Effectiveness of meditation on wellness management among corporate employees in India: An interventional study.

A quasi-experimental study of 220 corporate employees in India found that a meditation intervention improved quality of life and wellness indices while reducing stress. The intervention group showed a within-group reduction in stress (0.02) and significant improvements in quality of life (0.21), satisfaction with life (0.21), and well-being (0.24). Between-group comparisons at endline revealed lower stress (0.07), higher satisfaction with life (0.12), higher well-being (0.23), and a significant increase in quality of life (0.17) for the meditation group compared to controls. The authors suggest meditation enhances workplace wellness and stress management.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Urban corporate sector relies heavily on workplace well-being, with meditation being a potent stress reduction method that significantly enhances the quality of life (QoL) and wellness. The study aims to assess the effectiveness of meditation on wellness management among corporate employees in India. The quasi-experimental controlled study design was employed from May to June 2021, which assessed stress, QoL, and wellness indices (satisfaction with life, well-being) with meditation practice as the intervention. The online questionnaire incorporates questions from the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale, World Health Organization (WHO) QoL Scale, Five-item Satisfaction with Life scale and WHO-5 Well-being Index. A nonrandom sampling technique selected 146 and 74 subjects in the intervention and control groups, respectively, among the employees of Star health- and allied insurance company. The data was analyzed using SPSS V27 (©IBM SPSS Statistics). The Wilcoxon signed rank test for the dependent groups, and Mann-Whitney U test for the independent groups (between subjects) was performed. Among a total of 220 subjects who enrolled in the recruitment survey, 146 subjects underwent the intervention thus providing a response rate of 66.4%. For the intervention group, the difference (within group) in mean scores between baseline and endline assessment shows a reduction in stress (0.02) and significant improvement in QoL (0.21) and wellness indices (satisfaction with life: 0.21, well-being: 0.24). The difference (between the experimental and control groups) in mean endline scores shows a decrease in stress (0.07), an increase in wellness indices (satisfaction with life: 0.12, well-being: 0.23), and a significant change in the QoL (0.17). Meditation intervention in corporate wellness programs enhances the QoL, wellness, and stress management, establishing the effectiveness of health profile-raising ingenuities at the workplace.