‘Guided Mindfulness for Inner Peace’; a virtual session by AIA Insurance

AIA Sri Lanka’s health and wellness platform, AIA Vitality has conducted its first ever virtual wellness session for organizations, as the COVID 19 crisis compels businesses to move to online engagement. This pioneering session on ‘Guided Mindfulness for Inner Peace’ was held exclusively for employees of B. Braun Lanka (Pvt) Ltd and Synopsys Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.  The session was aimed at using mindfulness to achieve inner peace and was conducted by renowned author, coach, mentor and management development consultant, Mr. Deepal Sooriyaarachchi. (Author of Inward Bound and Sihiyen Sitima, Accredited Coach, Mentor and Management Development Consultant).

AIA’s Head of Marketing, Shevanthie De Alwis pointed out that the “AIA Vitality Healthiest Workplace Survey 2019 indicates that 56% of employees suffer from one or more work related stress areas. The survey further indicates that 15% employees suffer from high levels of anxiety or depressive symptoms. The number of employees reporting moderate to high level of depression symptoms in the latest survey show a deterioration when compared to 2018, where only 13% employees had these symptoms.”

She added, “Mental wellbeing has a direct impact on productivity, and this is an area that needs significant attention from employers, especially relevant now with the COVID 19 crisis. Work as we know it, has changed and it will take some time and adjustments for employees to come to terms with the new status of things, not to forget all the anxiety and insecurities of the future. Now more than ever, employers need to focus on making sure employees stay positive and happy while developing a sense of strength and inner peace.”

Pradeep Amarawardena, Chief Finance Officer/Acting Managing Director of B. Braun Lanka (Pvt) Ltd commented, “The points on mindfulness and how to use it every day were very well articulated with necessary examples and tips to practice it in our daily lives. Well done Deepal”, while Dumathi Nanayakkara Regulatory Affairs Manager added, “’Utilize mindfulness to increase wellbeing’ was the ideal programme to achieve a higher level of personal effectiveness.”

Navod Gooneratne, Country HR Head of Synopsys Lanka (Pvt) Ltd said in this regard, “This first-of-its kind session by AIA provided much needed support to our employees in the journey of achieving workplace mentalwellbeing during this challenging time. Depression and stress are significant problems all over the world and it is high time Sri Lanka acknowledges and addresses it. Kudos to AIA for introducing this session and I hope many more companies will benefit from it. AIA clearly understands the needs of the times and has innovative programmes in place to help employers in Sri Lanka benefit from its experience.”

The AIA Vitality programme, the first of its kind in Sri Lanka, is a science-backed wellness programme that rewards people for being active. HWS is Sri Lanka’s first workplace survey that examines employee lifestyle, clinical indicators, stress and mental health, to understand the associated impact on wellbeing and productivity.