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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