WJM Champions Workplace Mindfulness

9.9 million working days are lost in the UK due to work related stress, anxiety or depression according to latest estimates from the HSE Labour Force Survey.

As a forward thinking Scottish law firm, we're seeking to put the Scottish workforce back on its feet in 2016 with a series of initiatives championing the benefits of mindfulness in the workplace.

From February, we are offering free lunchtime mindfulness sessions at our offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh.  We'll also be sponsoring and hosting free ‘Mindfulness in Business’ talks to employers, business leaders, professional associations and charities throughout Scotland.

The sessions will be led by one of Scotland’s foremost teachers of the science-based techniques of Mindfulness, Martin Stepek, who is also WJM's director of culture and communications.

Our chief executive, Liam Entwistle, explains “In any profession, it’s easy for stress to creep in and when it does, performance, decision-making, and work-life balance can all suffer as a result.

The practice of mindfulness equips people to handle the stress, strains and conflicts that arise in business.

Liam continued, "Having these skills is so important in law, where you need to give good legal advice but also have the skills, wisdom and insight to help your client during what can often be emotional, complex situations. Mindfulness has been shown by world-class research to help address most of these issues.

“During the last year, we have been incorporating principles of mindfulness to WJM. It’s my strong belief that as a firm we owe it to our people to make sure they are fully equipped to deal with the demands of work and achieve a life work balance. That doesn’t just mean being good at our jobs, but being good business people in the midst of the challenges we face. Mindfulness goes a long way to fit the bill and we believe it is a cause worth championing so that others in the Scottish business community can benefit also.”

Martin Stepek joined WJM in 2014, as director of culture and communications with a remit to introduce mindfulness to the firm, a role he fulfils in tandem with other interests and responsibilities. Martin has recently published his second book on mindfulness, Mindful Living 2 and he says the empirical evidence is overwhelming.

There are over 3,500 academic studies that have been published proving the benefits of mindfulness.

"Increasingly, forward-thinking employers are recognising the benefits of mindfulness in the workplace as a means of reducing stress, improving well-being, productivity, relationships at work, enhancing decision making and leadership skills. Mindfulness teaches you how to calm the mind and concentrate on the present. It gives you greater clarity, focus and helps you to make small adjustments which means you can give more to the people you work with and those you live with.”

Commenting on the feedback from staff at WJM, Liam Entwistle says: “It’s not every day you introduce eastern concepts of wellbeing into a Scottish law firm and so we had a bit of bristling at the start from those of a more conservative nature.  But the feedback to the weekly mindfulness newsletter has been excellent, and those who participated in the mindfulness sessions reported a firm grounding to their working day. People have also dipped in and out – spare time is an elusive concept in a law firm – when they feel particularly stretched, or if things are threatening to get on top of them, and found it really, really works. We would like others in the business community to benefit too, hence the start of these classes and free events.”

Free lunchtime mindfulness sessions will start on 5th February 2016. Spaces are limited so please reserve your place by visiting our Events page. For more information about the free WJM ‘Mindfulness for Business’ events, email mindfulness@wjm.co.uk.