There are those who risk psycho-physical exhaustion, those who quarrel with colleagues, those who are multitasking ... and those who practice mindfulness.
Among the most requested soft skills, there are in fact resilience and the ability to manage stressful situations. Mindfulness helps to develop these skills, to live to the fullest even the most unpredictable situations in the office.
And eventually, to be more productive. Because, you know, where you feel good you work even better. So it is a concrete way, to be more centered and aware, and achieve a natural increase in productivity.
The term Mindfulness began to appear in the clinical world about twenty years ago and is the English translation of the word "sati" ("keep in mind" in Pali, the liturgical language of Theravada Buddhism). This concept, fundamental in the Buddhist tradition, is connected to a meditative discipline called Vipassana. Mindfulness is an ancient and very modern discipline at the same time: in practice, it allows you to acquire a knowledge that has the quality of seeing and is an act of unmeditated perception of the thoughts of the mind, capable of generating over time an intuitive, deep and non-conceptual understanding of what is happening when it happens.
The creator of this discipline is Jon Kabat-Zinn, an American professor at the University Clinic of Massachusetts who, in the 70s, developed the MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) protocol. This protocol, in the last twenty years, has seen more than 19,000 clinical cases analyzed and published only in the United States, becoming in fact the program currently most studied and validated by the scientific research literature.
Mindfulness was born as a practice in the clinical field, but over the years it has also entered companies. At Google, for example, mindfulness classes are held with the aim of improving the emotional intelligence of employees. Knowing about codes and technologies is not enough to work and live well. While quiet rooms where you can take breathing breaks are widespread in the headquarters of the largest companies in the world. Apple provides dedicated spaces for employees, allowing them to have 30 minutes a day to meditate in the office, providing courses on Mindfulness and yoga. But even names like Nike, AOL Time Warner and Yahoo! offer a wide range of health and fitness programs that include meditation classes and relaxation spaces within corporate spaces.
MINDFULNESS AT WORK
Can this technique be applied in the company? The workplace can be a stressful place, organizations are often in trouble and people manage many more tasks than in the past: sometimes we do a job already thinking about the next one, we answer the phone while reading emails or we talk to someone by checking the computer screen. Too many tasks, carried out simultaneously, lead to excessive losses in terms of concentration and serenity.
There is no way to completely eliminate stress from the workplace, but some companies are trying to help employees relax. Mindfulness changes the way the brain processes information and manages the effects of stress and anxiety. Those who practice Mindfulness in the company are more serene and calmer, compared to their colleagues who do not, so it is not surprising that many companies characterized by high levels of stress are making Mindfulness a tool to help human resources.
THE BENEFITS OF MINDFULNESS AT WORK
Mindfulness at work brings: 👉 A maggior focus that is, the possibility of intentionally keeping the focus on what we want and reducing distracting factors. 👉 A higher level of mental clearness that is, the clear awareness of thoughts and emotions at the moment in which they manifest themselves and the non-reactivity to them (thoughtful rather than impulsive response). 👉 More creativity that is, the freedom to find new and improving solutions by getting rid of some traps of the mind and cultivating specific qualities of being. 👉 Higher levels of empathy, that is, the ability to be present with others, understand their needs and, with wisdom and humility, enter into a relationship of solidarity and community.
Today, the complexity of the markets pushes companies to look at reality with new eyes, so as to be able to prepare their staff, from top managers to collaborators, to face challenges and pressures with an increasing level of security. And it is precisely for this reason that companies and international organizations have embraced the use of Mindfulness in the organizational field, spreading it at all levels of their organizational chart.
For more info for Mindfulness programs at work:
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