The New Year offers a time to restart with a clear head. But we often end up overwhelmed from the pressure we put on ourselves. Today, we’re taking a look at one way to alleviate some of this stress.
Enter mindfulness--a moment-by-moment awareness of mental, emotional, and physical events. By allowing our minds to simply feel in the moment, mindfulness contributes to a headspace which increases our happiness, both at work and at home.
Studies have shown that mindfulness alleviates stress, depression, and anxiety. It also increases productivity, improves memory, and boosts overall well-being-- all great for the workplace.
But how exactly does mindfulness work?
Mindfulness is not about clinging to your feelings, rather letting them come and go. Holding onto emotions leads to anxiety, stress and burnout. By being in the moment and not overthinking forces out of our control, we are able to clear our minds and gain the clarity needed to perform optimally, especially at work. Meditation, one way to practice mindfulness, helps g us face stressors head on, enabling us to guide and manage our emotions by making us more familiar with them. With this emotional intelligence, we can learn to respond and better manage stress, allowing work to become easier, and making us more productive, healthier and happier.
Here are some ways to encourage mindfulness into the workplace.
1. Guided meditation
Holding group mindfulness training, guided by a professional, is a good place to start. Employees can benefit from both the mindfulness practice and from the promotion of cohesiveness and harmony with fellow colleagues. It also shows them that it is okay to take a moment for themselves to recalibrate.
Some employees enjoy a more introverted meditation experience. After all, mindfulness is a way of getting in touch with our inner-selves. It can be practiced on our own using online services or via mobile apps. Encouraging employees to try a free app or funding an online service so that they can practice mindfulness on the go like during their commute, allows employees to choose a time and a place that works best for them.
2. Promote pausing in everyday activities
Taking time to check in with yourself can help build simple awareness of your internal states. Be an example and encourage your employees to follow suit and offer suggestions of everyday times that can be used to practice mindfulness, so that it feels more accessible to do. One example is each time you wait for the elevator to arrive, check in with your current emotional state over scrolling through social media.
3. Make the case for deep breathing
Slow breathing, where exhales are longer than inhales, allows our body to rest and relax. In this state, the body and mind calm and slow down. Doing even one minute of deep breathing can help your employees recognize and understand their feelings and bringing them, or yourself, back to a peaceful headspace.
In all, mindfulness is a learnable skill that requires patience and understanding with ourselves. Practiced correctly, it can increase one’s concentration and clarity, enabling employees to be more productive in the workplace.