Improving performance and happiness among healthcare workers through a body-mind approach in a healthcare setting in Sri Lanka.
Work (Reading, Mass.) October 17, 2016 DOI: 10.3233/wor-162395 (opens in new tab) via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA body-mind technique called insight meditation, mastered by the principal investigator and adopted as a lifestyle practice by a group of scholars, was introduced to 500 volunteer health personnel in a western province to generate a ripple effect of happiness at work. Initial qualitative information indicated improvement in some aspects of cognitive ergonomics among practitioners, including relief from stress during practice sessions, improvements in commitment to work, and team spirit. A demand for further training was observed. A quasi-experimental study to test the improvements is underway.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 500 |
| Population | Volunteer health personnel in the western province |
| Intervention | Insight meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Cognitive ergonomics Mental health Ripple effect Workers’ health |
| Key finding | Initial qualitative information indicated improvement of some aspects of cognitive ergonomics among those who practiced insight meditation, including relief from stress, improvements in commitment to work, and team spirit. |
Abstract
Cognitive ergonomics in the work place has become a serious concern with the need to keep people happy at work while maintaining high productivity. Hence, it is worth exploring how the outcomes of lifestyle-based mind development programs can bring about happiness in workplace while keeping productivity and quality of services high. The objective of the present work was to test a body-mind technique to improve cognitive ergonomics in a health care work setting. Principal investigator explored many body-mind techniques before selecting the present method of "insight meditation" which he mastered before applying it on a group of scholars who made it a part of their lifestyle. Later it was introduced to a sample of 500 volunteer health personnel in the western province to generate a ripple effect of happiness at work. Initial qualitative information indicated improvement of some aspects of cognitive ergonomics among those who practiced it. There was a relief from stress during the practice sessions and improvements in the commitment to work and in team spirit. A demand was observed for further training. A quasi-experimental study to test the improvements is underway. Health workers showed interest in the mind training and potential benefits to individuals and the institutions were observed.