Design company uses Buddhism to create happy place to work

[Ensapa]

Okay, so who wants to work in a Buddhist workplace? seems that this company has and it is interesting!

Design company uses Buddhism to create happy place to work

Liz DayMar 22 2013


 Mettaengine in Newport

You Buddha believe it!

This group of Welsh workers are meditating away the stresses of office life with Buddhism – and they hope their practices will make their company reach a state of Nirvana.

The Newport web and development agency Mettaengine was established in June last year by three kindred spirits, who met at a Buddhist centre.

Creative director Graham Shimell said: “We usually try to meditate together every morning – it’s a good way to start the day.”

The staff meditate three times a day in a specially-adapted shrine room, which contains a statue of Buddha, along with candles, incense and a singing bowl.

“We strike the bowl before we start meditating. The vibrations are calming and fade into silence, which helps us to get into the right mindset,” added Graham.

“I try to focus on my breathing and become present in the moment, then I find I can be calm and let go of my worries.

“Meditation has made a huge difference to my state of mind. It has helped me to let go and not cling to certain wants and desires.”

Managing director William Elworthy said: “Sometimes, if things get a bit stressful, I go and meditate for a few minutes and when I come back into the office, I have a completely different perspective on things.”

The staff aim to bring Buddhist practice to the workplace by following a code of ethics based on Buddha’s five precepts, which include helping others, truthfulness and generosity.

William said: “We want to take meditation off the cushion and spread it into the workplace.”

Graham explained the principles translated simply into everyday life. “It all comes down to acting with kindness and working as a team,” he said.

The staff hope the company will counter negative perceptions of businesses.

“Hopefully we can be an inspiration for certain companies out there, especially following the recent problems created by the credit crunch,” said Graham.

 
The founders were inspired by a Cambridge-based all-Buddhist business called Windhorse Evolution, which grew from a market stall in the 1980s into a leading UK gift business with a multimillion pound turnover.

The web developers came to Buddhism from a variety of backgrounds – Graham by American Beat writers of the 1960s, while William developed an interest through martial arts.

Both started reading Buddhist texts and meditating, before joining the Cardiff Buddhist Centre about four years ago, where they met operations director John James.

William said: “We went on a retreat together and it became clear that we all shared the same vision. We have a good business dynamic.”

He became increasingly disillusioned with his previous working environment.

“I ran a business for six years, but it was taking over my life. It was too cut throat and the balance weren’t there. The vision of just making money wasn’t enough,” he said.

The staff have observed a growing demand for Buddhist teachings in Wales and believe the Welsh Buddhist community is growing.

Graham said: “There is a very materialistic culture in the western world, but some people have realised there is more to life than just desiring new items.

“Buddhism is about the internal rather than the external. It’s about realising there are more important things than just desiring the latest BMW to make you happy.”

The business is currently run by three members of staff, who are hoping to expand by offering training courses and apprenticeships.

“We would like to work with other Buddhists, but we would not want to be seen as excluding other people. The most important thing is that they are prepared to follow the ethical precepts,” said Graham.



Read more: Wales Online http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2013/03/22/design-company-uses-buddhism-to-create-happy-place-to-work-91466-33039867/#ixzz2OT7Hmj6W

[dondrup]

Mettaengine has created a perfect working environment for its staff by incorporating Buddhist meditation and the practice of the Five Precepts into the office routine.  Few companies take care of the spiritual needs of their employees e.g. to provide a place of worship or meditation.  Modern commercial organisations focus on one main goal of maximising the profit.  Mettaengine has gone the extra mile to conduct the business with others who would follow the ethical precepts.  The founding members of the company are truly putting Buddhism into daily practice. 

[WisdomBeing]

I was told that the best way to gauge the success of one's Buddhist practice is by the results. So - if this design company is creating a happy workplace, then i would say  that the results speak for themselves. If a workplace, which is supposed to be based on Dharma, makes its employees miserable - is that purification or is the Dharma they are practising wrong? I have always thought that Buddhism is supposed to bring peace and loving kindness to its practitioners, ergo if a work environment is using Buddhism as the basis for its operations, the result should be a calm and peaceful environment. So how do you explain it if a working environment is chaotic and tense? I know an office in North London which says that it is based on Buddhist principles to have a work/life balance but the staff seem to be on edge all the time, so I don't really get it.

[Jessie Fong]

http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=3300.0

This thread was started by Bambi on 24 March.

[Ensapa]

I was told that the best way to gauge the success of one's Buddhist practice is by the results. So - if this design company is creating a happy workplace, then i would say  that the results speak for themselves. If a workplace, which is supposed to be based on Dharma, makes its employees miserable - is that purification or is the Dharma they are practising wrong? I have always thought that Buddhism is supposed to bring peace and loving kindness to its practitioners, ergo if a work environment is using Buddhism as the basis for its operations, the result should be a calm and peaceful environment. So how do you explain it if a working environment is chaotic and tense? I know an office in North London which says that it is based on Buddhist principles to have a work/life balance but the staff seem to be on edge all the time, so I don't really get it.

Well, maybe perhaps you're right - purification can occur when putting Dharma into practice because the Dharmic way is usually against the way that we are used to or habituated to and there can be some friction between people whose attitudes and habituations are incompatible with Dharma and they need time to adjust. It is usually during the adjusting period that people appear to be tense and unhappy, but after that initial period, they will become better and more relaxed. I remember when I first started work, I was stressed out and tensed as well and on the edge everyday but now im more relaxed as I am more familiar with work.

[Positive Change]

I looked them up and found this on their website: http://www.mettaengine.co.uk/rightlivelihood.html

How wonderful to be working in such an environment whereby the secular is part of the spiritual. It is how Dharma practice should be personified. Brilliant! If only we could all incorporate such a "working" environment in our lives! Brilliant stuff!


What does this mean for you?

At the very heart of Mettaengine's operation are Right Livelihood values. Right Livelihood is the fifth spoke of the Buddha's noble eightfold path (the path to liberation and freedom from suffering). The basic intention here is to bring Buddhist practice into the workplace. Mettaengine have devised six core principles and they are as follows

1.   Right Effort

Mettaengine is a business first and foremost and needs to make money. We realise it is essential for us to provide good customer service and high quality products with a striving to meet deadlines.

2.   Ethics

Mettaengine acts by a code of ethics centred on the Buddha's five precepts. The five precepts include helping others, honest and truthful speech and generosity. A direct effect of following this code, for instance, is less gossip which can undermine employees confidence and harm client relations.

3.   Meditation and Mindfulness

It is essential that time is made available for workers to meditate on a regular basis. A shrine room has been setup at the Newport office so workers have the opportunity to meditate in the early mornings, lunchtimes and evenings. Meditation is a great natural remedy for stress and anxiety amongst other things. This helps boost the staff's attention to detail and productivity.

4.   Teamwork

Mettaengine strongly encourages teamwork. By following skilful ethics teams can be formed to work on projects with each member bringing their own expertise and creativity to the task at hand. Friendships can be formed and the whole environment can not only be more productive but joyful too. There is little scope for somebody to disappear off into the corner and not communicate with their colleagues for weeks on end.

It is important that there is good communication, fairness, awareness of others and support for people who need it. These values are the heart of our process ensuring projects are delivered on time at the highest quality. Employees who believe they are being treated fairly work harder and are more committed to helping the company reach its goals.

5.   Generosity

A core principle of Mettaengine is generosity. This is encouraged from the ground up. From building websites for free or at cost for charity organisations to making regular donations to the Triratna Buddhist organisation and to other local good causes.

6.   The environment

The final principle is for Mettaengine to act where possible with a view to prevent, reduce, or mitigate harmful effects on nature and natural resources.

Oh yes and working with an ethical business has got to improve your own business ethics!

[WisdomBeing]

Thanks for sharing that, Positive Change. Perhaps i should go visit this company (though Newport is a bit of a trek) and find out how it works in reality. I would think that if it is based on Hinayana or Mahayana principles, perhaps it can work because there is less pressure. What i heard from other sources is that in the Vajrayana tradition, because of the need for speed, there is a huge amount of pressure, which makes the working space an uncomfortable one. Interestingly enough, discomfort is welcomed because it is stretching our abilities and minds to being better people. However, there are of course a few casualties who are resistant to change and will fall by the wayside. I guess even in secular business, people do leave because of their inability to adapt to any evolution in the company culture or change. I think that I should visit Newport sometime soon. What amazing gems this website brings up! LOL

[fruven]

Nowadays employee looks for the benefits companies provide. Now this company is really providing a great benefit, time for meditation! The meditation has been found to be effective in reducing our job stress, love stress, whatever stress it may be. It all comes from the mind. Even meditation courses have been conducted in prisons and produced positive results for the prisoners and the jailers.

[diablo1974]

I've also installed simple breathing meditation session after work for my staff to relax from their work.  Most people think  that meditation is only for Buddhists or buddhism propitiates the practice of meditation more than other religion. So when we wish to conduct such meditation session we have to consider and be sensitive to people who has other faiths and make sure they are comfortable with it.

[Ensapa]

There are many benefits to meditation other than for spiritual purposes, and Buddhist Philosophy can be used to have a better working environment in general. There is nothing religious about it, really. It's just following some key steps to having happiness. No worship to the Buddha is required and you're not asking people to take refuge or convert to Buddhism. This must be made very clear to the nonbuddhist employees in the workplace if you do want to instill Buddhist practices and philosophies in the workplace so that people dont misunderstand and get offended.

[pgdharma]

Meditation is simple, fast way to reduce stress and can wipe away the day’s stress and bring inner peace. Spending even a few minutes in meditation can restore calm and inner peace. So for Mettaengine to create a conducive work place for staffs to meditate during early morning, lunchtime or evening will not only benefit the staffs but also help boost productivity as the staffs will stay more focus throughout the day