Work organizations fall into two major categories:
for-profit; and, non-profit. Either
way, both are interested in their effectiveness.
This is the result of the best utilization of resources – financial,
material, and human.
For-profit organizations measure their success based on the
Return on Investment (ROI). That is
to say, the impact on the bottom line, or profitability, of any expenditure.
In other words, if spending a certain amount on an activity will generate
revenues greater than the investment, and assuming that there isn’t a better
investment to be made with the same money, then the decision to go ahead will be
a good one.
Non-profit organizations do not have such hard measures as
ROI or the bottom line with which to gauge their success.
Nevertheless, despite the greater difficulty with the measures they use,
they are still just as interested in getting the most bang for each scarce buck
spent.
In both cases, success depends on the effective functioning
of their human resources. Success
depends on the ability of their people to think clearly, to make good decisions,
to solve problems, to think creatively, to communicate and interact with each
other, to understand and respond to the needs of their clients or customers.
Furthermore, their success depends on the efficient cost of their people.
Absenteeism, illness, stress, mental health disorders such as anxiety and
depression, and so on, can cost any organization enormous amounts of financial
resources that could be put to more effective use.
While most of the hard research on Mindfulness has focused on health related issues, it’s benefits also include significant increase in people’s ability to perform effectively. Because the skills of Mindfulness are fundamental core or life skills, they literally impact every aspect of a person’s life. The ability to cope with the bad things that happen in life – from health problems to things that go wrong at the office – is improved. And, the ability to be creative, communicate, solve problems, make decisions, and so on, is enhanced. While there may not be the studies to support this as yet, there is strong anecdotal evidence to suggest Mindfulness might be one of the greatest investments any company can make. And, the investment in training staff in Mindfulness will keep on paying year after year. (Click here for results of a survey done on the benefits of Mindfulness with members of the workforce.)