Shyft Launches On-Site Mindfulness Meditation for Workers - Dispatch Weekly

Shyft, a science company in California has launched 30 minute guided on-site meditation classes that aids mindfulness, reducing stress in the corporate workplace as well as encouraging productivity and engagement.

Meditation and Mindfulness: the Statistics

• 8% of US adults (18 million) used meditation according to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) in 2012.
• One hundred percent of insomnia patients reported improved sleep and 91% either eliminated or reduced sleeping medication use, The American Journal of Medicine, 1996.
• American men and women who meditated 40 minutes a day had thicker cortical walls than non-meditators. This meant that their brains were aging at a slower rate. Cortical thickness is also associated with decision-making, attention and memory.

Stress and the Workplace

The impact of stress is estimated to cost US businesses over $300 billion every year according to the World Health Organization.

Stress can include: poor diet, interpersonal difficulties, overwork, difficulties in concentration and time management, anxiety and depression. This can show itself in heath problems and absenteeism.

Our New Normal: the Knowledge Era

Shyft classes were designed by former executives, physicians and mindfulness experts to be helpful for Shyft employees.

Niosha Shakoori, attorney and HR Expert, and co-founder of Shyft said, “This is our new normal. In the Knowledge Era, products and services are mre intellectual, making human capital more important than ever.”

“An organization’s people, and their knowledge, skills, and imagination, are its primary asset.”

The changing nature of our work, requires us to also shift out perspective of work, and how we can improve the mental, physical, and social health of our employees.”

Minimizing Stress, Enhancing Clarity and Awareness

The meditation classes aim to minimize stress, enhancing clarity and awareness.

Ayesha Soni, Meditation teacher said, “We don’t believe in overnight change. The most important shifts happen with regular doses of learning and effort.”

“Week by week, meditation can create a cultural shift so that both employee and employer can better contribute to the well-being=physical, emotional, financial-of one another.”

Fortune 500 Companies Embracing Mindfulness and Meditation

Many fortune 500 companies such as Google, Apple and Nike are embracing meditation and mindfulness classes, incorporating them for their workforce.

Shyft wants to include meditation classes to help employees reconnect with themselves, eliminating stress and anxiety in demanding positions.

Do you think all workplaces should embrace meditation and mindfulness and how would they benefit you?