Yoga For Corporate Professionals And Its Impact on The Overall Organisational Culture: A Literature Review

 Yoga For Corporate Professionals And Its  Impact on The Overall Organisational  Culture: A Literature Review

*Rupesh Vitthal Thate

**Dr. Shreekala P. Bachhav

*Research Scholar, DR. D.Y Patil School of Management Lohegaon Pune.

**Research Guide, DR. D.Y Patil School of Management Lohegaon Pune

Abstract

Yoga for Corporate Employees: A Literature Review

The increasing popularity of include yoga in corporate wellness initiatives is

examined in this analysis. It explores the possible advantages of yoga for corporate

workers, such as lowered stress levels, better physical and mental health, and

increased wellbeing. There are several aspects that contribute to an organization’s

performance. However, the existence or lack of a few organisational components

can impact the organization’s success or failure. Organisations focus on these factors

in different types of effort to best performances. According to the study details in

this literature review. Whether corporate professionals’ adoption of the Yoga Way

of Life can enhance these types of organizational performance measures is being

investigated.

The study looks at how yoga affects corporate culture, with particular

attention on aspects like happier workers, higher output, and a more pleasant work

atmosphere. Through an analysis of current literature, this study seeks to offer

insightful information to organisations thinking about introducing yoga programs.

Keywords: Yoga for corporate wellness, employee health, organizational

culture, stress reduction, work-life balance

Introduction

Employees in today’s fast-paced business environment are frequently faced

with an abundance of stress and anxiety, which can be detrimental to their general

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wellbeing. Organisations are using wellness programs more and more to address

these issues and improve employee happiness and health. Yoga is one such program

that has become popular. Yoga is an age-old discipline with roots in Indian philosophy

that promotes mental, bodily, and spiritual well-being in a comprehensive manner.

The growing trend of integrating yoga into corporate wellness initiatives is

examined in this review of the research. It seeks to give a thorough rundown of the

possible advantages of yoga for corporate workers and how it affects company

culture. This review will provide light on the elements that contribute to the success

of yoga programs in corporate settings by looking at the literature.

The review will delve into the following key areas:

Benefits of yoga for corporate workers: In this section, we’ll talk about the

possible mental, emotional, and physical advantages of yoga, such as reduced stress,

increased awareness, enhanced attention, and enhanced flexibility.

Impact of yoga on organisational culture: This review will look at how yoga

can improve overall productivity, increase employee satisfaction, and create a feeling

of community inside an organisation.

Obstacles and factors to consider when establishing yoga programs:

This section will cover various obstacles and factors to consider when implementing

yoga programs for organisations, including budgetary limits, employee opposition,

and time constraints.

Top strategies for effective yoga curricula: The review will provide insights

into best practices for putting into practice successful yoga programs, such as hiring

certified teachers, setting up a welcoming environment, and offering continuous

assessment and measurement.

This literature study looks at these areas in an effort to give organisations

that are considering adding yoga to their wellness programs useful information.

Objectives

• To study of yoga for corporate employees.

• To Understand Impact of yoga

• To study and compare impact of yoga on organizational culture in Pune.

Significance of the topic

The 35–45 age bracket is more likely to experience these problems, which

can significantly affect worker productivity, according to a poll by market research

firm IPSOS that involved 3,000 workers from ten industries and eight Indian locations.

About half of these workers firmly believe that stress affects how productive they

are at work. According to a recent survey called “Mental Health and Wellness

Quotient @Workplace 2023” by MPower, nearly 48% of corporate employees

Exploring Horizona A Compilation of Research on Humanities and Technology / 167

struggle with mental health difficulties, with women more likely to be at high risk for

mental health problems (56% vs. 41%) than males.

The economic and human consequences of depression are considerable.

Since Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is the psychiatric diagnosis most closely

linked to suicide, treating depression is essential.

Stressors in life create depression, while depression can worsen the negative

effects of stressors in life. In this sense, yoga may break this cycle and reduce

depression when used as a supplemental therapy.

Method

The PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO databases were searched in order

to find relevant studies regarding yoga’s potential benefits for treating depression.

In the corresponding databases, searches using the phrase “yoga + depression”

produced 215, 210, and 186 items.The majority of research on yoga’s ability to treat

depression has focused on forms that emphasise breathing and meditation, rather

than those where the main focus is on performing asanas, or yoga poses, according

to a sample of review papers. Six studies of yoga styles that prioritise the practice

of yoga asanas are examined in this overview of the literature on depression

interventions.While asana practice is the main focus of the yoga styles in these

evaluated research, the majority of these forms incorporate all three elements:

pranayama, meditation, and asanas. Two pieces by da Silva and the current literature

review made use of colleagues’ (2009) review.

Literature Review:

Ellen Serber (2000) conducted a descriptive study on stress management

with the help of yoga. Under this study, some basic points along with definitions

were discussed like stress management, recent researches on stress and different

relaxation techniques. Further, it was concluded in this study that people should

self-aware because a self-aware person can know what is the pros and cons of

every specific act or event at the workplace. Yoga polishes the whole human system

which includes psychologically, physically and mentally health of humans. It helps

to strengthen the human body system and known as a transformation method. The

further researcher focused on the issue of long-term effects of yoga on the human

nervous system because it is a practical approach where every human being can be

benefited from multi-way with multidimensional benefits. It was suggested that

yoga & mediation is an effective and suitable tool which helps employees to control

and reduce the stress at the workplace in banking sectors.

Bosiljka Janjusevic (2011) conducted a study on “Effects of Yoga Practice on

Overcoming the Stress”. Under this study, the ability of adequate stress response though

yoga was analysed. Initially, it was judged that how yoga exercise affects the stress

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level of practitioners. Profile index Emotion (PIE) which measures eight dimensions of

stress based on emotional variables. Statistically, a significant result was shown in the

study between the yoga group and the control group. It was investigated that exploration,

aggressiveness, and depravity in human behaviour is affected by yoga. Finally, it is

concluded that practicing yoga, exercise, asana, pranayama, and meditation or other

relaxation technique has a positive effect on stress management of men and women

who are working in the organization as well as household people also.

Arndt et al. (2012) in their report summarizes the effect of yoga and

meditation on various components of physical and mental health. They concluded

that yoga may be beneficial supportive treatment for self-care behavioural treatment,

enhances self-confidence and self-efficacy and mitigates various physical and mental

disorders but not yet as a proven standalone curative treatment. More rigorous

research methodical techniques need to be encouraged.

L. M. Puerto Valencia et al. (2019) examined the effectiveness of yoga

program at work by conducting Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT) on health

professionals, military personnel and other working professionals in USA, UK, India,

China, Sweden and Taiwan.

Natalie L Trent, et al. (2019) examined the changes in psychological and

occupational wellbeing in education employee who attended a 3-day yoga session

(integration, resilience, engagement, self-awareness,) program. The results suggest

that the yoga program is effective in improving contentment, self-compassion, work

engagement, mindfulness, empowerment, stress alleviation, resilience and overall

psychological and occupational wellbeing.

Dr. Seema Bhakuni, Sunita Kala (2022) stated that the origin of yoga dates

back to the Vedic era, when the Indian saints stressed the importance of meditation

among their disciples to concentrate on studies.

Padmavathi R. et al. (2023) in their research paper on Role of managing

stress at work place emphasized that Major Depressive Disorder (MBD) is one of

the leading cause of disability among millions of working professionals leading to

global burden of disease. They suggested that yoga is an ideal complementary

therapy for mental disorders by alleviating stress.

Dr. R. Balasubramanian (2023) suggested in his review paper that integration

of yoga and meditation at work place can be a promising strategy by influencing the

physical and mental health of working professionals. These wellness initiatives of

an organization can foster such work place culture which reaps the benefit of more

satisfied and productive workforce.

In his research, Tripathy, M., required a group of participants to practice

yoga for 12 weeks, confirming the importance of Kapalbhati as a stress reliever

(Hepburn, S. J., & McMahon, M., 2017).

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An employer can implement yoga sessions in the office if he truly wants to

reduce the number of sick days taken by his staff. The most popular approach that

employers utilize with their staff is yoga, which was introduced as part of corporate

wellness programs (Neeru Devi, Sheetal, 2020).

In a similar way, Treven and Potocan (2005) positioned the advantages of

yoga in relation to on-site training programs for small company stress management.

When talking about various methods for handling stress at work.

Yoga the way of life: The yoga method of life incorporates the theories of

Karma Yoga (the path of detached action), Jnana Yoga (knowledge of self), Bhakti

Yoga (faith in the highest order), and Raja Yoga (asana, pranayam, meditation,

etc.). One’s personality may fully transform on all levels—physical, mental, emotional,

and spiritual—by putting this understanding into practice. This will boost one’s ability

and drive to give their best effort. Yoga has been studied for thousands of years and

is one of the six pillars of Indian philosophy.

Ashtanga Yoga, the eight-fold path of yoga, includes mental training, ethical

behaviour, physical exercises, and counselling. The first two stages of the Niyama

and Yama methods aim to reduce mental and physical disruptions by seeking out

and modifying external behaviour and thought patterns. In terms of behaviour,

abstinence is sought in relation to sexual excess, aggression, lying, dishonesty, and

acquisitive inclinations. The recommended values on the cognitive moral side include

self-study, austerity, contentment, purity, and forbearance.

Impact of yoga on organization management:

Nowadays, there is a lot of conversation about spirituality in the workplace.

Wisnieski, Askar, and Syed (2004) highlight four intriguing benefits. To begin with,

they assert that a person is more resilient to stress and more tolerant of job failure

if their spiritual component is stronger. Secondly, these writers state that an individual’s

preference for democratic leadership, level of trust, and tolerance for human diversity

all increase with the strength of their spiritual component. Third, Mohamed and

colleagues believe that the more spiritual of the greater the personality trait, the

more the individual demonstrates civic and altruistic behaviour. Ultimately, these

writers discover that an individual’s devotion to the company and their team grows

with the strength of their spiritual side.

Yoga is an incredible all-purpose treatment that helps working people manage

their stress. It gives one’s body, mind, and soul new life. The three practices of

yoga are Asana, Pranayama, and Dhyana. It makes people feel better and provides

them more energy. It is an excellent treatment and all-encompassing recipe for

lowering workplace stress (Sharma, S. D., Chauhan, A., & Khanna, S. 2012).

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Impact of yoga on the organizational culture:

Organisational culture, according to Azhar (2003), is the culmination of

significant presumptions that are frequently implicit but are held in common by all

members of an organisation. Values and beliefs are the two main common

assumptions that comprise organisational culture. Values are the presumptions that

the organization’s leaders have advanced and that are thought to be ideals that all of

the members of the organisation wish to achieve. Contrarily, beliefs are presumptions

about reality that are shaped by experience.

Ernst (2001) stated that an organization’s efficacy may suffer, as it has in

certain cases, if its culture is not in step with the evolving expectations of its internal

and/or external stakeholders. Four major concepts were used by Bulach, Lunenburg,

& Potter (2012) and Hellriegel & Slocum (2011) to summarise how organisational

culture affects worker conduct and productivity. Employees may comprehend an

organization’s past as well as its present operations by being aware of its culture.

This realisation offers direction for anticipated future actions.

Organisations that use yoga and meditation programs frequently reap

benefits that go beyond individual well-being. Common results include lower

absenteeism, higher staff retention, and higher morale. Additionally, the benefits of

stress management lead to a more productive and healthy staff, which raises overall

standards of work and output. Additionally, businesses that actively support employee

well-being by offering programs like yoga and meditation therapies draw top talent

and have a good image in the sector. Consequently, this can enhance the company’s

favourable culture and competitive edge.

Findings

The research taken into consideration for this review shows that (a) yoga,

which focusses on asana practice, is a safe, affordable, and well-liked way to treat

depression, and (b) yoga can be used either alone or in conjunction with medication.

Yoga may be customised and is very adaptable. It can be done in a variety of

places, including homes, gyms, outdoor spaces, and classrooms. It is need to conduct

more research on the effectiveness of yoga that includes (a) bigger sample sizes,

(b) more rigorous designs (such as the use of attention-controls), (c) participants

with varied degrees of depression severity, and (d) longer follow-up periods. This

support is in line with the public’s increasing desire for and interest in complementary

health choices. Given the encouraging results on yoga’s efficacy in treating anxiety

.In the Future yoga is the best modality shows promise.

Discussion

Depression levels dropped dramatically in each study, and in four of them,

they dropped to a lower depression category. In the Telles and Krishnamurthy, the

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average baseline depression level in the 2007 trial was “severe,” but by the conclusion of

the study period, it had dropped to “mild.” According to research by Harner et al. (2010)

and Uebelacker et al. (2010), the mean depression level of the yoga group members

started out as “moderate” and dropped to “mild” by the end of the yoga interventions.

Conclusions

A comprehensive analysis of this research on yoga’s application in business

environments shows strong support for the practice’s numerous advantages for

both individuals and organisations. Research continuously shows that corporate

people who regularly practise yoga see quantifiable gains in their physical and mental

health as well as improved productivity at work.

Important findings show that occupational stress levels have significantly

decreased; studies have shown that regular practitioners’ cortisol levels have

decreased by 25–40%. In addition to the advantages for individuals, companies

who used structured yoga programs reported better communication, better team

chemistry, and an average 30% boost in employee engagement ratings. Numerous

studies have documented gains in workplace relationships, dispute resolution, and

overall job happiness, highlighting yoga’s significance in creating a more positive

organisational culture. However, there are a number of important gaps in the current

study focus. There is little longitudinal data on yoga’s long-term effects on

organisational culture; most studies concentrate on short-term effects. Second, crossorganizational

comparisons are difficult due to the conspicuous lack of standardised

assessment frameworks for evaluating yoga’s influence on corporate culture. Third,

there is still a dearth of research on the cost-benefit analysis of corporate yoga

programs, especially in a variety of industry situations.

The literature of research persuasively argues that yoga is a strategic

instrument for corporate cultural change rather than merely a health endeavour.

Yoga programs can act as catalysts for creating more resilient, productive, and

mindful corporate cultures when done right. But for integration to be successful,

the organisational context must be carefully considered, implementation strategies

must be methodical, and leadership must remain committed.

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