The Research On The Benefits

Studies from The National Institutes of Health, University of Massachusetts and Mind/Body Medical Institute at Harvard University show that meditation enhances the qualities companies need most from their knowledge workers: increased brain-wave activity, enhanced intuition, better concentration, and the alleviation of the kinds of aches and pains that plague employees most.

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“… a growing number of corporations, including Deutsche Bank, Google and Hughes Aircraft offer meditation classes to their workers. Making employees sharper is only one benefit; studies say meditation also improves productivity, in large part by preventing stress-related illness and reducing absenteeism”

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Improved Productivity & Performance

Subjects practising meditation showed significant improvements at work, compared with members of a control group. Job performance and job satisfaction increased while desire to change jobs decreased. People at every level of the organisation benefited from practising meditation. Academy of Management Journal.

In a mid size manufacturing company, the productivity and profitability rose steadily as the number of employees practising a particular form of meditation over the same period rose to 80% of the workforce. During this period, productivity increased by 52 per cent, annual sales grew by 88 per cent and absenteeism declined by 89 per cent. Transcendental Meditation research.

Improved Work Relations & Job Satisfaction

Significant improvements in relations with supervisors and co-workers after an average of eleven months practising meditation, in comparison to control subjects. People at every level of the organisation benefited from practising meditation. Academy of Management Journal.

Improved Intelligence & Creativity

Results showed that the practice of meditation techniques develops greater field independence (which is associated with a greater ability to assimilate and structure experience, greater organisation of mind and cognitive clarity, improved memory and greater creative expression). This improvement in meditators is remarkable because it was previously thought that these basic perceptual abilities do not improve beyond early adulthood. Perceptual Motor Skills.

A study using the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (measuring figural and verbal creativity) in a control group and in a group that subsequently learned meditation, showed five months later that the meditation group scored significantly higher on figural originality, flexibility and verbal fluency. Journal of Creative Behaviour.

University students who regularly practised meditation increased significantly in intelligence over a two-year period, compared to control subjects. The finding corroborates the results of two other studies showing increased IQ in meditation students. Personality and Individual Differences. Perceptual and Motor Skills.

Improved Relaxation & Decreased Stress

A 3 month study of managers and employees who regularly practised meditation in a Fortune 100 manufacturing company and a smaller distribution-sales company showed that meditation practitioners displayed more relaxed physiological functioning, greater reduction in anxiety, and reduced tension on the job, when compared to control subjects with similar job positions in the same companies. Anxiety, Stress and Coping International Journal.

Improved Memory & Attention

College students instructed in meditation displayed significant improvements in performance over a two-week period on a perceptual and short-term memory test. Memory and Cognition.

Study Suggests Meditation Can Help Train Attention - New York Times May 8 2007

Recent research has shown that meditation is good for the brain. It appears to increase grey matter, improve the immune system, reduce stress and promote a sense of well being. However, according to a study published today in the online edition of the journal PloS Biology, meditation can also affect attention. The study's lead author, Richard Davidson, professor of psychology and psychiatry, University of Wisconsin said this was the first study to examine how meditation affects attention, which shows that attention is a flexible, trainable skill which can change with practice

Improved Health

Managers and employees in two companies which introduced meditation and who regularly practised meditation improved significantly in overall physical health and mental well-being, as compared to control subjects with similar jobs in the same companies. The meditation practitioners also reported significant reductions in health problems such as headaches and backaches, improved quality of sleep, and a significant reduction in the use of hard liquor and cigarettes, compared to personnel in the control groups. Anxiety, Stress and Coping International Journal.

Meditation has some high-profile corporate disciples, including bond-fund king William H. Gross, of Pacific Investment Management Co., who often meditates before a day of trading at his $349 billion money-management firm. Tech outfits like Apple Computer, Yahoo and Google are also signing up and so are old economy businesses like consulting firm McKinsey, Deutsche Bank, and Hughes Aircraft.

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