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The Los Angeles Times, Monday, June 5,1995
Relaxing the Rules: More Companies EmbraceMeditation
Special To The Times Businesses say the at-work sessions make forhappier employees, increased productivity -- even higher profits. Every afternoon, office manager Janet Atwood leavesher desk, walks into a quiet room, closes the door and spends 20 minutesmeditating. Her boss, Encino physician Phil Lichtenfield, can't accuse herof nodding off on the job. He approved the rest break. At about the same time Atwood is closing the door,Montague Guild, founder of Guild Investment Management Inc., is sittingdown in the conference room of his Malibu office with the company's chiefoperating officer and one of the firm's analysts for 20 minutes of meditation, Almost everybody in this country could use a restin the afternoon, according to the National Commission on Sleep DisordersResearch. The group said in a 1992 report that Americans get 20% less sleeptoday than 100 years ago. Combine the national lack of sleep with people'snormal circadian rhythms that cause eyelids to droop in midafternoon, andthe result is cranky, inefficient workers who often make bad decisions.A case in point is the sleep-deprived third mate who ran the Exxon Valdexaground in 1989. Some companies, such as Omni Health Care, a healthinsurance company in Sacramento, recommend napping as a way of improvinghealth. That's a great idea for employees who have private offices. Butthose who work in the open can't unroll a mat next to their desks and pretendthey're in nursery school. Although history is replete with notable nappers-WinstonChurchill, Louis Armstrong, John F. Kennedy and Thomas Edison among them-U.S.corporations aren't likely to adopt the siestas of other cultures or turnclosets into napping rooms. However, some businesses have recently begun torecommend that their employees meditate twice a day, in the belief thatthe benefits of meditation improve a company's bottom line. If some of theearly results prove solid in the long run, companies may be setting asidemeditation rooms. The method of deep relaxation became popular inthe United States more than 80 years ago when transcendental meditationwas introduced in this country by a Hindu teacher named Maharishi MaheshYogi. The benefits of meditation have most often beentouted as personal. Scientific studies have demonstrated that meditatingtwice a day for 20 minutes lowers stress, cholesterol and blood pressurelevels. Many physicians, including Lichtenfield, who began meditating inmedical school 20 years ago, prescribe it for patients with high blood pressure.People who meditate have been able to reduce the amount of medication theytake or stop using it altogether, he said. But R.W. (Buck) Montgomery found meditation improvedthe health of his company. He instituted it at his Detroit chemical manufacturing firm in 1983. Within three years, he said, 52 of the company's10 workers-ranging from upper management to production line employees-weremeditating for 20 minutes before they came to work and 20 minutes in theafternoon, on company time. Over the next three years, absenteeism fell by85%, productivity rose 120%, quality control rose 240%, injuries dropped70%, sick days fell by 16%, and profit soared 520%, Montgomery said. He attributes the improvements entirely to themeditation exercises, which relieved stress and made the company's employeesmore relaxed, he said. "As a result, people enjoyed their work, theywere more creative and more productive," he said. "I tell companies,`If you do this, you'll get a return on your investment in one year. Montgomery, who sold the company in 1987 and retired,has spent the last six months promoting the benefits of meditation in theworkplace to more than 70 companies nationwide. He's working with the TranscendentalMeditation Program, an Iowa-based group dedicated to promoting meditation.He says about a dozen companies have begun meditation programs and thatanother 50 will begin pilot programs by the end of the year. Paul Worland, president of Real Estate DevelopmentServices, an engineering company in Woodland Hills, meditates on companytime, as do three of his employees. "People are a lot more focused and friendly"after meditating, he said. "And in that atmosphere of focus and friendliness,we get a lot more done." Meditating is not like napping, he said. "Ina nap, you're completely out. With meditating, you're wide awake, and youfeel a level of clarity much greater than before or after a nap. It enlivensthe central nervous system. You feel revitalized. It doesn't take the placeof sleep, but over the long run, it seems to reduce the need for sleep." Puritan-Bennett Corp., which produces respiratorycare and other medical equipment in Kansas City, Kan., started a pilot programin 1993 that compared 38 people who meditated to 38 who didn't. At the end of three months, an independent firmreported that those who meditated said they had more energy, were able tohandle stress better, had fewer physical complaints and had lower cholesterollevels, said Dr. Mary Martha Stevens, manager of the company's health andwellness program. Their co-workers said those who meditated were easierto get along with. Those who didn't meditate reported no changes. "I would foresee the company allowing employeesto meditate during work time, because it increases productivity," Stevenssaid. "It relieves stress, and I can cope betterwith things," said Atwood. who two years ago took Lichtenfield's offerto pay half the fee to learn how to meditate. "I feel more tired whenI don't do it. Every employer has to give employees a break. There's nobetter way to use it.'' © 1995, Jane E. Stevens, reprintedwith permission as appeared in the Los Angeles Times. Scientific chart and summary of research study on the Transcendental Meditation program and increased business productivity. Scientific chart and summary of research study on the Transcendental Meditation program and stress and anxiety. Scientific chart and summary of research study on the Transcendental Meditation program and hypertension (high blood pressure). Watch a video about the Transcendental Meditation program online! |
