Corporate Meditation Programs via Zoom

Since 2016, Meditation House has been providing corporate meditation programs on-site for businesses in an array of industries. Our goal was straightforward: improve the mental well-being of employees. Stress is the biggest challenge facing employees and Meditation House was created to help ease the strain. Our sessions are typically 30 minutes long and some run up to 60 minutes. Clients can choose the best session time to suit their needs and get the most for their employees.

These sessions have one core focus; mindful meditation with a specialist teacher leading the group in relaxation exercises. Utilizing proven techniques to alleviate stress and release tension in the mind, our meditation sessions prove highly effective in improving the psychological well-being of the participants.

Prior to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, our sessions took place at the client’s office. This was at the time the best way to offer our sessions as it was easiest for the clients to stay in their office and we go to them. However, there were several challenges involved with on-site mediation classes. This has included too much noise in the office, constant interruptions by calls, the need for employees to leave a class due to pressing matters, and more.

Corporate mindfulness classes after the Covid-19 pandemic

A transition to providing mindful meditation services via a digital medium was in Meditation House’s sights. It just needed that little extra incentive; enter the coronavirus pandemic. Just prior to the start of the pandemic, previously booked sessions were being canceled – Meditation House’s clients were dropping like flies. It was time to go digital and provide virtual corporate mindfulness classes.

Our corporate meditation programs are now conducted via the extremely popular video conferencing program Zoom. Even though Zoom’s primary function is a video conferencing and webinar platform, many of our sessions are audio only with some video or still images as well. The Zoom platform allows for complete flexibility when delivering the sessions as attendees can participate via several different means including desktop or laptop computer, iPad, tablet, and smartphone. These virtual sessions have proven to be equally as effective as the sessions that we have led in person.

Besides conducting our mindfulness meditation sessions virtually, how have our sessions changed? Our virtual classes, when led via Zoom and Microsoft Teams, include soothing background audio that complements the spoken guided meditation. The choice of audio is almost limitless; some of our favorite background audio includes original compositions by artists that have created beautiful pieces of music. In some instances, we will utilize the sound of waves on the beach, the gentle pitter-patter of rain, and, more traditionally, the sound of wind chimes in a gentle breeze.

How are employees responding to virtual meditation classes?

In a lot of ways, virtual sessions are proving more efficient and in some ways more effective. Participants no longer need to sit in one room facing the same way. They don’t need to pile into a conference room. They can sit comfortably in any location. And as working from home has become more commonplace, we can still include everyone in the session no matter where they are located. And this is an important point to make.

People working from home now need meditation more than ever as they try to maintain a good balance between their work and home life. While it can be argued that when trying to participate in our mindfulness class at home there can be distractions that would not be present in the office, such as children and pets causing a disturbance, the pros of meditation at home far outweigh this.

By conducting our sessions via Zoom, and allowing participants to join from the comfort of their own homes, the benefits include (but are not limited to):

• Participants can make themselves much more comfortable.
• Participants can easily take a break from the session, run to the bathroom or grab a drink.
• It is much easier to switch off from work for the sessions when at home. People can more easily empty their minds of the pressure of work and the tasks they are responsible for, making meditation much more effective and beneficial.

So, how is Meditation House going to take full advantage of this new way of working to get the best for our clients?

Well, the possibilities are many and include the following:

• The teacher doesn’t have to physically be on site.
• No one gets left out due to space constraints.
• The sessions can include any number of people (especially important for organizations wishing to offer mindfulness programs to groups of 100+ employees.

Corporations need Mindfulness Meditation

65% of workers said their workplace stress causes difficulties and 29% have said that they then took this out on co-workers by yelling as noted by stress.org. This only increases the collective workplace stress even more. So what causes all this stress? The American Institute of Stress (AIS) splits it into 4 main categories: excessive workload, people issues, juggling the work/life balance, and lack of job security. In fact, excessive workload was cited in almost 50% of responses as to the cause of their workplace stress.

There are plenty of warning signs that stress is starting to creep in; feeling anxious, irritable, even depressed, and, of utmost concern for corporations, loss of interest in work.

So how does mediation help? Meditation gives you a time out, it stops the constant inflow of new information and gives you time to process your thoughts. It allows you to view things from a new perspective. Better yet, meditation gives you time to empty your mind of the stresses and re-evaluate your priorities, meaning you come out of the session refreshed and revitalized with the motivation to get back into your work. The more you meditate, the more you can build resilience to stress.

Corporations should consider how the well-being of their employees is being managed, especially because roughly 1 in 7 people say that improved wellness benefits would motivate them to stay in their current job. In addition to this, 34% of employees say they have difficulty sleeping because of workplace stress – tired employees can have a very negative impact on productivity.

So, if corporations don’t take the well-being of their workers into account, they could be damaging productivity or even worse, losing employees to their competitors. It is clear that improving wellness initiatives for employees is going to increase motivation and increase productivity. And how can corporations effectively improve the wellness of their employees and significantly reduce their stress? Of course, the answer is mindfulness meditation.

Staying calm during coronavirus: meditation can help

The Covid-19 pandemic has severely disrupted life as we know it. We have all felt the effect it has had on the world. As a result, corporations are going out of business while others are experiencing mass unanticipated layoffs in the pursuit of downsizing to survive. But let’s not pretend life has stayed normal for the ones that have been lucky enough to still be working.

A reduction in the workforce is having a significant effect on the ones still in their jobs. Longer hours, not taking lunch breaks, working late (even more than before!) is eating into people’s home life. Even socializing in the office has been taken away as social distancing has separated them from their co-workers. We all have less and less time to take care of ourselves in these unprecedented times.

Workplace stresses aren’t just in the office. They are wherever the work goes. So now that coronavirus has forced a lot of people to work from home, the stress has followed them. Except now there is a new level of anxiety to confront, the fear of the unknown has shown its ugly face. What may not be clear to everyone is how this has made the need for meditation even more prominent than before.

We talked about the work/life balance and that’s because it’s so important for mental well-being and coronavirus is making these two areas of our lives merge into one. As a result, trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep is a real issue that’s only getting worse. This can really affect the quality of work people are producing, causing even more stress – and so begins the downward spiral some struggle to escape.

Stress caused by work is at an all-time high and mindful meditation has become more important than ever. Meditation can help people quiet their minds and refresh to take control of their mental well-being and rebuild the work/life balance once again.

Meditation House offers virtual corporate mindfulness classes as well as virtual corporate mindfulness programs. Our classes and programs are priced so that both small organizations, as well as very large organizations, can afford and benefit from them. And if you have questions and want to discuss where to start, please contact us via email or call (888) 377-7761.