Organisations and Business
Benefits for Organisations and Business
Why organisations engage in Mindfulness training
Mindfulness-based training courses provide rich, research-based cognitive and awareness tools that are particularly helpful in sticky situations. Easily cultivated, these skills are shown to deliver sustained increases in functioning, productivity and one's sense of satisfaction in work and life.
Everyone performs better when they are less stressed
Mindfulness has been shown to be effective in reducing stress, depression, anxiety and other challenging emotions which result in a high cost to society. From an organisational perspective, these emotions lead to reduced productivity, deflated workplace culture and increased presenteeism, absenteeism and turnover. Presenteeism is where staff turn up for work but are distracted by family, emotional and work issues which prevent them from being fully productive. Presenteeism is estimated to cost Australian businesses $9.96 billion per year. From a personal perspective, people experience clouded thoughts or a lack of clarity which affects the quality of their decisions, their relationships and their level of functioning.
What we offer
Mindfulness Centre offers new ways to perceive, act on and change challenging emotions. Participants have found our training profound - whether they felt themselves to experience a deep blackness, a slight bother or a strong desire to excel to the next level.
Each course is different, offering specific conceptual models, discussions and exercises.
Participants receive a combination of workbooks, CDs and written exercises as relevant to their course. With a focus on meditation and showing how to apply mindfulness, our Mindfulness-based training is designed for deep, sustained learning. We offer both in-house training and occasional public courses. Our material is presented in a lively and interactive manner and participants integrate what they learn throughout the training and leave able to apply the experience to everyday life.
The number one workplace stressor is a perceived lack of control.
Participants reconnect with the power of control and the power of change and tend to leave more energised, enthusiastic, clear-thinking and focused more of the time. Consequently people take less time off work, are more productive and are better able to perform their work with clarity and professionalism.
A 2007 study "indicated that higher levels of mindful attention and non-judgmental awareness are associated with cognitive and affective wellbeing, satisfaction at work and lower experiences of burnout." - May
| To organise an in-house training course across Australia or to ask more questions, contact us at or phone head office on: 08 8272 0046. |
Why choose Mindfulness and MBCT training
Mindfulness training offers a new way of looking at and approaching situations. Applicable to a broad range of situations it importantly gives individuals tools for addressing problems in all areas of their lives, leaving them able to focus at work, and be happy at home. A form of Insight meditation (Insight traditionally means care of the mind), Mindfulness is derived from Buddhism and in contemporary times has been incorporated into traditional Western training. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR - designed for stress) and Mindfulness–Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT - designed for recurrent depression) infuse our teaching and are combined with psychology, management and performance research to provide potent tools for life and work enhancement. The tools are easy to learn, have long term impact and are supported by research.
| Mindfulness/MBCT Benefits | | Designed for stress & depression |
| Deeper level learning |
| Applied |
| Evidence based |
| Customisable |
| Internationally experienced trainers |
Proactive Stress Management
Proactive stress management is vital in today's business world. Many stressed employees do not complain and may not even recognise that they are stressed. However, according to a Medibank Private report, stress costs the Australian economy $14.96 billion per year. Costs include the negative impact on other employees, time off work and increased staff turnover. $9.6 billion per year is lost through presenteeism, where employees show up to work but cost the organisation through lower productivity, poor decisions and other stress related consequences.
A 2009 study shows MBSR to "reduce stress, ruminative thinking and trait anxiety" in healthy people - Chiesa et al
Stress compensation claims result in a median payment of $15,500, nearly triple the general median payment of $6,100. Additionally, the general median time off work is 4.1 weeks. However when the claim is stress related, it climbs to 10.9 weeks. Proactive stress management reduces stress and could ultimately save your workplace more than money.
Effective for Depression
Residual Depressive Symptoms: 2007 study "A significant reduction in depressive symptoms was found at the end of MBCT, with a further reduction at one-month follow-up." Kingston et al
Depression will affect 1 in 5 Australian adults, and is predicted by the World Health Organisation to be the worldwide number two cause of disability after heart disease by 2020. It is already the case in Australia that depression is estimated to cost the economy $6.3 billion a year and to account for more than 12 million days of reduced productivity each year, with serious implications for work safety.
Actively depressed and resistant to other treatments: 2006 study: MBCT course "resulted in an improvement in depression scores (pre-post Effect Size=1.04), with a significant proportion of patients returning to normal or near-normal levels of mood.” - Kenny, Williams
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Training, designed for deep, sustained learning
| Key Benefits |
| To the organisation |
| Reduced presenteeism* |
| Reduced workplace conflict |
| Reduced workplace absenteeism & turnover |
| A more positive, calmer workplace culture |
| Improved teamwork and attention |
| To the individual |
| Increase motivation |
| Be present, adaptable and calm |
| Make better thought-out decisions |
| Feel rejuvenated and in control |
| Experience clarity of mind and body |
| Feel less stressed |
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Minimising Organisation Costs
| Costs to Australian Economy | Potential Benefits of Training |
| Stress: | Reduced: |
| Total $14.96 billion per year | Absenteeism/Presenteeism |
| Presenteeism $9.6 billion | Change Resistance |
| Claims: Median $15,500 vs | Workplace Negativity |
| $6,100 & 10.9 vs 4.1 wks off | Turnover |
| Depression: | Increased: |
| Will affect 1 in 5 adults | Productivity |
| Number two cause of disability | Focus |
| $6.3 billion per year | Workplace safety |
| 12 million days reduced productivity | Workplace communication |
| Family, work and society impact | Staff appreciation |
Program Highlights
Our most popular training course is the MBCT (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy) course, offered over 3 intensive days (or in SA only: weekly workshops spread over 5 to 8 weeks).
The MBCT Course highlights include:
- Mindfulness and MBCT: historical context and psychological research
- Mindfulness in action, taught and experienced as one would with a client
- Developing a new perspective on unpleasant feelings, thoughts and events
- Recognising familiar tendencies of mind that do not serve well
- Understanding difference – the power of acceptance
- Learning a range of meditations of increasing complexity for different people to help quiet and focus the mind
- Establishing what nourishes and what drains
- Creating clarity and calm – the 3-minute breathing space
- Cultivating positive attention
- Pleasure and mastery
- Re-engaging the power of hope and the power of happiness
- Wise action plan.
Mindfulness practitioners, executives and managers also like to attend the 2 day Mindful Executive Course which combines the Mindful Leadership, Mindful Communication and Mindful Workplace courses.
Who should attend?
One in three working adults suffers from moderate to extreme stress (ABS). Our training directly deals with stress and cultivates greater self-acceptance, clarity of mind and a sustained inner ability to counter depression, negative thoughts and unhelpful behaviour patterns.
Organisations have many reasons to seek out our training, including:
- to actively promote mental health safety initiatives
- to decrease presenteeism, turnover and increase staff productivity
- to equip staff with tools for coping with stress, downsizing, reorganisation and change
- to rejuvenate and avoid burnout, particularly in high stress professions
- to increase staff focus, clarity and creativity on the job
- To train managers and executives to better cultivate wise leadership and clear communication
- To cultivate better work-life balance and satisfaction.
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Mindfulness tools help people move beyond depression, stress, overwhelm, self-doubt, indecision and the other challenging emotions that trouble and cost everybody.
We learn new ways of relating to our experience, to develop insight, wisdom and self-compassion. This new way of relating enables us to be more skilful, self-caring and in control at home and work.
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