Mindfulness in the Workplace: Cut Stress & Boost Your Bottom Line with Marcy Westcott
Episode 9
Ever wonder how just a few minutes of focused meditation can boost productivity and cut down on workplace stress?
In this transformative episode of People Success Circle, I chat with mindfulness expert Marcy Westcott about harnessing the power of meditation to supercharge employee well-being and performance.
In this episode, Marcy shares her personal journey from corporate burnout to a life-changing discovery of mindfulness—revealing how just a few minutes of focused meditation can lower stress, enhance clarity, and even cut costs by reducing absenteeism and presenteeism.
The REAL Stress Reduction: Discover how shifting away from multitasking to mindful focus can revolutionize productivity, reduce burnout, and dramatically improve your team's health.
Mindfulness as a Business Strategy: Learn why investing in mindful practices isn’t just good for employees—it’s a smart move for quality control and your bottom line.
Actionable Steps for Leaders: From simple introductory sessions to creating quiet spaces, Marcy outlines how even small mindfulness practices can lead to big changes in workplace engagement and overall performance.
Listen for an inspiring conversation that proves when you truly pay attention, success follows. Join us and unlock the secret to a healthier, happier, and more productive workplace today!
🎧 Tune in or keep reading for practical, people-first strategies to help your organization thrive.
🔗 Helpful Links
🌐 Mindy’s website for business consulting: https://www.limerockcareerco.com
🎧 Listen to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts
Episode 9: Watch or Listen
Key Takeaways From My Conversation With Marcy Westcott
Mindfulness in the Workplace Isn’t Woo-Woo—It’s a Leadership Strategy
As leaders, we set the tone. When we understand that mindfulness in the workplace is about harnessing focused attention, not chanting in robes, it becomes a powerful tool for improving team performance. It’s not about soft skills—it’s about intentional, strategic presence that drives results.
The True Cost of Stress: $300 Billion and Counting
Marcy shared that workplace stress costs U.S. businesses an estimated $300 billion annually. From absenteeism to the hidden cost of presenteeism, unmanaged stress drains productivity. Mindfulness practices can dramatically reduce these costs by helping employees self-regulate and stay mentally present.
Multitasking Is Not a Superpower
One of the most eye-opening takeaways was how damaging multitasking is to our brains, productivity, and even our IQ. Encouraging monotasking—doing one thing at a time with full attention—actually makes our teams more efficient and less anxious.
Burnout Is Preventable—and It Starts with Awareness
Burnout doesn’t happen overnight. As HR leaders, we need to recognize early signs like chronic fatigue, disengagement, or irritability. Implementing mindfulness practices at work can be a preventative measure, not just a reaction after the damage is done.
A Mindful Workplace Benefits Everyone—Including Your Bottom Line
Companies like Aetna saw a $3,000 per employee savings in medical costs after implementing mindfulness training. That kind of ROI is hard to ignore. Creating even a small quiet space for reflection or offering brief training sessions can start shifting culture in the right direction.
People First, Profits Follow
If you’re struggling to get leadership buy-in, here’s what I remind my clients: when the people side of the business isn’t working, everything suffers. Sales, service, retention, culture—it’s all connected. When you invest in your people, you build the foundation for long-term success. And it all starts with seeing what’s really going on behind the curtain.
🎧 Want the full story, examples, and action steps?
Listen to the full episode of The People Success Circle for more insights on building a thriving culture that drives results.
Read the full transcript
Mindy:
Marcy, thank you so much for joining the podcast today. I am thrilled to have you as a guest.
Marcy:
Well, thank you, Mindy. It's great to see you again. I'm really excited to do this with you.
Mindy:
So Marcy, you and I know each other—we’ve known each other for a few years through the local chapter of the National Association for Women's Business Owners. And I invited you to this podcast because your expertise is so relevant to the people side of business. I really want my listeners to be able to take advantage of that.
To start out, I’d love it if you could share a bit about your background and what led you to focus on mindfulness and stress reduction in the workplace.
Marcy:
Well, I kind of consider myself the poster girl for that. I spent 20 years in corporate America. I won’t say what industry because I’m writing about them, but I was highly motivated, highly productive—I was in the top 10% of performers in my industry and made an incredible income. But I worked 70 hours a week. I had one day off a week, usually didn’t get to take that. I had two weeks of vacation and, in 20 years, was never able to take it back to back. The workplace culture was toxic and overwhelming.
After about 15 years of that pace, my health started to suffer. I developed high blood pressure, insomnia, digestive issues, and at one point I took medication for anxiety. All of that was a result of not managing my stress. After 20 years, I burned out.
We used to come down to central Texas for visits on our motorcycle, and it got harder and harder to go back every time. So when I burned out, we decided it was time to make a change. We moved here and built our little dream haven in the Hill Country. It was exactly what I needed, but I was still suffering from all the stress and anxiety I had accumulated.
One day, I went to see a friend and she said, “Hey, there’s a new yoga teacher in town. Let’s go to her class.” So we went the next night. I meditated for the first time—and the doors blew open for me. It was the most profound experience I’d ever had. It felt like someone had lifted a thousand pounds of weight off of me.
I started practicing every day. Within a couple of weeks, people started noticing changes. After eight weeks, I lowered my blood pressure, my digestive issues resolved, I was sleeping at night, and I no longer needed anxiety medication.
It doesn't always happen that quickly for everyone, but you come to it when you need it. It’s been life-changing for me. And knowing what the business environment can be like, it became my mission to help make the workplace a happier, safer, easier place to be.
Mindy:
I’ve been in many high-stress environments as well. It’s something we have to take care of personally, but companies also need to be aware of the stress they're creating.
From your experience, what are the biggest contributors to workplace stress and burnout today?
Marcy:
One is the expectation of a workload that’s simply unmanageable. Businesses need to realize their employees—their human resource—is their most important resource. So why wouldn’t you want to take care of that? Burning through people isn’t sustainable.
Mindy:
Yes, especially now when we’re seeing layoffs everywhere. That often means those who stay are doing the work of more people.
Marcy:
Exactly. Another big one is multitasking. If you look at most job postings, they list multitasking as a requirement. But multitasking isn’t good for us. It doesn’t make us more productive—it’s actually harmful. I spend a lot of time teaching about the pitfalls of multitasking.
Mindy:
Tell us more about that.
Marcy:
It’s a fascinating topic. I see it as my badge of honor to root it out. Many people think multitasking is a great qualification, but the human brain isn't wired to do two things at once.
Multitasking actually started with computers, and businesses thought, “If a computer can do it, our workers can too.” But that’s not how our brains work. We’re task-switching, not truly multitasking. When you’re interrupted and switch tasks, it can take up to 20 minutes to get back into the flow. That’s a huge loss of time and energy.
Monotasking—focusing on one task from start to finish—actually makes you more productive. Multitasking lowers your IQ, and even affects the IQ of those around you. It’s like secondhand smoke—it’s harmful whether you’re doing it or just near it.
Mindy:
That makes sense. You can definitely feel the energy of someone who’s multitasking.
Marcy:
And trying to do multiple things at once is inherently stressful. That contributes to the enormous stress levels in the workplace.
Mindy:
How can leaders start to recognize early signs of burnout in their teams, and what should they do when they spot it?
Marcy:
It starts with a mindset shift in leadership. Leaders set the tone. So first, understand the benefits of mindfulness and how it helps care for your people. Then offer training—start with an experiential session so people can feel the impact.
Mindy:
What does it actually look like to practice mindfulness in the workplace?
Marcy:
It doesn’t look like the stereotypical image of someone sitting cross-legged chanting "Om." Mindfulness is really about harnessing your attention. It trains your brain to have situational awareness. I tell clients it’s about becoming ridiculously in charge of your attention.
And if anyone thinks mindfulness is too soft a skill for business, consider that U.S. Special Forces, first responders, and law enforcement all use it and place high value on it.
Mindy:
That’s such a powerful shift—thinking of mindfulness as focused attention. That helps me reframe it entirely.
Marcy:
Exactly. The definition of mindfulness is simple: paying attention to what you’re doing while you’re doing it, with non-judgmental awareness. It sounds simple—but it’s not easy.
Meditation supports this. It’s a technique that settles your nervous system and trains your brain to become more focused, responsive, and less reactive. These two practices—mindfulness and meditation—go hand in hand.
Mindy:
That makes total sense. And I can feel in my own life how distractions impact my output and stress levels.
Marcy:
More distractions = more stress. And stress is contagious—it spreads like wildfire in a workplace.
Mindy:
I’ve seen that so much as an HR leader.
Marcy:
A simple practice is to take responsibility for the energy you bring into interactions—personal or professional. What we bring affects others, and we have control over that.
Mindy:
That really resonates. The way someone shows up can completely shift a conversation or situation.
Marcy:
We’ve all walked into rooms where the tension was thick. That energy matters.
Mindy:
When you work with companies, how do they get started with mindfulness?
Marcy:
I usually start with an introductory session for decision-makers to experience the practice. Then we move into regular sessions—often once a week for an hour. People self-select at first, and as they feel the benefits, participation grows.
Every client has unique needs, so I tailor the training to their specific challenges and goals.
Mindy:
How do you implement this without it feeling like just another task?
Marcy:
The self-selection process helps, but leadership buy-in is key. Even small things like creating a quiet space for breaks can foster this shift. It doesn’t have to be a huge initiative at first.
Mindy:
For leaders who are hesitant, what’s the business case for mindfulness?
Marcy:
There’s a strong case. Aetna is a great example. After its CEO used mindfulness to recover from a life-threatening injury, he introduced it company-wide. The result? They saved $3,000 per employee per year in medical costs.
Stress-related issues lead to absenteeism and something called presenteeism—when someone’s physically at work but mentally checked out. That’s actually even more costly.
Current estimates say stress costs U.S. businesses around $300 billion a year. Mindfulness helps reduce that.
Mindy:
That’s huge. And the effects ripple through teamwork, productivity, and culture.
Marcy:
Yes—and it impacts home life too. We take stress from work home, and vice versa. Mindfulness helps create healthier boundaries and better presence in both spaces.
Mindy:
That makes me think about my own presence at home, especially with phones and distractions. It’s such a good reminder.
Marcy:
Phone etiquette is a whole topic on its own. It’s something I include in training, because those constant pings and apps add to our stress. Being intentional about what actually needs your attention can be life-changing.
Most people spend about 47% of their day in a state of mindlessness—that’s a Harvard stat. Mindfulness helps shift that by focusing on the present moment without judgment.
Mindy:
Yes! That part of the definition—without judgment—is so helpful. We can get so caught up in evaluating everything we do.
Marcy:
Exactly. We often don’t hear what someone says—we imagine what they meant. Mindful communication improves team dynamics and reduces misunderstanding.
Mindy:
What would you say to someone who’s feeling overwhelmed but doesn’t work in a company that supports mindfulness?
Marcy:
Be the change you want to see. Even if your workplace isn’t on board yet, you can begin on your own. Others notice. I’ve seen people start their own practice and, over time, bring it into the workplace through simple conversations.
Mindfulness is the gateway to emotional intelligence. And emotional intelligence is more valued today than IQ ever was.
Mindy:
That’s so true. And I know you have a book coming out—tell us about it!
Marcy:
It’s part memoir, part self-help. I share my story of corporate burnout, followed by a medical crisis I wasn’t prepared to handle. Then in 2023, I had three major crises back to back—but this time I had the tools.
The book pairs real-life challenges with practical mindfulness and meditation practices. The goal is to help people navigate daily stress and future crises more effectively.
Mindy:
I love that. I learn by seeing examples, and your story is so powerful.
Marcy:
We all have the power to sit down, close our eyes, and become still. That’s where transformation begins.
Mindy:
Absolutely. What’s one small but powerful step a leader can take today?
Marcy:
Start by valuing your human resources. Most of us spend a third of our lives at work, and for many, it’s the least happy third. Casino night is fun, but it won’t sustain health or wellness.
A simple conversation about mindfulness is the first step. Mindfulness and meditation literally change the structure of your brain. That change enhances every other type of training and development you offer.
Mindy:
That’s such a great perspective. If we help people become more focused and present, we naturally increase engagement and effectiveness.
Marcy:
Exactly. We use the phrase "pay attention" for a reason. Our attention is a currency. Mindfulness teaches us how to spend it wisely.
