Mindfulness and meditation: focus on mental health improves productivity

Wellness consultations, lunchtime walks and permission to skive off early during ‘beach bum January’ are all on offer as employers deal with the post Covid-19 workforce.

Mental health days, wellness consultations, lunchtime walks, and permission to skive off early during “Beach Bum January”.

It’s all happening in Australian business as managers recognise that staff increasingly need support as they emerge from Covid-19 lockdowns and figure out the new way of working. The initiatives vary across companies but they share the goal of supporting employees’ health to help them be more productive at work.

Brand public relations firm Icon Agency call their program “Caring Culture”, a suite of informal and formal activities from meditation and mindfulness to life coaching for executives. Managing director Joanne Painter says successful businesses recognise employee mental health is as important as their physical health when it comes to productivity and happiness.

“With competition for talent at an all-time high, people are increasingly attracted to employers offering flexible, fair and supportive workplace policies,” she says.

The agency offers mental health leave but when summer rolls around it’s time to hit the surf for “Beach Bum January”, with staff clocking off early “to get out and enjoy life,” Painter says.

The program is working: Painter says there has been lower staff turnover and very high levels of staff satisfaction in recent surveys. “While it’s hard to link this to one specific policy, openly embracing mental health in the workplace sends an inclusive and supportive message that resonates with many people,” she says.

“This level of openness is new – and I think reflects the more sophisticated approach progressive businesses are taking.”

University of Queensland research fellow and BioPsych Analytics director Dr Jemma King says stress and burnout are not only a significant problem for employees but there is a huge cost to an organisation in terms of turnover and productivity.

“We reach into people’s lives because I suppose their work reaches into their lives,” she says. “The responsibility has been put back into the organisation’s lap to make sure workers are not only physically safe at work but also what we call psychologically safe.”

At Sydney funds management firm Wilson Asset Management the focus on the wellbeing of employees has been taken to another level, thanks to wellbeing manager Jonathan Bush.

“We offer a wellbeing program that’s bespoke to every individual who works with us, based on giving everyone the chance to be the best version of themselves,” he says.

Regular mindfulness training sessions, lunchtime walks, and an in-house naturopath and nutritionist twice a month are just a few of the initiatives Bush has helped put in place.

While many companies have “blanket programs,” the fund manager tries to tailor support to individuals in what can be a volatile and stressful environment.

“We drive a high-performing team. So we understand that these staff are coming in and doing great work for us, so we support them daily in the office,” Bush says.

Every eight weeks he checks in with every employee in a “wellness consult” where he explains what the company can offer relating to their mental wellbeing and creates a program suited to the individual.

At award-winning Australian sparkling mineral water company, Capi, chief executive Emma Evans is also a believer in the investment in wellbeing and education for her employees.

“I have a huge interest and have put a lot of time into my own mental health and my own wellbeing,” she says.

Evans began acknowledging mental health in her workplace during the pandemic but realised even after lockdowns ended the issue of mental health and wellbeing were not going away.

She says some workers found it hard to go “back into the realms of socialising with people”.

That’s when she came up with Mindful Me days, an additional two days’ paid annual leave dedicated to taking time away from the office to engage in personal activities.

Evans says: “It’s quite normal for people to say ‘I’m taking a Mindful Me day. It’s not taboo and no one is scared to do it. That’s why I think creating the ability to feel safe is really important.”

Her company takes a “compassionate leadership approach” which Evans says is about “understanding that each individual is contributing as best they can with the tools they have available at any given time. It doesn’t mean being overly kind but rather seeing the person behind the action.”

Not only has Evans brought in her own signature approach to leadership, she has established weekly mindfulness classes at company headquarters in Windsor, Victoria, which feature motivational guest speakers each quarter.

During the pandemic, the Capi leadership team did a four-week compassionate leadership program led by Simon Davey, co-founder of Happy Melon, a yoga studio in Melbourne’s southeast. Since then, Capi has run one-day immersive sessions, kicking-off strategy workshops with a Yin Yoga class.

“My No.1 value is growth and development,” Evans says. “I once heard that work is our greatest vehicle for personal growth because we spend so much time there. I love that, I lean into it and it’s helped me along the way.”