Executives urged to tap into the power of mindfulness

Businesses are being urged to use the psychological technique of mindfulness to improve the performance of employees and teams.

By The Newsroom Tuesday, 27th June 2017, 10:52 am Updated Tuesday, 18th July 2017, 8:45 am

Gary Young of The Mindful Enterprise says the power of mindfulness is often overlooked. Picture: Contributed

Training provider The Mindful Enterprise, which works with a number of clients in the public sector, is now formally expanding into the corporate world.

The Edinburgh-based social enterprise was set up by Gary Young, who has 23 years’ experience in financial services, and chairman Alister Gray of executive coaching business Mindful Talent.

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Young already works with business teams at KPMG and recycling business Changeworks and is looking to introduce mindfulness to other employers.

“In the fast-paced, often stressful world of business, the simple power of mindfulness, focusing on the present, is often overlooked,” Young explained.

“Yet mindfulness has been shown to open the door for people to adopt more positive actions that will benefit the individual, their work, education and family.”

A number of organisations have seen positive results as a result of employee participation in mindfulness. Transport for London reported a 71 per cent reduction in absence rates due to employee stress and anxiety.