronic stress is detrimental to the quality of life of the employees. This, in turn, adversely affects the overall performance and productivity of the company.
The prefrontal cortex—the most evolved region in the human brain—is responsible for our highest-order cognitive abilities. At the same time, it is hyper-sensitive to stress. Scientists have reported that even minor exposure to stress rapidly diminishes cognitive abilities, while chronic stress results in ‘architectural changes in prefrontal dendrites. (3) Therefore, a stressed employee cannot be optimally efficient.
Research has shown that people who meditate develop reliable stress-management capabilities. They learn how to maintain elevated emotions and redirect their energy. This boosts immunity (measured by increased levels of immunoglobulin A) and decreases the production of stress hormones, such as Cortisol. (4) Meditation promotes the release of endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin, known as hormones of happiness. Over a period, meditators become more resilient to change and more adaptive to volatility. They become calmer, happier, and better equipped with tools to manage the dynamics and demands of their workplace.
2. Meditation increases concentration and focus and lengthens the attention span
When the frequency and level of stress decrease, confusion, brain fog, and cognitive difficulties also disappear. Clear thinking, effortless focus, and, cognitive acuity become the standard way of working. Neuroscientists have shown evidence that, in meditators, the pre-frontal cortex becomes thicker (5,6) and new neural connections are formed. This enhances the processing of information and enables the person to think rationally, rather than make decisions based on emotions or momentary mood.
Even short meditation sessions can significantly improve the attention span. Studies have reported that meditation reverses neural pathways responsible for poor attention and mind-wandering. (7) People who meditate demonstrate improved attention and memory.(8)
3. Meditation increases the emotional intelligence and spirit of collaboration
People who meditate have better control and agency over their decisions and behavior. They are not prone to emotional outbursts when the circumstances are challenging. Another common effect of meditation is an increased sense of connectedness, which leads to compassion. Therefore, meditators become better team players and collaborators. As team leaders and managers, they are kinder and more empathetic. They get better at developing harmonious relationships with others, altogether leading to a happier workplace environment. Employees become well-aligned with the company’s strategy and culture, and more motivated to work as a team towards both short-term and long-term goals.
4. Meditation reduces errors in work
People who meditate get better at detecting and responding to errors. Using electroencephalography (EEG) and a computerized distraction test, researchers found that the strength of a neural signal linked to conscious error recognition is higher in meditators relative to non-meditators. (9) Even one session of guided meditation can enhance the brain’s ability to detect a mistake. As a result, employees who practice meditation pay more attention to errors and become less prone to making mistakes.
5. Meditation improves critical thinking and decision-making skills
Meditation and mindfulness techniques lead to better critical thinking and decision-making, at every stage of the cognitive process—in framing the problem, assessing uncertainty, concluding, and learning from feedback. (10) Behavioral and neuroimaging studies have confirmed that meditation modulates brain activities associated with cognitive control, emotion regulation, and empathy, and leads to improved non-social and social decision-making. (11)
For example, a study reported that meditation can prevent people from being driven by the ‘sunk cost bias’—the tendency to continue a bad project, maintain a dysfunctional relationship, or stick to an inefficient plan, out of attachment to their initial investment. (12)
6. Meditation enhances thinking outside the box and creativity
Meditation promotes divergent thinking, deeper insights, and breakthroughs. (13) It has been reported that meditation ‘reduces the influence of habitual verbal-conceptual processes on the analysis of ongoing experience,’ leading to an ‘erosion of habitual patterns of responding. (14) As a result, meditators are more apt at harnessing intuition and developing novel approaches to problems and situations.
Sources
https://hbr.org/2015/12/why-google-target-and-general-mills-are-investing-in-mindfulness
Dr. Joe Dispenza, ‘Becoming Supernatural’, Hay House, USA, 2017
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/12-benefits-of-meditation#5.-Lengthens-attention-span
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140212112745.htm
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141028082355.htm