Friday, September 19, 2014

Mindfulness Within the Workplace -- Week 1


As the dreamy luster of summer slowly fades, I am finding myself faced with the harsh reality of September; time to get back to work. As an employee of a school district in greater Vancouver, this time of transition is always difficult, as I am forced back into the reality of the daily grind. No more sleeping until noon, no more lounging with my beloved cat all afternoon; essentially, no more fun. As these negative thoughts floated through my mind, I began to contemplate ways in which I could extend this dreamy luster of summer into the cold, bare, childless hallways of the secondary school in which I stand. How do I remain stress-free during the summer? Living within the moment; not looking too far ahead, not worrying about what will happen tomorrow. So why not use this approach to life at work? Yes, there are deadlines, projects, and overbearing coworkers to consider, but why not take a mindful approach to these everyday incidents? There are benefits to living within the moment, aka practicing mindfulness, at work including decreased stress, increased objectivity, and the ability to “turn off” at the end of the day (Hulsheger, Alberts, Feinholdt, Lang, 2013). Sounds great; but what needs to happen in order for us to actively practice mindfulness on a daily basis? First of all, we need to understand exactly what mindfulness is.
The word “mindfulness” may bring to mind to yogi, meditating in a field surrounded by lotus flowers and happy woodland creatures. How, you may ask, is this at all feasible within the average workplace? Let’s start by tweaking this vision of mindfulness.  Hulsheger et al define mindfulness as, “a state of consciousness in which individuals attend to ongoing events and experiences in a receptive and non-judgemental way” (2013). Basically, mindfulness is paying attention to what is happening in this moment, in a non-judgemental and accepting way. When we experience stress at work, or in any aspect of our lives, it is often not due to the event itself, but to our own thoughts around the event as negative and beyond our control. Yes, working late on a Friday night is never fun, nor is waking up at 6am and sitting in traffic for 2 hours, but we can work to reduce the negativity surrounding these events by accepting them within the moment, and refraining from attaching meaning to them. These are my two goals for the week, and my first steps towards mindfulness within the workplace: 1) reduce my own negative thoughts around every day occurrences at work (including that teenager who always seems to have a colourful response to my questions), and 2) avoid attaching meaning to stressful events (yes I’m stuck in traffic, but it does not mean that I will be late for work, lose my job, home, partner, and *gasp* cat).  I challenge each of you to adopt these as well, and join me in a quest to bring a dreamy luster into your own workplace through the practice of mindfulness. Check back next week to see how I’ve done, and for two more weekly goals to follow!

submitted by Annelie Nilsson, Graduate Student Intern


References:

Hulsheger, U.R., Alberts, H.J.E.M., Feinholdt, A., Lang, L.W.B. (2013). Benefits of Mindfulness at Work: The Role of Mindfulness in Emotion Regulation, Emotional Exhaustion, and Job Satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(2). pp. 310-325.

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