Introduction to mindfulness and its application at work
Mindfulness has become increasingly popular among companies as a practice to improve the mental well-being of employees and the productivity of the company itself.
Companies that incorporate mindfulness into their training and professional development programs can see numerous benefits , including:
greater attention and awareness
better stress management
better communication and interpersonal relationships
greater creativity and innovation
greater job satisfaction
On our journey into the world of wellbeing we had the opportunity to meet Riccardo Caserini, Senior Account Director of Linkedin who uses mindfulness on a daily basis and is its ambassador in the corporate world.
How did your mindfulness project come about?
The project was born within Linkedin when, during the pandemic, I organized "five minutes of mindfulness" for my colleagues: weekly online meetings in which we dedicated 5 minutes of time together to the practice of mindfulness.
People began to understand the benefits of those 5 minutes of mindfulness and in a few weeks we became a hundred people. Colleagues from Microsoft also slowly joined in, creating a real cross-company institutional moment.
What are the key words of the combination mindfulness and work?
Mindfulness means "conscious attention" and indicates the ability to pay conscious attention to the present moment without judgment.
The key words that come to mind in the combination of mindfulness and work are:
awareness
focus
Attention
In fact, mindfulness has a strategic role in the world of work and is closely linked to corporate wellbeing.
Mental wellbeing is fundamental as are the other 4 areas of wellbeing. At Trainect we approach wellbeing holistically. Learn more about the 5 dimensions of holistic well-being in our blog!
Reduce stress and improve concentration through the practice of mindfulness.
Why is there a need for mindfulness in the world of work?
What we observe today in the world of work is a situation that I would define as exasperated . Exasperated by the number of stimuli we receive, by the continuous context switching we are exposed to when multitasking, by the difficulty of finding an effective way of working in an asynchronous and hybrid way.
Personally I see every day an enormous difficulty in people at work in staying attentive and focused with consequent negative impacts on the quality of the output produced, on the management of their time and on organizational efficiency in a broader sense.
Let's dispel the myth of multitasking please! Multitasking doesn't exist.
Our brain does not work in parallel, but in sequence. This explains why we feel ineffective when we jump from one activity to another. Continuous inattention and constant switching between tasks not only leads to inefficiency, but also leads to severe stress, impacting the prefrontal cortex, which absorbs a huge amount of energy. So not being mindful makes us both ineffective and tired with negative impacts on our well-being.
Integrate mindfulness into employees' daily routines
Who should practice mindfulness in the company?
Simply everyone. Mindfulness is useful for becoming more effective and efficient in operational tasks but it is also crucial for managers and leaders, exposed to uncertain and complex scenarios and strategic decisions.
Even more so, conscious leadership that integrates mindfulness into its daily routine brings various benefits to the entire organization:
Greater attention and awareness: Mindfulness helps leaders and managers develop greater attention and awareness of the present moment. This can help you make more informed decisions and adapt better to changes.
Better Stress Management: Mindfulness has been proven effective in managing stress. Leaders and managers who practice mindfulness can learn to manage stress more effectively while maintaining a healthy mental and physical balance.
Better communication: Mindfulness can help leaders and managers develop greater awareness of their own emotions and those of others, thus improving communication and interpersonal relationships.
Better leadership: Mindfulness can help leaders and managers develop more conscious, compassionate and authentic leadership that inspires and motivates employees.
Increased creativity and innovation: Mindfulness can foster creativity and innovation, helping leaders and managers develop new ideas and think outside the box.
So the role of the leader is crucial in this scenario. What characteristics do you think a mindful leader has?
In a world of continuous and rapid change you can no longer afford to carry out your activities without realizing who you have in front of you and who you are relating to. A mindful leader is one who is aware and notices his thoughts and emotions at the very moment he is experiencing them. And he is also able to understand those of others, with empathy. A mindful leader has these characteristics in my opinion:
vulnerability
empathy
awareness
resilience
change management
In summary, a leader who practices mindfulness is able to lead with awareness, empathy and compassion, make effective decisions and motivate his team towards achieving goals.
To conclude, mindfulness is closely linked to corporate well-being. It could all be summed up in a simple claim: “more focus, less stress”!
Comments