A television interview with Samantha Keen:

business_mirror_article

Ina B. Teves
Published in the magazine in the Philippines. May 2008.

There was a time when the symbol of the corporate leash was the necktie – which, quite symbolically also – you could remove, or at least loosen up, at the end of the workday. Today, we are connected to the workplace 24/7 through our laptops, Blackberries, and cellular phones. We can hold teleconferences and videoconferences. We have instant messaging and VoIP. We have 24-hour offices that service clients in all time zones. We have 24/7 cable news. And we wonder why we feel depleted. Some of us become so wound up by the stresses of the day that we have difficulty sleeping. This in turn depletes our energy stores some more.

The work-life balance movement is a response to the demands of the modern workplace – fewer vacations, less workers, increasing workloads – and its consequent health disorders: sleep deficit, burnout, stress-related ailments, chronic fatigue.

Many organizations now recognize the increase in workplace stress and its impact on productivity. Slowly, companies are replacing physical fitness interventions like weight training and cardio classes initiated in decades past with tai chi, qi gong, stress management forums, and now, workplace meditation.

Vital Switch, a company based in Australia, teaches exercises that help workers manage stress and revitalize their inner reserves by using meditative techniques in the workplace.

It was founded by Samantha Keen, a financial journalist, and Stefan Gorkiewicz. a former IT professional involved in production planning and control in Germany.

Keen had suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) for five years. She had undergone various treatment programs before discovering meditation and finally overcame her illness. Gorkiewicz has had 7 years of intensive training in meditation and has been giving workshops the past 5 years.

Although many workshops exist on meditation, Vital Switch provides the worker with a suite of tools they could use right in the whirlwind of activity – the workplace.

“These techniques have been developed for people of the 21st Century,” says Keen. “They help busy people to learn how to focus, to get in touch with their own vitality and to bring more clarity into their lives. We also have exercises that people can use during the day, at work, at home, while in situations of conflict or pressure, while driving, or
when you get tired and distracted. Therefore, Vital Switch teaches a lot more than meditation, although a lot of our work comes out of the principles of meditation.”

Although many of the techniques have to be learned through guided, experiential modules in their workshops, Keen shares a few pointers that could help shake off the workplace blues.

When you haven’t had your morning coffee or just came back from lunch:

“Pay attention to your posture - sit up or stand up straight,” says Keen. You would be surprised how draining it is to constantly slouch over the computer, over a desk, or the car wheel. Sitting up straight immediately allows [your energy] to flow better. You will also notice when you pay attention to your posture that when your shoulders are back and your belly slightly forward, it is very hard to feel depressed or heavy in your body.”

When faced with multiple deadlines, all labeled ASAP:

“Breathe deeply into your body. Feel your breath even down in your belly, below the navel. Take extra time to prepare your state of mind and your energy so that when you approach the situation you are able to rest on a sense of inner calm. This sense of inner calm can be more easily maintained in situations of mental pressure if you have
meditated in the morning. Even when you are busy, if you take 15 minutes at the beginning of each day, you will find it easier to approach those tasks with a clear sense of inner strength,” says Keen.

When you disagree with your boss, your client or your officemate – or find them just
plain disagreeable:

Says Keen: “We love teaching people about workplace conflict, it is one of our strengths but it will happen in our advanced workshops. We teach people to be assertive and at the same time remain open, so they do not have to get angry in order to state a difference of opinion.”

“It is really important that people do learn how to handle workplace conflict,” she adds. “If they cannot come to our workshops: I would advise [them] to apply the posture rule here too. Stand up straight at all times. Another thing that can help is to learn a form of martial arts.”

What organizations can do to bring down stress and fatigue levels and the resultant
absenteeism:

“We have a company that gives organizations the steps to reduce burnout, stress and fatigue. First would be to make sure employees are aware that looking after their own health and vitality is a good step to making the company more effective and more productive,” says Keen. “As Harvard University has said: Happy employees make happy customers.”

Published in the magazine Metro Mum, in the Philippines. May 2008.

“My yaya is so lucky,” bemoaned one working mom, “she gets to have a day off!”

Working moms are among the most fatigued members of the workforce. Many new
moms realize how little discretionary time they really have the moment their 60-78 day
maternity leave ends. They feel they have one body working in two parallel universes.
They are at in the office attending to clients, deadlines and at the same time thinking of
vaccination schedules, checking on the nanny and giving instructions to the help. Moms
who choose to breastfeed bring their own breast pumps and coolers to work, and they
have to work on their reports and presentations between periods of expressing milk. The
demands on one’s time increases when kids enter school – there’s homework, school
activities, weekend activities. Many female executives prepare their children’s reviewers
and study aids during their lunch breaks, and some have their kids brought to the office
after school so Mum could guide them with homework even as she takes business calls.
And we didn’t even mention Dad.

The resultant fatigue is not just physical – but psychic. Moms are burdened by the guilt –
some self-imposed, some cultural – of spending more time with their clients than with
their families. They know they have to slow down or fall apart, and yet, they feel they
have to run faster just to keep pace. Vital Switch teaches techniques from meditation that
would help the busy 21st century woman regain control and renew her sense of wellbeing.
Samantha Keen, Vital Switch marketing director, shares some tips:

Start by creating space for yourself, even a small one.

“Take your first steps by giving yourself 10 minutes each day just to be alone. Taking
time out for yourself is the first step to letting go,” says Keen. “Then make a list of things
you want and systematically make them happen. This means finding the small things that
could make a difference to your wellbeing and making them part of your reality. Finally,
it helps to break your old patterns - find new ways of doing things, new ways of behaving
– don’t stick to old patterns just because they are a habit.”

When you arrive home from work, take time to find your center before engaging the
kids.

Keen suggests: “Learn how to feel your heart, the center of your chest when you need it.
When you get home from work, take a few minutes to feel the center of your chest. Just
feel, do not think, and do not let your mind stick to emotions. Then you can take this
space of centering into the time with your kids.”

Mind your thoughts.

“Remember that meditation and self awareness can be developed when you are in action
– and one of the first steps is to learn that awareness is very different from thinking. If
you make an effort to learn how to drop thoughts and just be with your kids, they will
also have more room to grow and enjoy your presence,” says Keen.

Make time to recharge during the day.

Says Keen: “We cannot always have 8 hours [of sleep], but nothing replaces the need for
the body to sleep. However, what we can do is help people to ensure they get the best
quality of sleep. Also if you do not get enough sleep, take 15 minutes to lie down and do
a relaxation exercise during the day - maybe when you get home from work, or maybe in
the afternoon. This is a good way to recuperate quickly.”

Do something you are passionate about.

“People who are passionate about what they do are very vital. Working moms should
make room in their lives for what they feel passionate about, something that motivates
them, a reflection of their own personal wantings. This will be giving you more energy
instead of take away energy. People around will benefit from it. Just do ten minutes of
what you really want to do, and your kids will benefit from that. It will empower your
kids, and self-empowerment is vitalizing,” she says.

For working moms who have left for work abroad:

“I would emphasize that in order to look after others they must also look after their own
needs. They will find it helpful to give themselves some support, care for their own
simple desires is important. The children will not benefit if the mother is treating herself
badly out of guilt. If you can take a little time for yourself each day, it will help you to
connect with your own Truth. This can also help the children,” says Keen.

Beating a fatigue syndrome inspired Samantha Keen to set up business teaching other stressed execs how to avoid burning out themselves. Shefali Srinivas reports.

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