Workplace mindfulness - is it worth the investment?
I have been practicing mindfulness and meditation for 13 years now. Practising regularly has made a huge difference to my mental health and overall wellbeing.
What brought me to mindfulness was a demanding job that felt overwhelming at the time. I suffered from high levels of stress and anxiety.
A mindfulness practice has given me a raft of practical tools that I can apply daily to navigate the ups and downs of life, to support myself and emotionally self-regulate as well as notice, fully live and make the most of joyful moments.
But what has helped me most is the underlying philosophy of mindfulness: that life is uncertain. In mindfulness practice we learn to relate to our experience as fluid and always changing.
Mindfulness teaches us that we can’t change the circumstances we are in but that we can have a powerful sense of initiative and agency over the choices we make. We can always choose the attitude we bring to any given situation, whether that's being kind, open and caring or critical and harsh.
My mindfulness practice led to a career change and today I’m one of the leading accredited mindfulness practitioners and teachers, planning and implementing bespoke mindfulness programmes and workshops for the workplace.
Here are some questions that I’m often asked by organisations and companies who are interested in bringing mindfulness to their employees and into their workplace:
What is mindfulness and where did it come from?
Mindfulness is an awareness that arises when we intentionally pay attention.
Through a mindfulness practice we learn how to become more aware of what’s happening in our mind, body and emotions in relation to other people and our surroundings.
Mindfulness is about spending more time in the present moment, the only place in which we can truly live, in which we can choose to respond vs react to what’s happening inside and outside of us.
Mindfulness is about how we relate to ourselves and others with attitudes of kindness, compassion, patience, empathy, humility, authenticity and curiosity. It’s about our intentions and actions and knowing that our intentions and actions have an impact on ourselves, others and the world we live in. Crucially, mindfulness is not an individualistic practice.
The practice dates back more than 2,500 years and has its roots in Buddhism. It came over to the West in the 1970s, when the American doctor Jon Kabat-Zinn discovered that mindfulness could help patients with chronic pain when medicine failed. In the early 2000s, scientists discovered that mindfulness can help people with depression. It was found to be as effective as antidepressants, without side effects. This was a huge discovery [Jon Kabat-Zinn in General Hospital Psychiatry, Vol 4, Issue 1, 1982].
What are the different ways to practise mindfulness?
There are two main methods – formal and informal. We need both forms in our lives to benefit.
The formal practice – where you sit quietly and have an object of attention (also called focused or voluntary attention) e.g. the breath in the body – is key to training the mind. This requires time and dedication, and is what actually changes the brain.
A word of caution here: Mindfulness does not happen in the brain. It’s an embodied action. I like Evan Thompson’s (cognitive scientist) way of explaining this: we need a brain to have a human mind, but our mind isn’t inside the brain; it’s a relation between you and the world, including society and culture. Here is an analogy: A bird needs wings to fly, but the bird’s flight isn’t inside the wings; it’s a relationship between the whole animal and its environment. Flying is a kind of embodied action.
The informal practice is where you incorporate mindfulness into your daily life. For instance, paying attention to what you’re doing – whether that’s truly listening to a colleague or boiling the kettle for a cup of tea.
Other ways of practising mindfulness include going outside – being in nature ignites our senses and helps bring us back to the present moment.
What are the benefits of mindfulness?
It increases self-awareness, reduces stress and anxiety and helps us to emotionally self-regulate [in Springer Link, https://bit.ly/2Pk6BZQ, 2011]. When we notice we are angry, frustrated or anxious, mindfulness gives us the tools to take a few deeper breaths and respond to the situation instead of simply reacting to it. Mindfulness can also improve relationships – we listen better to others – and increase cognitive capacity, which boosts focus and decision-making.
How can an organisation embrace mindfulness?
Start small. Introductory sessions are a great way to help staff understand what it actually is and how it can benefit them. If there is more appetite, you can then introduce a longer programme where staff learn skills to apply to their day-to-day work. It’s helpful if senior leadership gets on board so that employees feel supported and have permission to practice mindfulness in the workplace.
To further embed mindfulness, it’s helpful to have mindfulness champions. These are employees who fully embrace mindfulness and who can inspire others by leading regular lunch time mindfulness meditation sessions; who create regular time and space for staff to share their story of how mindfulness has benefited them. Over time, they help to create a culture of mindfulness.
I offer guidance and knowledge of how to take these steps to create a mindful organisation where people can practice, thrive and be well in their mind and body.
What are the benefits of mindfulness to the employees and the organisation?
Mental ill health costs UK employers between £35-42bn a year. Stress, anxiety and depression are the top reasons for absenteeism and people going off sick. It’s estimated that for every £1 spent on mental health, an employer gets £5 return [according to a 2019 Labour Force survey].
So the benefits are huge. It’s a real investment in staff – and in my opinion, as important as computer or diversity training. Investing in mindfulness is an opportunity for employers to show genuine care for their staff.
What simple thing can someone do to practise mindfulness at any time?
Set a timer on your phone to pause several times a day to take three deep breaths.
Notice sensations in the body and the mood you are in with an attitude of curiosity and kindness. This will create some space to re-engage with the present moment, to restore, to respond.
Feel free to contact me to arrange a complementary meeting to talk through the needs of your staff, organisation or company so you can take the first step towards bringing mindfulness into your workplace.
Call me on +44 7895 591279 or at karen@greenspacecoaching.com