“The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness. Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing.”  - Jon Kabat-Zinn

Every day you open social media, at least one influencer mentions words like mindfulness and meditation. But, did you know that when these elements are applied in certain ways, they turn out to be more practical than you would predict. Some organizations started to offer mindfulness classes to help their employees de-stress about work issues. In this article, we will touch upon what mindfulness is and then talk about how we can make it function for your benefit in a work setting. Let’s dive into the world of mindfulness together and see what it is all about.

This article will talk about the following points:

• What is mindfulness?
• Mindfulness at work
• How to use mindfulness at work?

What is mindfulness?

Nowadays, everyone is talking about the word “mindfulness” and how impactful it can be in the distinct roles we carry in our lives. But what is mindfulness really? Mindfulness is known as focusing on the current time while you are also giving close attention to the new stimuli without having any judgment towards it[4]. It may sound a bit confusing when you get the book definition. An example might help you to understand it better. For instance, instead of trying to multitask different assignments at the same time, only focusing on one task will help you. Contrary to the popular belief, being a multi-tasker usually does not end up increasing your performance. It actually decreases it!  But if your mind does wander around to, for example, what you are going to eat for dinner tonight don’t scold yourself. Notice it, and gently bring it back to your task. If you would like to learn more about what mindfulness is, please read Elisabetta Lano and Sesi Coriasco’s article.  

Mindfulness at work

Before we get into mindfulness research and how it functions at work, we will talk about 2 types of mindfulness. The previously described one is known as state mindfulness and it is accomplished by meditation. Another type of mindfulness is known as trait mindfulness, where there are individual differences in terms of mindfulness that are constant within people. Most research is focused on state type[4] .

Some researchers point to mindfulness as a technique which solves every problem that you might have. However, the evidence shows that mindfulness helps individuals experience well-being and increases behavioral regulation. Another study demonstrates that work engagement and general well-being can be increased by applying mindfulness techniques. Additionally, the authors elaborate that the relationship between mindfulness and two variables can be explained by looking at positive feelings towards the job and psychological capital (e.g., resilience, optimism, self-efficacy)[3]. Overall, mindfulness is known to decrease symptoms of physical, mental and psychological conditions[1,7].

Now that we know what mindfulness is, how does it influence work outcomes? The review written by Good et al.(2015)[2] shows how mindfulness impacts work outcomes. Mindfulness helps you to focus your attention on the right thing. This is achieved by increasing attention in terms of stability, control, and efficiency. Moreover, research has shown that mindfulness does provide individuals with increased control, efficiency, and stability. When we go down in the figure, we see the effects of mindfulness in different domains. It is proposed that mindfulness has a positive effect on domains such as emotion, cognition, behavior, and physiology. For instance, with emotion mindfulness helps you to change how the object/thing is evaluated as well as how you react to it. For the work context, mindfulness can decrease the amount of stress you experience. Coming to the last part of the figure, we look at how workplace outcomes are influenced by mindfulness practices. In this paper, the authors point towards evidence where 1. Performance is increased, 2. Interpersonal behavior and relationships at work are improved, 3. Well-being (including psychological, physical, and behavioral parts) is improved by mindfulness practices. For example, being able to monitor your reactions towards your colleagues by mindfulness will lead to decreased reactivity and increased positivity in relationships which will ultimately result in better relationships with people at work[2].

How to use mindfulness at work?

Mindfulness can be easier to be used in specific occupations compared to others. For example, in organizations where you are required to perform multiple tasks at once or work as fast as possible it may not be the best intervention[1].

Here are some tips to be more mindful:

• Meditation might be a great way to start clearing your mind. To learn more about it, check out our previous article[6].
• Try to use mindfulness reminders. For example, you can set an alarm on your phone to trigger your attention to start meditating for five minutes or longer. If you want a simpler way, you can try reminders in the form of sticky notes[6].
• Use social media as a break from work. Look at quotes that will help you practice what you are trying to achieve.
• Ask your organization if they have an MBSR program (Mindfulness-based stress reduction)[5].  
• As we mentioned previously, try to focus your mind on clusters of information (one task) instead of trying to do 5 distinct things at a time.
• Give your work some meaning. When you look back on why you are doing what you are doing, it can help you to be more joyful towards your tasks.

Additional resources:

Here are more sources for you to learn about mindfulness and how it works. Headspace has a few guides on Netflix where it can help you to clear your mind or go to sleep faster. It can help you more than you think so try to approach it without having prejudices towards it.

• Mindfulness at work (5 Tips): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_CrcJl960w&ab_channel=AdrianaGirdler
• Using Mindfulness to deal with everyday life pressures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmEgH6i3HWE&ab_channel=TEDxTalks
• What is mindfulness and how can you integrate it into your life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNfKCM92OWM&ab_channel=TEDxTalks

References

1. Glomb, T. M., Duffy, M. K., Bono, J. E., & Yang, T. (2011). Mindfulness at work. In Research in personnel and human resources management. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
2. Good, D. J., Lyddy, C. J., Glomb, T. M., Bono, J. E., Brown, K. W., Duffy, M. K., ... & Lazar, S. W. (2016). Contemplating mindfulness at work: An integrative review. Journal of management, 42(1), 114-142.
3. Malinowski, P., & Lim, H. J. (2015). Mindfulness at work: Positive affect, hope, and optimism mediate the relationship between dispositional mindfulness, work engagement, and well-being. Mindfulness, 6(6), 1250-1262.
4. Mesmer-Magnus, J., Manapragada, A., Viswesvaran, C., & Allen, J. W. (2017). Trait mindfulness at work: A meta-analysis of the personal and professional correlates of trait mindfulness. Human Performance, 30(2-3), 79-98.
5. Rupprecht, S., & Walach, H. (2016). Mindfulness at work: How mindfulness training may change the way we work. In Healthy at Work (pp. 311-327). Springer, Cham.
6. Shonin, E., Van Gordon, W., & Griffiths, M. D. (2014). Practical tips for using mindfulness in general practice. British Journal of General Practice, 64(624), 368-369.
7. Zivnuska, S., Kacmar, K. M., Ferguson, M., & Carlson, D. S. (2016). Mindfulness at work: Resource accumulation, well-being, and attitudes. Career Development International.