More than half of American employers offer some form of mindfulness training to their workers, contributing to a global corporate wellness market that’s valued at over $50 billion. But are these investments actually paying off?
While the general benefits of mindfulness — that is, a state of awareness and presence in the moment that can be cultivated through various meditation practices — are well known, the effectiveness of these workplace programs isn’t as established as one might think. The vast majority of academic research examining the impact of mindfulness practices has been conducted in labs and therapists’ offices — two environments that are very different from those in which corporate wellness programs generally take place. As such, to bridge this gap, we conducted a series of field studies exploring the effects of different mindfulness-focused meditation practices in real-world workplace settings. And in a nutshell, we found that mindfulness can in fact be beneficial for certain kinds of employees and situations…but it can be less effective, or even counterproductive, for others.
In our first study, with Gretchen Spreitzer, Chen Zhang, Laura Noval, and Samah Shaffakat, we worked with IT consultants in India and call center representatives in the U.S. In both environments, we found that workers who meditated in the morning were more attentive and helpful to their coworkers and customers throughout the day. Interestingly, while workers who engaged in any sort of meditation were more helpful, the reason why they became more helpful depended on the type of meditation practice they used: Breath-based meditation (in which you focus on your breath) helped people better understand others’ perspectives cognitively, while loving-kindness meditation (in which you imagine sending kindness and goodwill to others) made people more able to feel what others were experiencing, boosting empathy and connection to others.
However, our second study, with Matthew LaPalme and Isabelle Solal, identified a key limitation of these mindfulness practices. We asked more than 1,400 online gig workers to reflect on a time they wronged someone, and then we had them engage in a breathing or loving-kindness meditation. This time, we found that workers who did a breathing meditation were actually less likely to want to help the person they had harmed than both those who did a loving-kindness meditation and those did not meditate at all. In other words, when it comes to taking ownership and making up for a past mistake, breath-focused meditation practices may do more harm than good. This is because while loving-kindness practices shift your focus to other people and thus increase feelings of empathy toward others, breathing meditation is all about focusing on yourself. That means it effectively reduces guilt, thus decreasing motivation to make amends for past wrongdoings.
Of course, when guilt becomes debilitating, reducing it can help people move forward. But prior research has demonstrated that in many cases, disconnecting from a career challenge or ethical dilemma and retreating into a meditative mindset can get in the way of necessary problem solving. Thus, to get the most value out of workplace meditation programs, managers should avoid a one-size-fits all approach and instead carefully consider which kinds of practices will be most helpful (and which may actually be harmful) for workers in different roles.
Specifically, we’ve developed three strategies to help employers and employees implement the targeted mindfulness programs that will be most beneficial for everyone:
Prioritize Mindfulness for Roles that Demand Social Interaction and Authenticity
Research has shown that both breath-based and loving-kindness meditation can help reduce the stress associated with emotionally charged social interactions. As such, for roles such as customer service representatives, consultants, doctors, call center agents, teachers, and other people whose daily work demands substantial interpersonal interaction, these practices can be particularly helpful. For example, mindfulness has been shown to improve performance among military personnel who engage in frequent high-stress interactions, and in our own personal and professional lives we’ve found that a brief loving-kindness meditation before going into a potentially charged interaction with a student or colleague can be a helpful reminder to listen deeply and respond with kindness.
However, for roles that don’t necessitate as much intense, authentic social interaction, mindfulness can actually be counterproductive. Specifically, when workers’ jobs require them to express emotions that do not match their internal psychological state, research shows that being more mindful can actually make them less effective.
To Boost Accountability, Choose the Right Meditation Practices
Our studies showed that both focused breathing and loving-kindness meditation can boost helpfulness in certain workplace contexts. But for roles or situations in which accountability is more important, it may be best to focus more on loving-kindness practices, as breath-based practices can cause people to feel less responsibility for their actions. Particularly for leaders or managers who need to take ownership of their mistakes and address past issues in order to be effective, reducing their ability to feel remorse may create problems. Given this risk, organizations should consider investing in programs that encourage loving-kindness meditation or other compassion-focused approaches, especially for managers or executives, alongside more traditional, breath-focused meditation practices.
Strategically Integrate Mindfulness into Your Workday
Finally, the research shows that when you engage in mindfulness can be just as important as engaging in the right kinds of practices. While you might think that you need to practice mindfulness at the same time every day, targeted mindfulness in the moments you need it most can actually be more effective. Especially when it comes to workplace interventions, it is important that whatever practice employers recommend fits smoothly within employees’ normal flow of work.
For example, in our study, call center agents were invited to take a calming breath while the phone was ringing, immediately before answering. Similarly, doctors may find it most helpful to quickly visualize radiating goodwill to others while walking between patients’ rooms. This is also something we do ourselves: Lindsey asks herself, “How can I welcome every single student?” right before she starts teaching, to remind herself to deeply listen to students, while Andrew meditates before meetings that he knows might be challenging in order to help him remain calm, compassionate, and intentional about what he says.
To determine the best time to integrate mindfulness into your own workday, take notice of when you tend to be the most stressed out. Once you’ve identified the time, place, or even person that’s often associated with your stress, start building a habit of mindfulness to strategically address those moments in your day.
In addition, beyond these predictable triggers of stress, there are also one-off events where mindfulness is likely to be particularly useful. Research has shown that mindfulness can both help you innovate and provide an extra cognitive boost that may give you an edge before a big exam, the launch of a challenging project, or important events such as fundraising presentations, major sales calls, or legal trials. Rather than following a generic, arbitrary schedule, strategically deploying mindfulness at crucial moments like these can be incredibly powerful.
Of course, a more standard daily mindfulness practice can also be highly effective. Basketball legend Kobe Bryant, for instance, spoke openly about how his routine of engaging in a few minutes of mindfulness meditation every morning helped ground him before starting his day. But especially if you’re already overwhelmed with juggling multiple demands at work and at home, it may be easier to start with specific, targeted practices — applying the mindfulness “medicine” directly where and when it’s most needed — than to find the time for a more traditional, daily approach.
Most importantly, employees and managers alike should remember that mindfulness is a deeply personal experience. We all react differently to these practices, and so it’s important to leave room to experiment and adapt to whatever works best for you. Whether you prefer to simply take a breath, to focus on feeling your feet on the ground, to visualize positive intention, or engage in any other type of meditative activity, it’s critical for you and your team to identify and practice the mindfulness strategies that will be most effective for your unique role, routine, and mind.