Mindfulness Work: Best Practices for 

Bringing Mindfulness to Your Work Place

Mindfulness means being aware of our thoughts, feelings, body feelings and surrounding environment through a soft and rich lens. Leading companies from Verizon to Google are incorporating mindfulness into their company culture. This is why they invest in Employee health, creativity, and stress management.

What is Mindfulness in the Workplace?

In short, mindfulness in the workplace is how well people understand their work environment (Dane & Brummel, 2013). So what does it mean to be aware? Well, like many structures in positive psychology, mindfulness is not easy to define. However, most definitions, such as those described by Hyland, Lee & Mills (2015), have three elements: Mindfulness can be described as "a consciousness centered on the present" (Hyland, Lee & Mills, 2015).

In other words, a conscious person does not contemplate the past or worry about the future; they are just "existence" here and now. Second, mindfulness includes paying close attention to internal and external stimuli (Hyland et al., 2015). Finally, in addition to simply focusing on stimuli, mindfulness also involves conducting it in an open and receptive way (Hyland et al., 2015). All in all, from the definition of Brown, Ryan and Creswell (2007): mindfulness is

"receptive attention and awareness of current events and experiences"

(Brown et al., 2007: 212). Mindfulness involves being aware of what is happening without evaluation, analysis or reflection-therefore, conscious information processing is called "pre-concept" (Hülsheger, Alberts, Feinholdt & Lang, 2013).

Therefore, a conscientious employee will consider what happens in the workplace without reacting to it, but will only get information from his environment. They will focus on not judging your work and your relationship with other colleagues and management. Although most studies on individual differences in mindfulness regard it as a trait, many researchers now regard mindfulness as a state of mind that changes at any time. Moments within the individual (Hülsheger et al., 2013).

In addition, mindfulness is described as a natural ability of humans, the intensity of which varies from situation to person (Hülsheger et al., 2013). How does this look in the workplace? Well, this means that throughout the working day, at any time, the concentration of employees is variable; they may be paying close attention in meetings, without judgment, and focusing on whatever the presenter is talking about. Or, maybe later in the day, they are less attentive, sitting in front of the computer and wondering what to do for dinner.

So this person has the ability to be aware, but their attention is variable at all times. When you practice mindfulness at home or in the workplace, you will become a better version of yourself! Your phone vibrates, your work phone rang, and your boss wants you to come to his office. Most importantly, there is a lot of paperwork that needs your attention.

What about you? Well, if you are like most workers in the 21st century, you have "multiple tasks." True multitasking is impossible. You heard me right. It is physically impossible to distract attention in order to perform two tasks at the same time.

"Mindfulness is the ability to know what is going on in the mind at any given moment without being taken away by it."

-Dan Harris

When a multitasker focuses on two or more tasks, the efficiency is lower than that of concentration. The efficiency of one thing until its completion. This is where "mindfulness" comes in. People who have received "mindfulness" training say that they know more about how their brains work. They see how their filters affect perception and thus the decisions they make. When they learn to control these filters, they are more willing to listen and learn from others.

They will be more aware of their own preconceived notions and be able to accept more possibilities that they have not considered before. All this comes from mindfulness, really? Conscious people have learned to focus on one task at a time. In this sense, mindfulness is far beyond the scope of "thinking outside the box," and it even starts without a box. Conscious people will find the best solution for any problems they may encounter. Those who are mindful are more aware of how they connect with others, communities, and future generations. 

Why Bring Mindfulness to Work Place?

The pressure on employees is greater than ever. According to a survey conducted by LinkedIn, almost half of employees now feel stressed at work, and 70% of them feel stressed due to workload and work-life balance. Gallup reports that 23% of employees often or always feel exhausted at work, while another 44% report that they do it sometimes.

"There is a zeitgeist in the business world." 

Said Rich Fernandez, executive director of the Exploratory Self-Leadership Institute (SIYLI) and co-founder of Wisdom Labs. "Mindfulness programs are closely related to employee happiness because they serve to support contemporary work Conditions for thriving in place culture.” The business roundtable of a lobbying group composed of nearly 200 CEOs recently changed the charter after 20 years and changed the standard of “corporate responsibility” to benefit all stakeholders, including employees and Customers, Suppliers, and communities, not just financial shareholders. 

Why is mindfulness in the workplace so important?

As we transition from a manufacturing economy to a knowledge-based economy, mindfulness in the workplace becomes more and more important. In the manufacturing economy, the body is the main means of production. But in the knowledge economy, it is the brain. A well-known management consultant referred to employees in the knowledge economy as "capital assets."

The truth is that no one will train those who manage others to manage themselves. No one has learned how to transform the best tool in the knowledge economy, which is thought itself! If the manager can't concentrate, it becomes a big problem, because every negative emotion affects decision-making. Mindfulness in the workplace enables managers to put past and future thoughts aside and focus on the present.

Managers who have mastered this skill can hold meetings that are currently taking place, and put the past meetings aside. How about the annual performance appraisal? Usually, the review process revolves around criticism, which can justify the employer's salary increase. Employees become defensive, activating the part of the brain that processes emotions. However, if managers start to ask questions like, "What do you think of this year?" Of course, there will be a learning curve, but in the end, when answering this question, the brain activity of employees will be transferred to their brains with judgment, personality Ambition and other related parts.

What about multitasking? This is what the research says. Basically, after reducing multitasking time, participants reported that their productivity and quality of work were significantly improved; in fact, they were able to listen better, thus establishing close connections with colleagues, family, and friends. But practicing mindfulness in the workplace will have a greater impact than simply changing your listening. It can change our connection with the larger world by guiding our sense of interdependence. From Wall Street to Main Street, we can all use more interdependent thinking. Mindfulness in the workplace can be a change agent that leads to the company's vision.

Four ways mindfulness changes the way we work 

By training ourselves to always pay attention to where we are and what we are doing, mindfulness can help us choose our behavior by pushing (or pulling) us out of autonomous driving. Here are four ways that mindfulness changes the way we work. 

1.     It can keep you open and curious.

2.      It teaches you the ability to react, not to react.

3.      It can help you remember that your ideas are not facts. 

4.     Develop healthy habits that cultivate creative potential. 

How do you know that mindfulness works at Work Place?

The Mindful Workplace Alliance (MWA) is one of the organizations leading the creation of mindful work culture. The alliance is composed of nearly 25 leaders from companies such as LinkedIn, Google, Intel, Verizon Media, Genentech, and SAVIA. “Every MWA company is at a different stage of its development, from more mature projects to people who are trying to light the flames internally in some cases,” said MWA founder Scott Shute. The success of mindfulness programs in the workplace is different for everyone. Here are a few ways for organizations to track success:

 SAP achieved a 200% return on investment: Based on survey data from 650 SAP employees, before and after SIYLI training (post-survey was conducted 4 weeks and 6 months after the arrangement), they showed better happiness and satisfaction, Concentration, creativity and reduce the burden and stress of the working day. According to Peter Bostelmann, head of SAP mindfulness, the company has achieved a return on investment of 200%. SIYLI and mindfulness training have increased employee engagement and confidence in leadership and reduced absenteeism.

Intel found that employee happiness has improved: At Intel, employees who pass the mindfulness program are required to complete the Mindfulness Awareness and Attention Scale (MAAS), which measures attention and awareness events and experiences, as well as self-assessment. -Before and after the 10-week meeting-in many areas, such as stress, participation in meetings, ability to concentrate, and the quality of working relationships. "On average, we see two positive changes in every vector in every class taught here," said Lindsay Benjamin, Intel Visual Computing Software Evangelist and Head of Corporate Mindfulness. "For seven years, we have surveyed thousands of people, and we have never seen a return on the scale or report lower scores in subsequent surveys."

LinkedIn sees an increase in qualified applicants: Shute said that mindfulness programs are becoming a "talent magnet", and he pointed out that because of these programs, people who want to work on LinkedIn often contact him and thank the employee company for this. Provide it to them. Practice healthy and invest in what makes them successful. One day, walking in the hall, Shute met a young employee. She told him that she used to think mindfulness was "a bunch of nonsense." But he has been cultivating for more than a year and recently appeared at a gathering of eighty people. "I couldn't have done this a year ago," he told Shute. "I was very nervous, practiced breathing, and then climbed up to squash it." After hearing the news, Shute had a conversation with his team leader and learned that what happened to this increasingly capable and confident employee What a big change. "That's why we are doing what we are doing," Shute added.

Verizon saw the impact on customers: Some conscientious leaders also brought a culture of mindfulness in the workplace to external customers, which had a profound impact. At the beginning of the weekly meeting with the client, the account manager Jason Luk was told to reduce from 30 minutes to 15 minutes because the client explained that they were "beaten." When Luk offered to skip the mindfulness exercises he used to participate in every week, the client replieda:

"Absolutely not! We will do this first, and then discuss hot topics."

How to Bringing mindfulness into your work place?  

The Present Moment

Mindfulness, which means paying attention to the present in an acceptable and non-judgmental way, is a simple exercise that everyone can use. Studies have shown that it is also a reliable method of decompression, even at work. Simply put, meditation is a way of training the mind. Most of the time, our thoughts are floating: we are thinking about the future, thinking about the past, worrying, fantasizing, anxious or daydreaming. Meditation brings us back to the present and provides us with the tools we need to reduce stress, calm and treat ourselves and others well.

"I think mindfulness is the ability not to be influenced by one's emotions."

 -Dan said

Harris, author of "Ten Percent Happiness". "This will have a huge impact on how you feel in the workplace." There are many ways to cultivate mindfulness at work, from walking during the day to taking a break while eating. One of the most reliable methods is simple meditation. 

Work is Stressfull, Find Focus 

Focusing on work can be especially helpful, which can be a huge source of stress. The workplace is becoming more and more stressful. Emails, office chat tools and social media are constantly competing for our attention, and often enter long-established working hours. Let's take a break. 

“In the workplace, we are encouraged to stick to various 24/7 technical magic.”

-said Janice Marturano, founder of the Mindfulness Leadership Institute.

"The information we are bombarded can cause anxiety and create a feeling of disconnection from our personal and professional lives."

One way that mindfulness can help is to increase our concentration. When we constantly switch from one task to another, the quality of our work will be affected. By practicing mindfulness and just returning to the present moment over and over again, we can train ourselves to be more focused.

Mindfulness 

The goal of mindfulness is not to stop thinking or empty your mind. Instead, the focus is to pay close attention to your physical feelings, thoughts, and emotions so that you can see them more clearly without making too many assumptions or making up stories. Although mindfulness meditation is inspired by Buddhist practice, today it has become a completely secular practice that emphasizes reducing stress, cultivating concentration, and developing tranquility.

Today, there is a large and growing amount of research that has determined the measurable impact of mindfulness on the body and brain. Mindfulness meditation is not the only way to meditate. Transcendental meditation aims to promote a relaxed state of consciousness by chanting mantras, and it is also very popular now. But mindfulness is taking over the corporate world, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley.

Built for Distraction 

Just because they call them “workplaces” doesn’t mean they’re the best place to do your work. By learning how to focus more effectively, communicate more compassionately and manage our frustrations, we can avoid many of the common pitfalls that lead to dissatisfaction on the job.

Conscious Choices 

Even if there is no formal meditation practice, there are some simple steps you can take to give yourself more chance to participate:

·       Turn off pop-up notifications and push notifications.

·  Respond to emails within a specified time period instead of responding immediately after the email appears in your inbox.

·       Complete a task before starting the next task.

Always Working The Present Moment

Nowadays, even if we are not in the office, we seem to be working all the time. Here are some tips to help you live in the moment even in the elevator or during lunch.

Walking around in the office is a necessary thing, but doing it with your heart can add another layer of benefit that you don’t even know where it is. Mindful walking involves paying attention to the feeling of your feet on the ground. If you are outside, the wind on your face, no matter how you feel, just pay attention to it. This can increase your sense of purpose in these daily activities and make your day full of energy.

Lead by example

LinkedIn’s CEO Jeff Weiner talked publicly about mindfulness, meditation, and the use of apps, which helped to establish an “umbrella acceptance”, Shute said. Seeing executives and lower-level employees sitting and breathing together is an important realization that these practices are good for everyone.

"Leaders say it is okay to take care of themselves at work."

"When company leaders participate and introduce their plans and exercises in community mindfulness courses, they will allow them to practice and accept that these skills are effective," LinkedIn Said Parneet Pal, chief scientific officer of Wisdom Labs, where Mindfulness Scheduling provides services. "The leader said it is okay to take care of yourself at work."

Building a community 

Conscious leaders encourage community building around these practices and begin to integrate them into daily work life, as well as plans that include ambassadors or community leaders. 

"Go to places with energy, find those who are excited, and let them lead." 

-Shute said

According to Bostelmann, when a company builds an internal teacher base, it creates an internal multiplier. "Our coaches are like 42 lighthouses, they are really passionate and they like to do it," he added. "Five years later, they are still eager for training." 

Infineon launched the InMind mindfulness program in September 2018, and currently provides employee information meetings, peer-led mindfulness meetings, websites that provide information and resources, and use it to interact with other practitioners. A mailing list for the exchange and development of the community.

 Accessibility is the key

Employees can participate in the scope of behavior change, Pal points out. "The products we designed to provide people with a 360-degree access point, allowing them to test, obtain information, and then experience these practices for themselves." 

 LinkedIn has more than 14,000 employees and uses smartphone apps to spread mindfulness exercises. "Try to provide something for everyone in the mindfulness journey," Shute suggested. The company presents a 30-day challenge every year. If employees meditate 20 times within 30 days, they will have the opportunity to participate in the lucky draw. Then, with a list of registrants who are clearly interested in mindfulness, the company holds weekly community meetings where professionals watch short videos with guided exercises, develop some skills, and build a growing community.

Defining language and structure 

Tech companies tend to focus on mindfulness in a secular, science-based way. Kai Stowers, Infineon’s Organizational Transformation and Change Expert, said: “It’s important to understand your audience, understand their values, and use language that resonates with them. “How do I emphasize actively seeking feedback and using it to improve your mindfulness program importance.

"It is important to have a clear structure of what it is and what it is not," Bostelman said. "We only teach neuroscience and positive psychology evidence that supports it, and we are very careful about language. We need people who are well-trained in mindfulness and practice, and these people involve kindness and compassion. "

How to Integrate mindfulness into the company culture? 

“We are increasingly adopting a ‘conscious minute’ in meetings to give people a chance to stop and settle down," Bostelman said. "Through these micro-exercises, people meditate in a business environment and see that there is no need to escape or go up the mountain; you can sit in an office chair to do it."

Other suggestions for bringing mindfulness into workplace culture include unequipped meetings and quiet rooms dedicated to meditation and reflection.

 Sharing resources 

 Creating an intranet page will enable employees to understand any mindfulness plans and related events. Post articles, videos, and podcasts to raise awareness. "Although the subject of mindfulness can be traced back thousands of years, it turns out that the most accessible resources for viewers are scientific literature and authors based on research work," says Stoles. Her favorites include Chade Meng-Tan, Daniel Goleman, Dan Harris, and Kristin Neff.

Communicating with leaders

Mindfulness plans can be developed top-down (LinkedIn) or bottom-up (SAP), but according to Fernandez, it is most effective when there are internal advocates and high-level sponsorship. "If people organize meditation groups, it creates fertile ground for senior leaders to formally introduce some teachers, or allocate space, or make them part of the health agenda," he said. "When employees do this organically, they can get the attention of executives, which is very helpful, or legendary leaders can say,'This is why it fits our culture, and here is a toasting solution' and Invite people to join." Both help foster the introduction of mindfulness practice into the organization.

Another way to bringing mindfulness into your workplace

Fill breaks with mindful activity

Use mental activity to fill the rest time and just a few minutes of mindfulness practice can evoke that sense of peace. Take a few minutes to rest, understand your thoughts and feelings, good or bad, and admit that you won’t feel this way forever, because that’s how it is.

Eat mindfully

We all know the feeling of "depression after lunch". Maybe you were starving when you arrived at lunch time and ate too much or chose something more unhealthy than you expected. Eating carefully can help solve this problem. When you eat, you don’t sit down and scroll your phone, taste the food, and see how full it is. This really makes store-bought food transactions or reheated dinners even more enjoyable!

Notice what you’re doing at your desk

It is easy to focus on your work. Have you ever left because you think you only have a few minutes, and want to know how you managed to open 100 tabs in your browser? Just by knowing more about what you are actually doing at the time, you can alleviate the stress sometimes caused by trying to do too many things at the same time. On the one hand, you will be more likely to focus on one task at a time, and second, you will be more self-aware and admit that you are doing everything you can to reduce the to-do list.

Practice mindfulness with colleagues

No, we promise that we will not take back our commitment to group meditation. Mindfulness can be practiced in almost any group situation. For example, creating a social event where you can talk about the drinks or food offered, your feelings at the moment, or your views on background music. This is a very simple way for people to take action and talk to you. note. You can even add beer or cake!

Show your employees that you care

After all, cultivating mindfulness in the workplace is to show people that you care. Investing in health activities or advising them on how to manage their physical and mental health in a way that shows that you really care about them is more convincing than giving them a free gym membership. Empower your employees to be the best you can be, and support them to achieve this goal, you will not go wrong.