Meeting room used for mindfulness: Focus on the present moment to reduce accidents at work

At the production company Gyproc in Kalundborg, Denmark, they use mindfulness in the hope of preventing accidents at work.
- Then you can put your hand on your stomach and stand for a moment to feel your body.
Soft music pours out of a speaker in the meeting room. The lights are dimmed and a few candle-like LED candles glitter on the table.
The chairs have been moved away from the large meeting table in the center of the room. Around the table are the 12-15 employees - some in work clothes and some in their regular office clothes.
A mindfulness instructor is leading this morning's meeting for employees at the production company Gyproc in Kalundborg, Denmark. But the focus is neither on productivity nor efficiency.
- It's not about getting to A or B quickly. It's about being aware of what is happening right here and now. We must focus on the task at hand so that we do not overlook any risks and get injured, says Finn Stokholm, factory manager at Gyproc.
Investing in security is good business
The theme is safety in everyday life. According to Gyproc, it's about feeling and being in the moment.
With arms and legs moving slowly to the gentle music, the 150 employees at Gyproc are on their way to a safer working day, according to the global factory. They use the method for a total of 170,000 employees worldwide.
- It's about being present in the moment. That is, recognizing that you are here now and not focusing on what happened a long time ago, says Finn Stokholm.
Working with people
It has been 691 days since anyone has been injured at Gyproc, according to their own counter. And the focus is on getting that number even higher. But that requires new thinking, if you ask the factory manager.
- To change behavior, we need to work with our people. We can't encapsulate ourselves in safety barriers and personal protective equipment and think that's enough. We need to work much more with our people, i.e. with our colleagues' behavior in everyday life, because that is the only way we can ensure that no employees at Gyproc are injured, says Finn Stokholm.
Neither the Danish Working Environment Authority nor the National Research Center for the Working Environment have studies or research that directly demonstrate that mindfulness has a preventive and safety-enhancing effect.
But at Gyproc, they believe that mindfulness, with its calm movements without a focus on productivity, is money well spent.
- Investing in safety is good business. We get happy employees and we increase our productivity, so it's a really good investment, says Finn Stokholm.