A mindfulness training program at IF Insurance

• Main Author: REB, Jochen
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2012
• Subjects: Mindfulness; Attention Skills; Awareness at Work; Stress Management; Insurance; Business and Corporate Communications; Human Resources Management; Industrial and Organizational Psychology; Interpersonal and Small Group Communication; Organizational Behavior and Theory
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cases_coll_all/44; https://cmp.smu.edu.sg/case/1741
• Institution: Singapore Management University

This case describes the experiences of employees participating in a corporate-based mindfulness training program. The training program took place at the Risk Management Services group of If Insurance, a leading insurance company in the Nordic region. As defined for the training program, mindfulness is the attentional skill of being able to focus one’s full attention and awareness on one thing at a time, without distraction. This case would provide students an opportunity to appreciate the concept (and history) of mindfulness, as well as its modern applications and research on mindfulness. This case provides an opportunity to discuss the pros and cons of the program, as well as future directions it could take. By describing the participants’ experiences with the mindfulness training program, as well as with trying to apply mindfulness at work, students are challenged to consider how mindfulness can be applied to their own (work) lives to combat the stress that often accompanies information overload and the subsequent tendency to multitask.