Mindfulness has undeniable psychological benefits not just for an individual but also in the workplace. It enhances crucial aspects of a healthy workplace. Read on to learn more.
Even before COVID-19, a mental health pandemic already existed. As the global pandemic took its hold, however, 69 percent of employees globally reported higher levels of work-related stress working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over a year after lockdowns were issued, the dramatic shift to remote work still upends the day-to-day realities for many employees, shifting the conversation of mental health in the workplace from the sidelines to the forefront.
Employees are now experiencing a new range of challenges that are impacting their mental health, resulting in:
This unique set of challenges necessitates the need for practices that can revamp mental health mindfulness strategies–while at work.
What is Mental Health Mindfulness?
Often used to refer to a psychological state of awareness, mindfulness is a practice that promotes this awareness. It is a moment-to-moment acknowledgment of one’s experiences without judgment. Ideally, mindfulness isn’t a trait but a state of being.
Employers can cultivate mindfulness for their teams by offering yoga, meditation, tai chi, and qigong. In essence, mindfulness encompasses self-regulating practices, focusing on bringing one’s mental processes under greater voluntary control, fostering mental wellbeing and development. In addition, the practice nurtures attributes such as clarity, calmness, and concentration.
Benefits of Mindfulness at the Workplace
Mindfulness is an effective mental health practice helping to improve your employees’ physical and psychological wellbeing. Some benefits include:
Decreased depression
One of the significant benefits of mindfulness is reduced depression. It relieves the symptoms of depression while helping to prevent these symptoms from manifesting in the future. Mindfulness-based therapy, such as mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MCBT), adopts cognitive-behavioral therapeutic practices. It utilizes group sessions and incorporates mindfulness practices such as yoga, body scan exercises, and meditation to help people become more aware and accepting of their thoughts.
Reduced stress and anxiety
Many employees suffer from chronic stress, often leading to health problems, including increased anxiety and depression. Mindfulness can help manage feelings of anxiety and stress in the workplace, explicitly treating symptoms of stress. Programs such as mindfulness-based stress reduction can help your employees address behaviors, thoughts, and feelings that contribute to stress.
Improved memory
Mindfulness also helps improve your memory. Forgetfulness is often caused by proactive interference. This is where older memories affect your ability to access newer memories. Practicing mindfulness helps reduce proactive interference, leading to improvement in short-term memory.
Better emotional regulation
Mindfulness also helps employees identify and manage their feelings, also known as emotional regulation. This is the ability to exert conscious control over one’s emotions based on need and the situation at hand. Emotional regulation is highly beneficial in managing emotions and conditions such as borderline personality disorder and depression.
Practices rooted in mindfulness have been known to help enhance emotional regulation since constant practice influences emotion-inducing stimuli. When combined with certain forms of therapy, this form of mindfulness can help your employees manage and reduce day-to-day anxiety, stress, and sadness.
Improves cognitive functions
Not only can mindfulness help you remember better, but it also plays a significant role in helping you think clearly and flexibly. There are various cognitive abilities involved in mindfulness, such as suppressing thoughts that interfere with your focus, improving your focus for longer periods, and shifting your thoughts and attention despite the distractions.
In essence, mindfulness improves your cognitive flexibility and inhibition, making it easier to solve problems efficiently and focus on the tasks at hand.
Helps cultivate better relationships
Research shows that practicing mindfulness has a positive impact on your relationships. Mindfulness tends to open people up to be more accepting of others’ flaws and imperfections. Rather than focusing on changing others or their flaws, mindfulness involves practicing partner-focused loving-kindness meditation. This translates into accepting others, as opposed to constantly judging them.
Better physical health
Mindfulness has been linked to improvements in physical health, such as lower back pain, Type 2 diabetes, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis. It also helps improve sleep, lowers blood pressure, and alleviates gastrointestinal difficulties.
The Growth in Mindfulness Therapy
As opposed to a results-focused practice, mindfulness is geared towards growth. It focuses on how we increasingly change our response when exposed to certain situations without feeding, repressing, or fighting them. It focuses on what is happening at the moment rather than approaching a situation through problem-solving. The practice of mindfulness awakens us to patterns of the mind rather than simply emptying the mind. It cultivates a way of being rather than doing.
Some great ways to incorporate a wellness program in the workplace include:
Structured mindfulness exercises your employees can practice to enhance wellness in the workplace include:
At OPOC.us, we help you cultivate a culture of productivity, service, and results in the workplace. Being leaders in innovation, we are always looking for newer and better ways to build a wholesome culture in the workplace, offering the best employee care to your team. Get in touch with us today for more information about our services.
