Regardless of status, background, or what we do for a living, we all share a straightforward desire: the pursuit of happiness. However, in recent years, happiness has found a sister: peace. Judging by the rapid pace at which companies worldwide willingly invest time and money into wellbeing, finding inner peace is the new happy. As a result, corporate office parties and luxury champagne bottles in clubs are quickly being replaced by a surge in four-day work weeks and meditation classes offered as perks for employees. Happiness can’t be bought, but peace is a cheaper alternative and has better optics in an increasingly ‘woke’ world. Is this a genuine evolution in leadership culture? Or is it simply another veneer of branding—a way to seem visionary while avoiding deeper systemic change? 

Wellness and holistic health practices have been booming in corporate America since the pandemic. According to a 2022 report from McKinsey & Company, 70 percent of surveyed employees confirmed that their company had increased investment in well-being programs and mental health support. But the most significant shift is happening at the top. Executives are not only approving these programs—they’re participating in them. 

Jeff Weiner, former CEO of LinkedIn, advocated for “compassionate management” and began company-wide mindfulness sessions. Marc Benioff of Salesforce speaks openly about his meditation practice, encouraging CEOs to lean on Zen wisdom. In his influential 2020 letter to CEOs, even BlackRock’s Larry Fink noted that “purpose is not a mere tagline”—a hint toward deeper introspection about business and its role in society. A 2023 Deloitte survey found that 83 percent of executives reported using stress-reduction practices like meditation, yoga or breathwork at least weekly. Nearly 40 percent of C-level leaders said they had attended a silent retreat or mindfulness-based leadership program in the past two years. 

However, with executives now exploring everything from corporate wellness retreats and breath workshops to heading off into the jungle to sit with the “wisdom keepers,” employees are under increasing pressure to perform and deliver. So, is this new trend truly serving the wider collective, or just the people at the top? Are the ones leading sincerely modelling a new way? Could this help propel a new movement that creates a culture where balance will finally prevail as the status quo? Or are workers, the ones who actually produce and keep the wheels in motion, being kept hostage in yet another glamorous illusion of the promise of “shared benefit” as the CEO once again heads off on a wee long meditation retreat to Hawaii, paid for by the company? 

“If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.” —Lao Tzu

What truly motivates leaders is complex. On one hand, research shows that “living in the now” is crucial to our long-term health and productivity, and that these practices offer real value, helping leaders deal with the at times inhuman demands they work under. The average CEO now manages a greater range of risks—economic, social, technological and geopolitical—under the critical judgment of the constant public eye. Mindfulness and retreats in general are a way to regulate and reset the nervous system, providing much-needed rest from the constant pressure. On the other hand, business is business, and a massive part of staying on top in an ever-changing world is to move with, or ideally, ahead of the game. So, when the game starts to revolve around personal branding and “mindful leadership” becomes the new goal, performance may outweigh moral authority. 

All businesses need momentum to grow and evolve continually. They need to innovate and constantly challenge themselves while remaining up to date with current trends and politics. In today’s world, to be calm is to be in control. To be meditative is to be evolved. Executive mindfulness, then, can become less about managing one’s mind and more about signaling a certain kind of enlightened competence. 

In 2023, the Harvard Business Review observed that mindfulness practices have, in some leadership circles, “become a new badge of professional capital—akin to having an Ivy League MBA or publishing a leadership book.” One venture capitalist said, “It’s almost a cliché now—if you’re not doing breathwork or plant medicine ceremonies, are you even a founder?” 

“Inner peace is the key: if you have inner peace, the external problems do not affect your deep sense of peace and tranquility.” —Dalai Lama

Wellbeing and mindfulness practices have the potential to make workplaces more humane, more inclusive, connected and balanced. In 2024, Microsoft rolled out a company-wide digital detox policy, including mandatory “quiet weeks” with no meetings—a direct response to executive feedback after attending wellness programs. Through experiencing the benefits of holistic practices such as greater resilience, a boost of agility and creativity and an overall stronger immune system and capacity to embrace challenges, leaders will start leading from within. Using compassion and shared values as their compass. This sparks a connection and a sense of togetherness, inspiring employees to be part of the game and keep on going, even when the going gets tough. 

However, while inner peace practices themselves offer great value, idolising inner peace as a status symbol carries a greater risk of masking systemic burnout and leading to a lack of productivity. Lack of inclusivity and open communication can also quickly foster a sense of injustice, resulting in resentment from employees towards their leaders, who are off ‘finding themselves,’ rather than being found in the office. 

According to a 2023 Gallup report, 59 percent of employees say their leaders talk about mental health more than they used to, but only 28 percent believe that those leaders act meaningfully on it. Making inner peace the new status symbol could see stress and being stressed as a personal failure, not a structural issue. If executives find peace in meditation while maintaining toxic productivity expectations, the outcome isn’t a more mindful workplace—it’s a more self-satisfied hierarchy. 

The future of mindful leadership is full of potential, and this is only the beginning. If done with sincerity, the mindfulness movement could redefine what powerful and peaceful leadership looks like—not as someone who dominates the room, but someone who listens, pauses and adapts. The positive rippling effects that this would have not only on the employees of a company, but on the world as a whole, are exciting and much needed. With a single idea, one genuine, great leader can change the world for the better, with a foundation of authenticity and sincerity. Having peace at the forefront of a company or not isn’t what will make or break a business. The people who lead are—and people will be people. Bad people choose badly. Good people choose wisely, bringing peace to everyone. Let’s choose good people to lead. 

Josephine McGrail is a meditation and yoga facilitator and the author of The Morning Miracle, Messages of Love, and Fall in Love with You.