Mindfulness courses at work cut stress; the work gains were smaller and less certain.

The review

1. 01

   Who took part

   5,161 employees took part in 53 studies: 2,689 in mindfulness courses and 2,472 in other groups. Ages ran from about 20 to about 50, averaging about 40, and on average about three in four were women.

2. 02

   What they did

   The two main kinds were stress reduction and mindfulness with yoga. Courses averaged about 17 hours over about 7 and a half weeks. Most also recommended practice at home, and the other groups mostly got nothing or waited for the course.

3. 03

   What happened

   Stress fell and well-being rose across many studies, while the work gains were smaller and less certain. Among the work results, only job satisfaction stayed clear after a few outlier studies were removed. The paper warns that the stress results may be too large, because weaker studies may be missing.

What the review found

1. HelpedMotivation

   Across 5 studies, people who practised mindfulness at work rated themselves as more engaged in their jobs.

   • Action: Practise mindfulnesstested

   Pooled analysis of 5 studies · vs people on waiting lists or other groups · they rated themselves · ⚠ the studies disagreed a lot; whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited

2. HelpedGoals

   Across 9 studies, mindfulness at work gave a small rise in output, but one study accounts for it.

   • Action: Practise mindfulnesstested

   Pooled analysis of 9 studies · vs people on waiting lists or other groups · ⚠ the studies disagreed a lot; whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited

Source