Last updated on June 9, 2021

COVID-19 has been- and still is- making an impact on the mental health of Canadians, specifically with increased anxiety and stress. With this in mind, while Canadians continue to work on their mental well-being, what can employers do to assist their employees and ensure they are doing their part?

Meditation comes to mind.

When we asked Caddle’s largest daily active panel in the Canadian market, we received over 8,500 respondents! What did we discover? 69% believe that regularly meditating would improve their work-life balance, especially the younger generations. Millennials and Gen Zers have a profound interest in meditation as well as a keen interest in integrating meditation into their work lives, particularly during the pandemic, where isolation and anxiety are rampant.

In partnership with Victoria-based meditatehere.com, a leading producer of meditation products and services for individuals and businesses, Caddle’s Daily Survey Panel had some interesting insights on meditation.

What is Meditation?

Many Canadians have somewhat of an understanding as to what meditation really is. It comes as no surprise that a majority of those very familiar with the practice are from Gen Z. In comparison, approximately 17% of Gen Z know meditation well, whereas only about 5% of Baby Boomers do.

How familiar are you with meditation (practice using mindfulness to achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm state)?

The younger generations (Millennials, Gen Z) also demonstrate more interest towards meditation as they are more likely to practice meditation and have a stronger desire to learn about meditation than older generations (Baby Boomers, Gen X). About 16% of Gen Z and 12% of Millennials agree that they have developed a desire to learn more about meditation while working from home. In comparison, only about 6% of Gen X and 4% of Baby Boomers do.

Meditation in the Workplace

While 63% of Canadians agree that employers should provide services to improve their mental health, 69% believe that regularly meditating would improve their work-life balance. With the constant practice of meditation potentially leading to higher productivity levels and more stable mental health, is this the secret ingredient to success?

“This is the largest survey ever done about Canadians and meditation,” said Eric J. Gerritsen, co-founder of meditatehere.com. “We did not know what to expect, but we discovered a huge interest among Millennials and Gen Zers to not only learn and practice meditation, but to see meditation offered by their companies as part of an overall progressive and modern approach to mental health and well being,” added Gerritsen.

Generation Zen

Meditation practices appear to be favoured by the younger generations, specifically Gen Z. In fact, Gen Z is 21.7% more likely to strongly agree that employers should provide mental wellness services to employees working from home when compared to Baby Boomers. While a majority of Canadians believe that meditating regularly can improve work-life experience, only 7% of those who strongly agreed were Baby Boomers, compared to over 22% of Gen Z.

How do you feel about this statement: “Regular meditation practice will improve my work-life experience”?

Siri, Start My Meditation Practice

According to Caddle’s panel data, we discovered that a majority of Canadians prefer to meditate at home by themselves (35.3%). The second most favoured option is meditating through an app. Over 27% of Gen Z agreed that they prefer to meditate while using an app and approximately 16% use meditating apps to assist them with combating anxiety.

How would you prefer to learn how to meditate?

Mindfulness at Work

So, what happens if employers decide to offer meditation sessions as a company benefit? Our panel results show that over 30% of Canadians are likely to participate in Zoom meditation sessions if provided by their employer. About 24% of those who indicate a strong interest are Gen Z, and 23% are Millennials.

If your employer offered live Zoom meditation sessions (20 min or less) with highly qualified teachers, how likely are you to attend?

For businesses, these are interesting trends to pay attention to. As the Baby Boomer generation is retiring from the workforce, the younger generations will be taking their places. To ensure productivity increases and mental health levels remain stable, should employers accommodate the present desire that Generation Z and Millenials are presenting? Our statistics indicate that the younger generations are looking to satisfy their “zen” and manage their mental health while at work, which leads us to believe that meditation could be the answer.

Key Stats

• 73% believe regular meditation practice will improve work/life balance
• 22% of Canadians meditate once per week
• 49% had an increased desire to learn to meditate as a result of WFH
• 56% use meditation for stress relief
• 41% use meditation for health benefits
• Gen Zs are 15% more likely to agree that regular meditation practice will improve their work experience, compared to Baby Boomers
• 58% are likely to attend Zoom meditation sessions offered by their employers

Main Takeaways

No.1 |

Younger generations demonstrate a higher level of understanding and desire toward meditation compared to the older generations.

No.2 |

Generation Z had the highest response rate in favour of meditation and believe employers should be providing services to support the mental health of their employees.

No.3 |

A majority of Canadians agree that they prefer to meditate at home by themselves, however, Gen Z favours meditation through an app.

*Disclaimer: all data presented is owned by Caddle and has a Margin of Error of 1% or lower.

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