Strip away all the fuzzy wuzzy, and one glaring fact stands out about mindfulness’s proliferation across the corporate world: At the end of the day, the name of the game is increased productivity. In other words, the practice has become a capitalist tool for squeezing even more work out of an already overworked workforce.
Increased productivity? That's a bit like increased demand. When you want more of something, you need to accommodate it the right way - much like the green revolution or the industrial revolution.
Of course what's being demanded now is something different - not more foodstuff to support population growth or increased/better coordinated labour to fuel industrial growth, but more engagement, innovation and time.
That means a codification of the already prevalent shift from 9-5, home/work life divide to something different.
It's already happening, of course, both through increased demand of labour and increased willingness of people to contribute User Generated Content. It's happening informally, however, with no clear rules of engagement and lots of abuse.
Unpaid internships, labour feudalism (we'll give you space or brand, but in return you work for free) are on the rise, as are demands for change.
The landscape of demand, expectation and contribution is changing. As is the case with any landscape change, that which will succeed is that which is most adaptable, not that which is best at fighting change.
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