Improving the well‐being of staff through mindfulness at the Tees, Esk, and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust
Global Business and Organizational Excellence, 37 (5):
29-38 (2018)DOI: 10.1002/joe.21874
Abstract
Work‐related stress can affect employees’ health, as well as the quality of the work that they perform. Mindfulness is a way to diminish stress and improve well‐being, which in turn can reduce absenteeism and improve on‐the‐job performance. Recognizing the potential value of mindfulness training, the Tees, Esk, and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, a part of the United Kingdom's National Health Service responsible for mental health and learning disability services in northeast England, introduced a mindfulness program for its employees and service users. Subsequent evaluations have found that the initiative has had an overwhelmingly positive impact on measures such as general health, perceived stress, and well‐being. These results indicate the value of implementing a similar program in any organization where staff members have demanding workloads and are required to deal with people who may be distressed or disturbed.