IS 2024 WHEN YOU START A MEDITATION PRACTICE? How can we HEL

Global health leaders have drawn up recommendations for improving mental health at work which could boost productivity and save £1 trillion.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended that as well as providing mindfulness sessions, all firms should give managers mental health training so they can prevent stressful working conditions and help staff in distress.

The WHO and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) recommend interventions "that aim to build workers' skills in stress management" such as mindfulness training.

Other recommendations include providing opportunities at work for "leisure-based physical activity" such as resistance training, strength training, walking and yoga. If this cannot be done at work, then managers should provide employees with "external opportunities" to complete the activities.

The report added that "high workload increases the risk of symptoms of mental health conditions" and that for workers in "emotional distress" psychosocial interventions such as cognitive behavioural approaches or problem solving training may be considered in an effort to "reduce these symptoms and improve work effectiveness".

The WHO says that: One in seven adults has a mental health disorder. About 12 billion working days are lost each year, and lost productivity as a result of depression and anxiety costs the global economy about £1 trillion a year.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO's director general, said: "It's time to focus on the detrimental effect work can have on our mental health.The wellbeing of the individual is reason enough to act, but poor mental health can also have a debilitating impact on a person's performance and productivity."

"These new guidelines can help prevent negative work situations and cultures and offer much-needed mental health protection and support for working people."

Guy Ryder, director general of the ILO, added: "As people spend a large proportion of their lives in work - a safe and healthy working environment is critical.We need to invest to build a culture of prevention around mental health at work, reshape the work environment to stop stigma and social exclusion, and ensure employees with mental health conditions feel protected and supported."

Founder of Meditation Rocks, Lucy Stone says: "Throughout the lockdowns and beyond, we have been working with a number of organisations to run mindfulness training for employees, teams and leaders. It's refreshing that so many companies are seeing the benefits of mindfulness as a crucial part of the wellbeing jigsaw for individual mental health and resilience as well as forming a part of leadership training. What's important is that this is allowed time to become a part of the culture of the business, so often employees who learn mindfulness techniques not only say that it makes them feel calmer, they sleep better and think more clearly, many report benefits of improved focus, creativity and motivation."

"Earlier this year I partnered with Henley Business School to run a Mindfulness Masterclass for Executive Coaches at this world leading coaching centre and since then I have been running one off and programmes of mindfulness both virtually, and in person, in workplaces all over the UK. I am keen to hear from any organisations who are looking to add mindfulness, breathwork or mindful leadership to their training and to put together a programme which suits the needs of your teams."