First published: Wednesday 23 July 2014 5:03PM By: Georgia Hitch

Image: While our use of technology has made work more efficient, it has also resulted in shorter attention spans. (Courtney Keating/ E+)

It seems like human attention spans have an inverse relationship with the pace of technological change. As emails fly back and forth and smart phones beep incessantly, some companies are beginning to invest in mindfulness training to increase the productivity of their distracted employees, writes Georgia Hitch .

Speed and connectivity create change. Thanks to the technological advances of the past 20 years, sending a letter to someone on the other side of the world is as easy and instantaneous as the click of a button. Yet despite their convenience, emails and other forms of online communication may be costing us productivity and peace of mind.

In the process of connecting the world, the internet has also transformed the way we work. For many, the traditional work week is gone, replaced by smart phones, tablets and laptops: a mobile workplace that has no start or finish time.

In 2009 we could pay attention on an average of 13 seconds. In 2013 it was eight seconds—goldfish can focus for nine seconds.

Rasmus Hougaard, The Potential Project

The daily consumption of different media forms has taught our brain a new skill, multitasking.

Rasmus Hougaard, founder and managing director of corporate mindfulness training program The Potential Project, says this new behaviour is not necessarily a helpful one.

‘When we multitask we get less efficient,’ he says. ‘We lose our sense of prioritisation and our overview. We get more stressed, we lose our work-life balance, there’s a whole load of things that are negative sides to it but the most detrimental thing is probably that we’re losing our ability to pay attention.’

While the extent of these effects varies between individuals, the scientific evidence backs the suspicion that there has been a drastic drop in our attention levels. ‘In 2009 we could pay attention on an average of 13 seconds,’ says Mr Hougaard. ‘In 2013 it was eight seconds—goldfish can focus for nine seconds.’

The key to curbing this attention deficit lies in the skill of mindfulness. It involves consciously connecting with your surroundings, becoming aware of your present environment and using these tools to appreciate life’s experiences.

Mr Hougaard and The Potential Project, along with other similar companies, have realised the immense benefits of teaching mindfulness in corporate workplaces. The mental clarity and decreased stress levels of employees who practice mindfulness result in greater productivity and better decision making.

Training employees to engage with mindfulness is a growing industry, with some of the world’s largest companies, including American Express and Carlsberg, taking part.

‘People were really eager to do this because they could see it had a huge benefit on their wellbeing, their work-life balance and their productivity,’ says Mr Hougaard, referring specifically to the 166 Carlsberg employees that underwent mindfulness training from The Potential Project.

Many companies whose employees communicate online have found the introduction of mindful emailing particularly useful.

‘One of the downsides to the way that people are using email nowadays is that Outlook is always open,’ says Mr Hougaard.

‘When Outlook is open we are reminded every time that there are new emails coming up. We have pop up notifications that let us know when there is a new message, and that makes us multitask.’

These constant reminders are most detrimental when employees first arrive at work. It becomes hard to remain consciously in the present when there are an increasing number of unread emails building up on your screen.

Mindfulness training empowers workers with practical solutions, giving them opportunities to clear their minds and find peace in the present before they attempt to delve into messages from the past.

Although there are many different methods, Mr Hougaard suggests a program of mindful emailing in which you don’t open your inbox until at least 30 to 50 minutes into your work day.

‘It’s a good idea to sit for a few minutes in the morning just before you start working simply to just to calm the mind so that you can really allow yourself to work on the high priorities,’ says Mr Hougaard.