There is plenty of research to suggest that mindfulness is as good for individual health as it is for business success. If you’ve never heard the phrase passed around in recent years, mindfulness is a way of intentional living that touts self-awareness and personal insight. It can help relieve stress, enhance creativity, improve communication, and foster resilience. All of these characteristics are incredibly helpful when it comes to the workplace environment.
But how exactly do you foster a mindful, growth-oriented approached in the office? Use these three steps.
Work from the Top Down
If you want to get anything done in business, you should start with the leadership. Leaders that are actively practicing a mindful, growth-oriented approach to business will encourage employees to do the same. It’s the old “live by example” model. Instilling your company’s leadership with a vision for the future of mindfulness and self-awareness will absolutely help that leadership provide guidance, mentorship, and direction to employees seeking to emulate the people they admire.
Make the Time
Doing anything in business takes time. Sure, there’s only so much of it every day, but focusing too much on what needs done and checking off boxes could lead to employee (and even leader) burnout. That’s not what you want and that’s precisely what mindfulness can help you avoid. Look for areas in the day, week, month, or quarter that would allow you to allocate some time for mindfulness workshops or team-building exercises. Is there a way to cut employees out early on Friday for a little self-rejuvenation time before the weekend’s big plans? Can you build meetings to track the progress of the culture shift?
Provide Mindfulness Opportunities
Some companies have dedicated spaces in their offices for mindfulness and presence practices. Yes, that means yoga and meditation rooms. Some companies bring in professional instructors to teach these sorts of things. The more you can prepare your teams and provide them with the tools to be mindful, the more likely it is they’ll practice those tools, and the more likely it is your work culture will shift.
Mindfulness practices can help employees bring their full selves to the work they do. That can lead to a more positive employee culture, a better leader-employee relationship, and a strong sense of internal company loyalty. Production and happiness will both increase together. It pays to be mindful.