Mindfulness at Work: Why It Matters to All

Practicing mindfulness at work and at home can help individuals better manage negativity afflicting them. Employees who incorporate mindfulness practices and strategies in the workplace tend to better manage and mitigate otherwise stressful situations. They also help create an environment bound for positivity. Over time, teams can enjoy healthier, less stressful lifestyles, both at home and at work. 

Here we’ll explore the role of mindfulness and how integrating it on the job can enhance the employee experience company-wide.

What is mindfulness, and why is it important?

Put simply, mindfulness is moment-to-moment awareness in your setting. This means you’re not spending negative energy on past events or worrying about the future. Instead, you’re staying focused in the here and now. Achieving this involves a heightened level of self-awareness and attentiveness to current circumstances.

The benefits of mindfulness at work

The benefits of mindfulness at work cannot be overstated. Mindfulness sparks positive emotions and a growth mindset in individuals and teams. Incorporating principles of mindfulness into your daily routine can help transform a negative workplace culture into a positive one. The environment becomes one in which employees are eager to be. Furthermore, the positive energy stemming from practicing mindfulness can provide the company competitive advantages in both direct and passive ways. Here’s how.

Mindfulness and overall employee well-being

Mindfulness tends to have a positive effect on a person’s general well-being. It can reduce blood pressure, depression, and anxiety. It can even improve memory skills. Mindful employees also tend to avoid such problems as emotional exhaustion and poor stress management, which can impact mental health.

Mindfulness and job performance

Through practicing the theoretical foundations associated with mindfulness, you and your coworkers can be proactive, rather than reactive, toward troublesome issues. Even things like heavy workloads and overwhelming demands can be addressed with calm, practical reasoning and collaborative approach. The end result is enhanced efficiency, productivity, communication, and customer service. Ultimately, that all supports profitability, which in turn supports enhanced employee compensation.

Mindfulness and better work cultures

How we manage our emotions directly impacts us in both our professional and personal lives. Unfortunately, workplaces can sometimes become toxic due to negative energy present among team members. Even more unfortunate is the way negative emotions can quickly become contagious, contributing to the creation of a hostile environment.

A recent MIT online publication cites toxic work cultures as driving the Great Resignation. Reportedly, workplace toxicity is “the strongest predictor of industry-adjusted attrition and is 10 times more important than compensation in predicting turnover.”

So, by incorporating mindfulness principles, you and your coworkers can help increase positivity, enthusiasm, and employee retention.

workplace toxicity is “the strongest predictor of industry-adjusted attrition and is 10 times more important than compensation in predicting turnover.”

Flexibility and resiliency

Mindful employees are less apt to be resistant to change or become quickly frustrated when conflict arises. When problems do arise, they tend to seek solutions rather than dwell on the problems. The levels of flexibility and resiliency achieved through practicing mindfulness prepares them to quickly adapt as needed. This typically applies to scenarios across the board, from a minor customer service issue to a company-wide technology crash.

Mindfulness in relationships and communication

The foundation of any good relationship includes strong communication. If you can partake in mindfulness training in the workplace, you’ll help nurture better communication and more cohesive teams. For instance, employees engaging in mindfulness meditations are more likely to show greater acceptance of coworkers without judgment or negative reactions.

Over time, by practicing additional mindfulness exercises, such as breathing exercises and body stress reduction techniques, you can help others relax and be more present. In time, work relationships are bound to strengthen.

Mindfulness and work-life balance

To be happy in life, it is important to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Taking a lunch break and other regular breaks throughout the day can help you achieve this. Overworked people become burnt-out people.

Practicing mindfulness both on and off the work clock helps balance the 2 areas of life. Feeling fulfilled in both their personal and professional lives empowers people to be better at both. A good meditation app can help employees avoid psychological injury and feelings of excessive emotional labor.

Increased focus and awareness

In many jobs, to be productive, it’s important to keep focused. Yet, many positions require people to be simultaneously aware of what’s going on around them. When the needs for both focus and awareness clash, stress ensues.

Mindfulness makes it easier to prioritize. Then, people can stay focused while maintaining the flexibility needed if events require them to shift gears. This is especially helpful when deadlines need to be met despite intermittent disruptions, such as phone calls, meetings, and more.

Mindfulness works!

Throughout an organization, from leadership to employee relations to job performance, mindfulness truly works. It goes beyond the effects on task performance and attentional control. It’s ongoing mental training with far-reaching positive effect. By modeling mindful leadership and professional demeanor, you help promote the long-range well-being of yourself, coworkers, and company.

Learn more about how to lead and enhance your own employee experience daily. Become an active member of the Workest employee community.