Mindfulness in Politics: A Qualitative Study on Mindfulness Training in the UK Parliament

Otto Simonsson; Christine Bergljottsdotter; Jayanth Narayanan; Stephen Fisher; Jamie Bristow; Ruth Ormston; Richard Chambers

doi:10.1007/s12671-023-02156-x

Mindfulness in Politics: A Qualitative Study on Mindfulness Training in the UK Parliament

Mindfulness (N Y). 2023 May 29:1-9. doi: 10.1007/s12671-023-02156-x. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Otto Simonsson^{1

2}, Christine Bergljottsdotter³, Jayanth Narayanan⁴, Stephen Fisher¹, Jamie Bristow⁵, Ruth Ormston⁵, Richard Chambers⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Sociology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
² Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
³ Department of Work- and Organizational Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
⁴ NUS Business School, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
⁵ The Mindfulness Initiative, London, UK.
⁶ Monash Centre for Consciousness & Contemplative Studies, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.

Abstract

Objectives: While mindfulness in the workplace has received substantial scientific attention in the past decades, it is not yet well-understood if, under what circumstances, and in what ways mindfulness training may be helpful for individuals working in political environments. The aim of this study was to explore the experience of mindfulness training among British politicians, as well as mindfulness facilitators who had taught mindfulness to politicians in the UK Parliament.

Method: Between September and November 2021, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with British politicians (n = 18) who had experience of mindfulness training and mindfulness facilitators (n = 4) who had taught mindfulness to politicians in the UK Parliament. The interview material was analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Results: Two main themes related to the experience of mindfulness training in politics were developed during the analytic process: (1) mindfulness approaches addressing particular challenges in political work, and (2) mindfulness sessions and group dynamics. Taken together, mindfulness training helped the politicians to better deal with the demands and stresses of political work, to reconnect with themselves and be more grounded, and - especially when taught in a group setting - to relate to other politicians and their viewpoints in a more humane and constructive way.

Conclusions: The results suggest that mindfulness training can be beneficial at both the personal and professional level for individuals working in political contexts, which can provide a rationale for governments to introduce mindfulness-based programs to politicians.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12671-023-02156-x.

Keywords: Compassion; Empathy; Leadership; Meditation; Mindfulness; Politics.

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