Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER July 13, 2015 FEATURES 15 Credit: Ollyy (Shutterstock) STAY CONNECTED TO YOUR LEGAL NETWORK 2015-16 Atlantic Legal Telephone Directory connects you to your legal community providing accurate and essential legal contact information in all four Canadian Atlantic Provinces. Compiled by the respected legal directories group at Thomson Reuters, you can rely on a directory that grows and expands with your legal community. Each year find new and updated names, mailing addresses, email addresses and phone numbers for lawyers and law offices. Also get quick, easy access to: • Law and Barristers' Societies • Courts of Appeal • Federal Court of Canada • Government of Canada departments • Judicial districts and judicial officials • Incorporated Municipalities • Land registration and information services • The Associations of Land Surveyors • Law Foundation • Provincial government departments • Boards and Commissions • Law Related Services, Institutions and Organizations • University law faculties ... and much more. New Edition Perfectbound • June 2015 $43* • L88804-761 Multiple copy discounts available *Plus applicable taxes and shipping & handling (Prices subject to change without notice) Stay connected with the 2015-16 Atlantic Legal Telephone Directory. Order your copy today. Visit www.carswell.com or call 1-800-387-5164 for a 30-day, no risk evaluation HEALTH & SAFETY Taking mindfulness online Coca-Cola, UBC sign on for pilot program By Sarah Dobson M indfulness training is all the rage these days. With many employees stressed out, overworked or overwhelmed, more employers are offering the training as a way for people to learn how to relax, rewind and rejuvenate. "It's about employee engagement; it's about employee wellness and employee productivity — there's so many different angles to it," says Geoff Soloway, training director at MindWell Canada. "It's a training that supports the person and the profession, so the person is more focused, less stressed. at's going to benefit the employee personally — they're going to be happier… and they're going to do their work better. "It's cultivating awareness in our lives at a very basic level." But one of the challenges with the training is traditionally it's of- fered over six to eight weeks, with two hours per week. For that rea- son, MindWell Canada is launch- ing a pilot program in November that would be 30 days long and be available online. "One of the biggest barriers to mindfulness training thus far is that it's typically run in a multi- week structure… and that's logis- tically and financially difficult for organizations, for busy people," says Soloway. Moving the program online will make it more accessible, as will shifts in the language and type of practices taught, he says. "We're trying to broaden that stroke so more people are inter- ested in taking the training." e online training will also ask participants to invite a buddy to accompany them in the training because people are more likely to follow through if they have a workout buddy in physical exer- cise, and this is a mental exercise, says Soloway. e pilot program, which will look at impacts on areas such as productivity, retention, stress re- duction and conflict management — will ideally start with in-person workshops to familiarize people with the program. "e 30-Day Challenge was de- signed using similar principles to the eight-week course so that par- ticipants learn new skills and are able to integrate them into daily life with daily support and guid- ance, yet the content is available anytime, anywhere and on any de- vice, making it more relevant and accessible to a wider population, many of whom can't sign up for a weekly course because of their work schedules," he says. UBC looking to learn e University of British Colum- bia signed on for the 30-day pilot program after going through a research study on mindfulness at work back in 2014. at six-week program involved 84 participants led by Soloway for two hours each week, as well as a four-hour mini- retreat between weeks four and five. e mindfulness-based stress reduction program consisted of practices such as yoga, body scans, focused awareness and open awareness, mindful eating and walking, and meditation. Partici- pants could access the mindful- ness practices using smartphone applications or the Internet. ey were asked to complete a 10- to 20-minute daily practice outside of work, as well as a three- to five- minute daily practice at work. They were also to complete weekly readings, reflective exer- cises and weekly logs, participate as a learning partner with another participant on a weekly basis, and received a weekly email from the instructor reviewing homework for the week. In the end, the researchers found the Mindfulness@Work program increased participants' overall levels of mindfulness; creativity increased in the train- ing group; participants were less likely to report feeling powerless and withdraw from conflict situ- ations; and there were significant improvements in emotional regu- lation, according to Soloway. e self-reported increases af- ter the program were in people's ability to handle stress, personal resiliency when faced with chal- lenges, and workplace productiv- ity, says Miranda Massie, health promotions co-ordinator, health, well-being and benefits, human resources at UBC in Vancouver. "One of the interesting pieces was around interpersonal re- lationships and interpersonal conflict resolution and that's something throughout HR — it's woven through our advisory services work, it's woven into our managerial training and de- velopment, in our organizational development and learning pro- grams; it's in our academic lead- ership program — it's a thread that carries through. "is is always something that we're going to be faced with as long as we're working with others and with different personalities." Mindfulness training makes sense in a time when workloads are heavier and people are feel- ing pressure between work, fam- ily and home and all the different responsibilities, she says. "We're constantly surrounded by technology and demands and multitasking and I think that this is coming in right at the height of that and providing potential solu- tions and a way for folks to take control of themselves over their situation, over their environment," says Massie. "We're trying to provide our staff and faculty with these spe- cific skills and skill sets that they can build and they can use so that over time they will become more resilient and that over time our organization as a whole and our department and units and our campus will be healthier places." And hopefully the online model will capture a difference audience at UBC, such as folks who might prefer that type of learning or have conflicting schedules, says Massie. Coca-Cola signs on Coca-Cola is getting involved with the pilot because this kind of program just makes sense for em- ployees, according to Tova White, Toronto-based vice-president of human resources. It's about simple, easy-to-use techniques that really help people focus and stay in the moment, she says. "In these busy times, we all have a tendency to be mentally running through a list of things we have to do… and it's probably not the most effective way to go about our days, so it's about taking a few mo- ments to recentre and reground, do maybe a quick body scan and just be present." e company is very interested in the health and well-being of the communities in which it operates, and that translates into the work- force, she says. "We do a lot of work and initia- tives in the area of associate well- ness — we believe it's the right thing to do. We also believe it's a great way to attract people to our organization and we believe that our associates, if they're well in body and mind, that they're more productive," says White. "Anytime that an individual can be more present and in the mo- ment, they can show up as their best self, and if they're managing their work-life stresses, then obvi- ously they're going to be a happy and productive person in all as- pects of their lives," she says. "ey're just looking for differ- ent ways to approach how they go about their day." e 6,200-employee Coca-Cola has done a lot around fitness chal- lenges and healthy sleep and diet, but it was interested in a program that looked at other aspects of a person's wellness, including their mental and psychological health, she says. It has already run three lunch- and-learns on mindfulness for some salaried associates, and the response was overwhelming, with full participation in both. So the 30-day challenge with MindWell seemed like a natural fit, says White. "If we can offer them (the training)… through technology — we're also very interested in innovation — for associates coast to coast, that would be a win-win for us." "It's a great way to attract people and if our associates are well in body and mind, they're more productive."

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