A study of stress reduction in the workplace revealed positive effects from short periods of Acem Meditation.
Meditation gave employees more energy and reduced their levels of anxiety and nervous tension. It increased their ability to cope with pressure at work and in their private lives, making them less likely to close their eyes to problems and respond with regression and denial. Their overall quality of life improved. Employees who did not learn meditation showed no such improvements.
After the age of 50, many people experience reduced quality of life due to aches and pains, poorer sleep and more tiredness. In 1995, about one third of all Norwegians on disability pensions were suffering from such symptoms (Steen & Haugli 1997). In 2006, the number of Norwegians on disability pension was 327,800, or 13.4% of the total workforce.
In Norway’s largest telecom company, Telenor, 25% of the employees in 2002 were over 50. The mean retirement age, including disability pensions, was 55 years, lower than the average 59 years in Norwegian businesses in general. The company therefore developed a “senior policy” aimed at creating a working environment that was more accommodating to senior employees, with the object of reducing stress-related problems, preventing burn-out and reducing dissatisfaction among this group.
As a part of this policy, a group of Telenor employees over 50 was offered a stress-management programme. The group was selected in cooperation with the company’s Occupational Health Service on the basis of the following criteria: monotonous work, including periods of higher workload every month, with increased risk of serious stress.
The stress-management programme comprised 10 meetings, with (1) instruction and training in Acem Meditation, chosen because of its documented physiological effects, including relaxation and stress reduction (Solberg 2004a; Solberg et al. 1995; see also Westlund & Holen in the present volume); (2) instruction in and some practice of Acem Yoga (a selection of simple, classical yoga exercises and “office yoga”, i.e. bodily relaxation exercises at the office desk); and (3) presentations on topics tailored to older employees, followed by group discussions. The themes were: (a) “Work and life experiences: a resource”; and (b) “New phase – new values”. The topics reflected a view of adult life as involving transition periods that may produce frustration and psychological stress and requiring the development of new perspectives. Two instructors from Acem International School of Meditation attended each meeting at the company’s premises. Participants had access to a room for daily meditations at work.
Sixteen employees participated in the stress-management programme and there was a control group of 17 employees from the same company. Efforts were made to match the two groups as far as possible. The control group did not learn any relaxation techniques, but filled in the same forms as the meditation group. The meditation group also filled in an additional form with a thorough evaluation of the programme and the results.
The study showed several positive results. The meditation group obtained significant reduction in personality traits relating to tension, worry/nervousness, and vulnerability (26% difference from before to after), as rated with Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) (Eysenck & Eysenck 1969; Martinsen et al. 1994/Holen 1996, Norwegian version). The control group obtained no significant change (11%).
At the end of the programme, the meditation group showed reduced use of the defence mechanisms regression (minus 46%) and denial (minus 23%) under emotional pressure, as measured by the Life Style Index (LSI-R) (Plutchik et al. 1979; Holen 1992, Norwegian translation). Both reductions were statistically significant, suggesting an improved ability to cope with emotional pressure and manage stress. The control group obtained no similar reductions (minus 5% and minus 17%, respectively).
Sleep problems were reduced in the meditation group (16% reduction, near significant change from before to after), whereas the control group obtained no such improvement (7% difference). Sleep problems were measured with questions relating to: (1) difficulty falling asleep; (2) disruptions of sleep during the night; (3) waking up too early; and (4) sleeping medication.
On an evaluation form, the meditation group reported having more energy and feeling more relaxed immediately after learning meditation. Participants said that it was important to have access to a room where they could practise Acem Meditation once during the workday. Both the meditation group and the leader of their department maintained that this opportunity for meditating together contributed to increased satisfaction and solidarity at work. A higher threshold of frustration during stressful periods with higher workloads was reported, as well as a more positive attitude.
Figure. Changes from before to after the stress-management programme: employees who learned Acem Meditation improved significantly with regard to sleep problems, worry and coping with emotional pressure. They had less tension and nervousness, and responded with less regression and denial. EPQ = Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, measuring personality traits relating to tension, worry and vulnerability.
Participants had meditated an average of 6 times during the last week, which is about once a day (range of responses: 1-12 times).
The results of the study indicate that Acem Meditation has substantial stress-management potential. The meditation group obtained improvement in several areas: sleep problems, worry and coping with emotional pressure. Members of this group suffered less tension and nervousness, and coped better with difficult emotional situations, showing less tendency to respond with regression and denial. The control group obtained no such improvements.
The study indicates that Acem Meditation can have a positive impact, and that deep relaxation influences one’s psychological functioning in daily life. For those who want a relaxation technique with extensive long-term effects, Acem Meditation seems to be a suitable method. It is unlikely that these effects are limited to people over 50; they are probably similar in other phases of life.
The number of participants was standard for this type of course, but was low in terms of statistical analyses. The limited number of participants means that only large differences between the two groups would yield significant results at the commonly used significance level (p<0.05). With a larger number of participants, the statistical analyses would more easily meet the quality criteria for social science studies, and might yield more solid documentation regarding the impact of Acem Meditation on stress reduction and quality of life.
An additional question for exploration by means of longer-term studies is whether practising meditation will influence how long older employees remain in their job before retirement.
Instructors in Acem Meditation include a large number of health professionals, such as medical doctors, psychologists, physiotherapists, social workers and nurses. Acem School of Meditation has developed stress-management programmes for various companies, e.g. finance organisations, highway police, teachers, smoke divers and security personnel. In addition to professional groups, Acem has developed courses for groups practising competition sports (e.g. elite shooters), breast cancer patients, health professionals with burn-out problems, and prisoners. Cooperation with a variety of organisations to conduct studies like this one has provided extensive knowledge about stress and stress-related problems, and has supported the importance of regular practice of Acem Meditation for better stressmanagement (Holen & Eifring 2007).
(1) The project was a collaboration between Telenor and Acem Study Organisation (member of the Norwegian College of Further Education) 2003-2004. It was led by Maria S. Gjems-Onstad, clinical psychologist, with Are Holen, M.D., Ph.D., psychiatrist, as consultant. Acem Meditation instructors were: Maria S. Gjems-Onstad and Bibbi Juell, social worker. Contributors from Telenor were: Ferry Zandjani, Occupational Safety and Health director, Sigrun Andenæs, M.D., and Kristin Kielland, Occupational Safety and Health counsellor/physiotherapist. (2) Standardised statistical analyses were used to examine the effect of the stress management programme. Paired sample T-tests were performed to investigate changes in the meditation and control groups. (3) No significant changes were found in repression, projection, compensation, reaction formation, intellectualisation, and displacement (LSI-R). The Goldberg General Health Questionnaire (GHQ 28) (Goldberg & Williams 1988; Malt et al. 1989) yielded no significant results. (4) The evaluation form included questions relating to: (1) Acem Meditation (degree of regularity and satisfaction); (2) Acem Yoga and office yoga; (3) presentations on life themes followed by group discussions; and (4) overall evaluation of the programme. The meditation group was also asked to formulate their experiences with the programme in their own words.