Mindfulness at work

Everything You Need To Know About Mindfulness In The Workplace

The workplace is like a second home to most of us; you learn more about your profession, develop the required job skills, make new friends, etc. At the same time, workplaces, by design, are competitive and demanding.

The workload, deadlines, appointments, and meetings can lead to anxiety, fatigue, stress, etc. To create healthy workplaces, practice mindfulness in your offices. Yes, it is as simple as that.

Recognizing the importance of being mindful, offices are coming up with mindfulness programs. For more details, I provide an overview of mindfulness programs offered by different companies.

But not only companies, employees themselves can take to different mindfulness practices. To learn about how to practice mindfulness at work, read the following section. 

How To Be Mindful At Work

Individually, you can practice mindfulness in the following ways:

1) Organize your office space

Since you spend so much time in the office cubicle, it is better to personalize it. For instance, you can put up photos of your family or friends. Maybe you could also set up a lamp on your desk and get a plant. 

When it comes to the office desk, avoid cluttering it. Keep all the essentials like your laptop, phone, paper, and pens in handy. While you work, make sure that you are comfortably seated. Go for a good desk chair and use a cushion for support. As you personalize the cubicle, you feel secure and comfortable. As a result, you can focus better on your work. 

2) Spend less time on emails 

Checking your mails all the time will make you less productive; it disturbs your concentration. If your job allows it, limit email checking. You can turn off the email notifications and check your mail after completing important works.

3) Take a break

It is important to take regular breaks. The next time you feel stressed about work, take a short break. Move out of your office cubicle and go out for a short walk. If you prefer a company, you can invite your colleague too. Divert your attention, take about stuff unrelated to your work.

4) Plan your work

Usually, the mind gets distracted when you have too many things in hand. Appointments, meetings, deadlines, presentations? Often one feels confused as to where to start from. To avoid confusion:

  1. Organize your day.
  2. For instance, make a to-do list.
  3. Don’t forget to set achievable targets for your work.

On the whole, planning gives you a sense of control and stability. So, you would be able to do your work in an organized manner. 

5) Practice mindful communication 

Stress and fatigue are so overwhelming that they isolate you. So, it is important to communicate with people because good conversations are great stress busters. If your co-worker is talking to you, avoid texting on the phone or typing on the laptop. Be consciously present and listen to what they have got to say. To destress and develop good relationships, it is important to communicate mindfully. 

6) Do short mindful exercises.

Given busy schedules, it isn’t easy to do 30-minute mindfulness exercises. But you can do short mindfulness exercises. For example, take a minute, focus on the inhale and the exhale. As you do so, you notice that you feel relaxed already. From now on, do this exercise whenever you feel stressed or anxious. To be mindful, you can also journal your thoughts for 5 minutes every day. 

7) Practice gratitude

All of us go through bad days at work. But we must not forget to be thankful for the things we have. The next time you feel let down by your job, try writing at least two things you like about the job. As you practice gratitude, the quality of your work will improve drastically. 

By being mindful at work, employees gain a lot of psychological benefits. In the section below, you will get to know about the scientific benefits of mindfulness. 

Benefits Of Practicing Mindfulness At Work

1) Stress-reduction

A study says that mindfulness reduces stress and improves overall wellbeing in workplaces. At the same time, work productivity and job satisfaction improve due to mindfulness programs. Similarly, a study by The Wellness Institute in Cleveland also confirms that after eight weeks of mindfulness, there is a 31% decrease in stress levels among the workers in a corporate call centre.

2) Resilience 

Resilience is important in the workplace. A resilient worker is capable of facing challenges and dealing with new problems. Not only that, resilience helps you to avoid problems like fatigue, burnout, low motivation. So how exactly can companies develop a resilient workforce? Evidence shows that mindfulness builds resilience. 

3) Creativity  

Any job requires you to think outside the box and come up with new perspectives. The good news is that you can enhance creativity with the help of mindfulness meditation. Research affirms that mindfulness makes you more creative.

Conclusion

Mindfulness is already being implemented in workplaces for the wellbeing of employees; it makes a huge difference to the overall health and productivity of the office. Not just at the organizational level, an employee can individually practise mindfulness to prevent burnout and stay productive at work by taking small measures like personalizing the workspace & taking breaks to refresh regularly.

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