Mainstream Mindfulness

For years, the business community operated under the belief that hustling, putting in the hours, and ultimately sacrificing your well-being was a necessary evil in the recipe for success. Now, visionaries like Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, Sheryl Sandberg and Bill Gates are speaking out about the value of getting a good night’s sleep. What happened?

Most people have heard of the term “mindfulness”: the concept of a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment. But now it has taken on a new level in mainstream popularity, as businesses are starting to actively invest in their employees’ well-being, encouraging them to sleep more, introduce rejuvenating activities into their routine and generally prioritize wellness over pushing oneself to exhaustion in the name of productivity.

If the trend continues, the office of the future is set to become much more centered on encouraging focus and productivity through strategic breaks and investment in wellbeing. In 2016, “corporate wellness” was named the smartest category in which to start a business by Inc. magazine, and according to the Rand Corporation, each dollar that businesses invest in corporate wellness is expected to return $3.80 in savings, productivity improvements, and other benefits.