Let’s be honest, sometimes work becomes overwhelming, stressful, and simply unenjoyable at times. When work seems downright dull, it can make it seem impossible to get through the day and lets us in a negative mindset. However, studies show mindfulness is directly linked to motivation in the workplace, and it’s a great tool because it doesn’t require a lot of time or energy, making it easy to do throughout your day. You could take a few minutes for mindfulness during your lunch break, while walking to a meeting, or even while sitting at your desk. The great thing about mindfulness is it is effective in a short amount of time, and you don't have to leave your workspace to do it. If you need more reasons to add mindfulness to your routine, read on to learn more about the benefits of practicing it:
Reduces Stress
Reducing stress at work helps improve your overall mindset, even outside of the workplace when you’ve returned home after a long day. If you are stressed at work, this mood is also more likely to carry with you into your personal life. And, being stressed all of the time is no way to live your life. It not only causes changes to the brain, but it affects your overall physical wellbeing. Stress can cause reduced cognitive capacity, irritability, fatigue, weight gain and difficulty sleeping. However, studies show that mindfulness can reduce the stress many employees experience at work without a lot of extra time or energy. Incorporating just a few extra minutes into each day will have a long-last impact on your overall health.
2. Improves your ability to retain new information
If your brain is filled with thoughts about work or your home life, it is nearly impossible to internalize new information because your mind wants to ruminate and shut out anything new. When at work, it is important that you are able to retain new information and have a clear mind to complete tasks. Workplaces are constant evolving and the tasks you take on likely are too. When you’re given something new to handle, you’ll want to be able to quickly process ways to tackle it and get the job done effectively. Mindfulness can help alleviate internal rumination, reset brain functioning and allow you to feel more ready to take on what comes your way!
3. Helps with creativity
While helping your brain to regain focus, mindfulness also helps creative thoughts to flow more easily. When your brain isn’t distracted it allows you to see things from a new perspective and come up with new ideas. Brainstorming is also an important function of many workplace positions, and it is often vital that you participate in collaborative sessions in which new ideas are generated. Taking care of your brain is important in order to maximize cognitive processing.
Increases empathy
While you may be wondering why you need empathy in the workplace, it is actually an important attribute for many workers in a variety of different careers. Empathy allows us to relate to and understand others. This is obviously a very important piece of collaborative setting. For those who work as teachers, therapists, doctors, nurses, and in many other helping positions, empathy for others is especially vital. It is an essential part of the day. When you are stressed and distracted it can be difficult to remain positive and be able to understand where others are coming from and remain willing to help. Mindfulness helps to clear the mind in order for it to open up and be more empathetic.
Improves Communication
Communication is one of the most important skills in the workplace. Being unable to communicate with the other staff or a boss can cause confusion and come off as an unwillingness to work in a team setting. When mindfulness is used, you can train your brain to focus on one thing at a time, including conversations. This naturally improves the interactions you have with others and makes other people feel heard and understood when they’re engaging in conversation with you. If you are distracted, on the other hand, this can come across as being disinterested and harm your ability to communicate effectively.
Mindfulness is an extremely useful practice for improving overall mental health and translating these improvements to the workplace. Because it’s relatively easy to practice while at work, you don’t have to rely on solely practicing at home, either. When you’re able to seamlessly integrate it into your life, the improvements that will follow will be noticeable not only to you but to others who work with you. If you feel like you don’t know where to begin, your therapist will be able to suggest some easy ways to incorporate mindfulness into your everyday life.
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