How Mindfulness, Meditation and Wellness Can Improve the Corporate Environment

There is a lot of talk in health and wellness circles these days about the benefits of mindfulness. Mindfulness is, at its core, a kind of conscious meditation where you focus your mind on what is happening 'in the moment' – that is the sensations you are experiencing, your own breathing and body, and what is going on around you. It is a very simple technique to learn which is recommended for all kinds of situations, because it can be done anywhere and when you do it you don't look like you've gone into a meditative trance! Of course, this means that mindfulness can be practiced at work, and because of the benefits it offers, may well be something you might want to encourage people to use in the workplace.

Reducing Workplace Stress

Many professionals feel overwhelmed or stressed at times, and usually this is because of things that they have to do, or things that might happen in the future. Mindfulness causes them to focus on what is happening right now, which reduces the feeling of pressure from the afternoon of meetings that will happen later or the project deadline that might be missed in three weeks. By focusing on the moment it often becomes clear there is nothing to worry about immediately, or nothing they can do to affect the outcomes of the things they are worried about right now, and this can leave them feeling less stressed and better able to cope with their tasks and responsibilities one at a time.

Improving Focus

If somebody is in a meeting, no matter how important the topics under discussion are, they can easily find their mind wandering and focus lost. Many of us lose whole chunks of conversation when we are not interacting ourselves as our focus switches to other things, and this can be stressful and of course, lead to problems! By practicing mindfulness in these circumstances people can make sure their awareness remains firmly planted at the conference table, while also remaining calm and relaxed. This is a technique that is actually used by professional poker players, who also need to keep their attention on the people around the table without getting flustered!

Better Corporate Culture

By putting information about mindfulness and relaxation on your intranet and encouraging staff to try it, or even having mindfulness workshops to help them learn the techniques, you can create a better company culture by demonstrating that you as a business value the mental health and wellbeing of your people, and also recognise that these kinds of things can boost productivity and morale. When staff feel that you care about their stress levels and allow them time and provide strategies to help them cope, this sends out a very positive message and can help inspire loyalty.
Introducing your staff to mindfulness can be a great way to help them perform better and feel healthier, so why not look into ways to embrace it within your workplace?