Stress is a huge problem in the workplace. 3 out of every 10 employees are likely to go off sick with stress for an average of 27 days, and one of them will not return to work (CIPD 2016). If you include presenteeism, stress costs businesses an average of £1,205 to £1,560 per employee per year (Farmer Stevenson Review 2017).

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These are the headline figures of the negative impact of stress. However, what is missed in those statistics is the positive benefits and improved productivity from happy, motivated, focused employees.

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Mindfulness is just one approach to address stress, but research evidence is building of its significant contribution. A number of well-researched trials suggest typical figures of 50% stress reduction and up to 50% productivity improvement.

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Mindfulness training may cost an average of around £250 per employee. If that reduces the costs of stress by 50%, the return on investment is staggering. In fact Deloitte in the Farmer Stevenson Review, calculate an average return of £4.20 on every £1 spent on mental health initiatives in the workplace.

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At the Wales HR Network event on 3rd May, Simon Michaels of Mindful Work will describe how he has adapted mindfulness training to be accessible and highly effective in high-stress working environments.

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The key to it is a flexible training model, using webinars that can be re-watched later, online learning materials, email and text prompts, and a ‘short & often’ approach to learning. Current client feedback indicates that over half the trainees experience 69% better capacity to manage stress and 70% improvement in productivity. In certain sectors such as the legal profession, chargeable time has increased by over 20%.

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