History and background information

To García Campayo, mindfulness has two meanings:

• A state of mind: this is the most used meaning. It defines a state and a feature of the human mind, which has been described by all religions and cultures. This quality of the mind exists in all individuals to a greater or lesser extent, and appears in the population following a normal distribution, that is, a Gaussian bell-shaped curve. This state, which a person can always train, is associated to great physical and psychological well-being; hence this psychological technique is being widely used internationally.

• The psychological technique that allows developing mindfulness: mindfulness is psychotherapy as such, which can be used for treating diseases, as well as to prevent psychological discomfort and increase psychological well-being. Mindfulness practice teaches how to relate in a different way with thoughts and emotions. The idea would be not to get “stuck”, not to identify with thoughts so they do not affect us. This way, neither the positive nor the negative content in mental phenomena matters, but our relationship with them.

Although some of its terms and techniques come from Eastern religious traditions, and specifically, Buddhism, mindfulness is a secular technique, with no religious or cultural reminiscence, and based on sound science (García Campayo, 2019, p. 41, 42).

All mindfulness definitions feed back into one another, this is why, in the design of this program, we have basically used the definitions provided by Kabat-Zinn and Javier García Campayo because we consider that these are more connected to hypothesis 1 since the design and development of the Golden Minute program bases on mindfulness to enhance concentration in MSM personnel. In the work field, people tend to multitask which makes them break focus of what is happening in the present, leading them to lose concentration. The purpose of the Golden Minute program is for people to be more aware.

Mindfulness as a state of mind

According to Campayo and Demarzo (2019), all mindfulness definitions must incorporate the following characteristics:

Attentive capacity: The person is not sleepy, absent-minded, or indolent. Rather attentive and perfectly focused on what she/he is living, but in a relaxed, not tense or excited, state of awareness (2019, p. 42).

The attentive capacity concept is very important in our study since most of the pills designed, as it will be later explained, are based on developing this essential mindfulness characteristic.

In the present: One can be focused on the past, missing it (a phenomenon that occurs with depression), or focused on the future, dreading something that will or might happen (condition seen in anxiety). In mindfulness, people are exclusively paying attention to the present moment. Therefore, it is almost inevitable for them to be very aware of their bodies, including their breathing because they are always in the present. Developing body awareness is essential in mindfulness development (2019, p. 42 and 43).

Certainly, in the work field, developing this characteristic is one of the most important aspects when it comes to managing tasks effectively, efficiently, and focused on attention to detail, but without spending much time doing them. This premise is one of the bases of the Kaizen method.

With acceptance: mindfulness prevents judging, criticizing, or being displeased with the present experience; instead, it allows accepting it radically, without expecting it to be any different. Here, acceptance is different from resignation or passiveness; its meaning refers to openness and non-judgmental curiosity in the face of each experience. Any element of non-acceptance existing in the experience will make us lose the mindfulness state. This is the most subtle way of not being in mindfulness (2019, p. 43).

Intentional: getting into the mindfulness state is a voluntary and intentional exercise, at least at the beginning of this practice. With time, the process becomes natural and one can be in that state most of the time (García Campayo, 2019, p. 43).

To summarize the content, every mindfulness definition must take into consideration two fundamental components:

Self-regulation of attention: it allows sustaining attention on immediate experience, fostering greater acknowledgment of body, sensory, emotional, and mental events (García Campayo, 2019, p. 43).

Self-regulation of mindfulness in multitasking environments is one of the pillars of the Kaizen system with which Mahou San Miguel works. This section with be explained in the practical framework of this study.

Open orientation towards one’s experience: it is characterized by curiosity and acceptance, which implies the capacity to acknowledge the harsh reality of events, free from our cognitive filters (García Campayo, 2019, p. 43).

It is an indispensable circumstance to adapt to volatile work environments, of constant change, and required in one of the most important pillars of today’s VUCA contexts, innovation. Without this open orientation towards one’s experiences, creativity is eroded by the fact of us not being able to adapt to all the ups and downs of the market. Today, a company that does not create or innovate is doomed to failure.

Basing on the mindfulness practice foundations provided by Kabat-Zinn (1990, cited by Ramos, Recondo, Enriquez, p. 64), there are seven aspects related to attitude that are the main pillars of the focused attention practice. In order to develop the pills and the videos of Javier García Campayo that constitute our “Somos Mahoufulness” project, which are going to be explained in the practical section of this study, we have used each of the pillars comprising this construct. That is the reason why, in addition to using the aforementioned definition given by Kabat-Zinn, we have added part of the descriptionCampayo and Demarzo (2019) makes of each of them.

Benefits of mindfulness

Ever since Jon Kabat-Zinn founded the MBSR program for stress reduction using mindfulness, there have been many studies addressing the benefits of this practice in different social milieus.

According toCampayo and Demarzo (2019) this technique has proven to be effective in three main areas:

Health sector

• Treating medical conditions: chronic pain, fibromyalgia, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic diseases, etc.

• Treating psychiatric disorders: depression, anxiety, addictions, eating disorders, obsessive disorders, personality disorders, etc.

• Preventing stress and psychological discomfort / developing psychological well-being.

• Lengthening life expectancy.

Education sector

• Increased concentration levels and academic performance.

• Improved emotion regulation and interpersonal relationships.

• Enhanced positive environments in classrooms (for example, it has been used to prevent bullying).

Business and work sectors

• Reduction and prevention of work stress and other psychosocial risks, such as occupational burnout and mobbing.

• Increase in job satisfaction and improvement in work environments.

• Higher job performance levels.

• Improvement in empathy for clients / employees and their satisfaction.

Background information

The word Aceptación [EN: Acceptance] comes from the Latin word acceptatio, according to the Royal Spanish Academy (2001) Aceptación is the action and effect of accepting, approval, applause; it also refers to the acceptance of people, which is the action of favoring or preferring some people over others, for any particular motive or effect, without regard to merit or reason.

Acceptance is openness to reality without wanting the events that are happening to change. Acceptance often comes after periods of denial, anger, guilt, and other emotions, in a regular healing process. Acceptance does not imply that we like all that is happening, or that we have to adopt a passive stance regarding everything, or abandon our values, tolerate injustice or quit the idea of changing the world or ourselves. Acceptances allows seeing things the way they are at that moment, without imposing our ideas about how things should be, without changing them because, as they are already happening, we cannot do it. All that emerges in your mind is fine. Embrace your emotions and thoughts, no matter how unpleasant, negative, or embarrassing they seem to be. Do not judge or criticize yourself for having such thoughts, or for the failures you have had in life that appear in the meditation (Kabat-Zinn cited by García Campayo, 2019, p. 58). The author gives a comprehensive approach, inviting people to accept any situation, thought, emotion, or circumstance; allowing them to detach and not judge, that way the denial period becomes shorter. Therefore, we considered developing MSM workers’ acceptance.

Hayes (2003) suggests that acceptance entails “experiencing events completely and defenselessly, just as they are”, and claims that patients during practice can exaggerate the importance of changing unpleasant symptoms without acknowledging the importance of acceptance (Hayes, cited by Ramos En Re, 2012, p. 82).

Jeff Foster (2008), although he does not have a theory based on mindfulness, his book “The deepest acceptance” provides a quite interesting proposal by which he relates the ocean with acceptance: the ocean does not accept some waves and rejects others, it is a great truth and it can be said that there is a reality in our lives, despite the fact that we sometimes reject the things we do not like, we cannot change them, so there is no use in rejecting them. To Foster, acceptance means seeing the reality, seeing things as they really are, and not as we wish or want them to be; you take power away from expectations as you try to change that.

Mindfulness as a technique invites us to accept the present experience, even though we seek to change that experience. To this end, it proposes diminishing the impact of language as a distorting element of the real experience. From acceptance, events can set their own path. This way, mindfulness is an adequate technique to implement in therapeutic and educational contexts. The key to mindfulness efficiency lies in the combination of attention to the present moment and the non-evaluative attitude that curiosity and acceptance entail (Bishop et al, cited by Ramos En Re, 2012 p. 125).

The contributions from these authors were relevant to our research, and allowed us to design the “Golden Minute” pills, in which there is even an acceptance pills section. It can be asserted that acceptance is receiving things as they are, without judgments, without trying to change them, because it is the reality, and thus live in freedom. Therefore, we considered designing the pills specifically to strengthen acceptance, whether it is of an emotion, situation, or reality, without judgments, just accepting them as they are, so that MSM workers can enhance their acceptance levels and improve their relationship with work, the handling of complicated situations, and management of emotions in the workplace.

History and benefits

Among the general notions we could mention about this term, we have the definition provided by the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, defining adaptation as the action and effect of adapting or to adapt oneself (Real Academia Española, n.d.).

Adaptation is the quality of adjusting to a specific satiation. Humans are eminently adaptive beings.

Logically, our adaptation process has been consolidating throughout our evolution. For thousands of years, we have incorporated techniques to get accustomed to all types of situations. The control of fire, the invention of the wheel, mathematics, and agriculture are humans’ creations that fulfill specific necessities. It is humans’ intelligence and their capacity to solve problems what allow us to adapt with relative ease.

Technological and social changes force us to activate our strategies in order not to feel disoriented. Somehow, life is a continuous change, which drives individuals to find adequate adjustments to the new emerging circumstances.

Do not think that adaptation is something immediate and easy to get done. Generally, it is necessary to overcome a transition period, by which the old system is left behind and a progressive familiarization with the new model begins. Let’s use young children as example. When they stop being with their parents and they start going to school, there is a difficult phase. For some time they tend to cry and show their rejection of classrooms and this novel situation. It is typically a short period, since they get accustomed to change very fast (Editorial Definición MX, 2013).

Based on the text quoted, that quality human beings have that allows them to change from one state to another, to adjust, with the purpose of ensuring survival if any event (such as those that determine the general conditions of life) occurs, is a notable characteristic that permits them to be flexible in the face of any situation or circumstance compromising or threatening their capacity to live, or that represents, in their assessment, an improvement to keep evolving. A special element involved in their capacity to adjust with relative ease is their intelligence, with which (in addition to considering other elements that add dynamism to keep evolving) they fulfill many specific necessities. Life is a continuum of situations that, among the benefits or very varied hazards it poses, represent pleasant or painful experiences, but if we face them in a way that allows us to continue our lives learning and overcoming them, makes it possible for us to strive for adaptation. Humans themselves even play a part in our motivations to change and to adapt due to their hierarchy in society and influence in their surroundings, for example the technological, social, or any other type of change that invites us to exercise that plasticity in our nature in the face of such situations. All of this is the result of using our intelligence to adapt, overcome, or satisfy needs. It is evident that a transition period is required to move from one state to get into another and its duration and intensity will depend on each person’s experience in the case we are affected by change, such as that capable of transforming the surroundings and that requires time for its application and use in society. The speed of our capacity to adjust can vary as we age.

Background information

Given the importance of practicing compassion within our “Golden Minute” program, it is essential to develop its definition in depth, to differentiate what compassion is from what is not, in addition to reviewing the concept through the different disciplines that study it. The etymology of this word comes from Greek “συμπάθεια” which can be read as “sympathia” from where it came into Latin as “cumpassio”, a compound word of “cum” = “con” [EN: With] and the verb “patior” = “padecer” [EN: Suffer]. This way, compassion is a feeling inherent in the person who cares for somebody else’s pain, to show support, to understand that pain, and to share it in order to alleviate it (Deconceptos, 2020). It is a very complex concept, and diverse since many different disciplines and cultures have tried to explain it, opening possibilities to many interpretations according to the context in which it is adopted.

In Spanish, the word compassion comes from the Latin word compati “sufrir con” [EN: Suffer with]. The dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy defines compassion as the feeling of commiseration and pity one has for those who suffer hardships and misfortunes. In this definition, strongly rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition, the feeling of pity prevails, which implies a sense of superiority over the person who suffers (Campayo & Demarzo, 2019). In this sense, there is a tendency to identify with others’ emotions, but in a passive way, experiencing sadness or pity, but with no real interest in changing or mitigating the suffering of others.

Different theories

In the field of psychology, one of the most used definitions is the one provided by Goetz and Cols (2010) who define it as “the feeling that arises in witnessing another’s suffering and that motivates a subsequent desire to help”. Another definition is the one given by Paul Gilbert (2015): “A deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it”. Simón (2014) speaks of two key elements in compassion: on the one hand, sensitivity to others and one’s suffering, and on the other, the commitment to alleviate that suffering. In this sense, compassion is an emotion that arises when witnessing the suffering of another and that triggers the desire to relieve the pain we perceive.

Gilbert (2009) argues that in order to develop compassion it is necessary to practice attention on others’ suffering. According to Gilbert, there are some steps to do this; putting oneself in other’s shoes, that is, having empathy; feeling for the other, that is, sympathy and acting. To this end, we must first delve into these two concepts since, even though they might help explain how to develop compassion, they are mistakenly used to define the concept of compassion.

On the one hand, sympathy means an affective affinity between people that is generally spontaneous and mutual, that is, you feel what the other person is experiencing, but you do not necessarily understand it. On the other hand, empathy goes a little further, since it additionally requires a process of understanding and comprehension. As defined by the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, empathy is the capacity we have to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes, and understand what that person feels or thinks. That is, we empathize with others’ emotions and we connect with their situation, but that does not necessarily mean it has a moving effect on us or that will motivate us to act. Compassion, however, does seek a definite goal: to improve the situation of another.

Therefore, compassion is something more than empathy, which is the ability to understand the behavior and feelings of others. Compassion differs from it because not only do we understand the suffering we perceive, it also motivates us to perform an action aimed at relieving it or eliminating it. In addition, it is something more than sympathy because sympathy is a reaction that leads us to feel the emotion someone else is feeling; hence, when we perceive the suffering of another, we can suffer, too. But compassion also entails the motivation for eliminating or relieving that suffering.

Other terms commonly related to compassion, which signify different concepts according to Simón (2014) are emotional contagion and altruism. On the one hand, emotional contagion refers to experiencing involuntarily the same emotions of others, and connecting emotionally with them. It occurs in people with difficulties in handling their emotions, and as a result, tend to be impressionable. On the other hand, altruism is the behavior that benefits others, although it may be detrimental for oneself (Campayo & Demarzo, 2019).

As we can see, there are many concepts that can be easily related to compassion. In the same way, Neff (2003) also developed the term of self-compassion as: affection, kindness, and comprehension directed inward towards the self when experiencing suffering, rather than judging and blaming oneself, or denying one’s pain. In other words, it is about understanding the present moment, that situation that causes suffering and anguish, but comprehending it, understanding it, and accepting it from a place of love and kindness, without judgments or reproaches.

Another definition of self-compassion given by Neff (2003) suggests: to be open and touched by our own suffering, experiencing feelings of love and kindness towards the self, with a non-judgmental attitude of understanding towards our failures and incompetence, and acknowledging that our experience is part of the experience of the whole humanity. This author proposes three principal components in self-compassion: being kind towards the self, realizing we are part of humanity, and mindfulness.

Mindfulness helps us perceive, approach, and accept our suffering. Being aware that we can share and experience the same virtues and weaknesses as any other human, allows us to put our own suffering into perspective and to consider, without judging, the shared responsibility we have for it, which is the same as any other human would have. Finally, love towards the self allows us to treat ourselves with the same love and care we may feel and offer to another loved one.

This way, one of the most used models in mindfulness is the one created by Kristin Neff and her team, which speaks of being aware of our own and others’ suffering, without judgments or criticism. One neither denies suffering nor escapes from it nor gets caught in it. One cannot over-identify with suffering, otherwise compassion becomes empathy (Neff, 2003).

To Campayo and Demarzo (2019), compassion consists in becoming aware of our own and others’ suffering, without judgments or criticism. You neither deny suffering nor escape from it, but you do not get caught in it. It is with this perspective that we decided to design a mindfulness program centering not only on focused attention, acceptance, and adaptation, but also on compassion since we considered that recognizing our own and others’ suffering from a place of compassion can contribute to improving the quality of life of workers at Mahou San Miguel, both personally and professionally.

Benefits of practicing compassion

Compassion and self-compassion give us peace and joy, and activate the contentment system. They help us face our failures, take risks, handle criticism and conflicts, and create better and more harmonious relationships. Compassion can activate again the affiliative system that might have been shut down due to emotional conflicts, being neglected or suffering abuse. Then the system reactivates, making emotional memories linked to the events that caused that shut down to re-emerge, causing dread of feeling compassion (Gilbert, 2009).

To practice compassion it is essential to become aware of our own and others’ suffering, without judgment, attachment, or rejection, in order to feel compassion towards the person who suffers. Above all, in order to practice compassion some minimum levels of mindfulness, which are acquired through mindfulness practice, are required (García Campayo and Demarzo, 2015). Therefore, and according to Gilbert (2015), in order to develop compassion three qualities are necessary: commitment, to try to alleviate our own and another’s suffering; strength, to tolerate suffering without getting stuck in it; and mindfulness, as aforementioned by García Campayo, to become aware of the suffering of others and ours.

Finally, through our “Golden Minute” program, we intend to delve into the mindfulness practice by creating 17 pills to improve focused attention, 10 to improve acceptance and adaptation, and 10 to practice compassion. The practice of these pills will allow Mahou’s workers to attain extraordinary skills to focus on the present moment, to concentrate on work tasks, and to accept and to adapt to the always changing circumstances of the environment. In addition, these abilities will permit them to be more compassionate and kind with themselves, especially when carrying out the exercises meant for night hours, since they will focus on self-love, self-compassion, and compassion towards others.