Mindfulness in the workplace is one of the most important trends that businesses are paying attention to. As part of a series dedicated to mindfulness we explain how implementing these practises in your organisation will make for a more productive and harmonious workplace. For HR leaders who are contemplating different strategies to help foster a healthier, happier and more productive workplace, here's a look at three key benefits of incorporating mindfulness into your work culture. 1. Better Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence (EI) affects the workplace at all levels, and mindfulness can help improve EI, according to Harvard Business Review (HBR). Mindfulness means being aware of our experiences, observing them without judgment, and responding from a place of clarity and compassion, rather than fear, insecurity, or greed. When mindfulness in the workplace helps teams achieve more emotional clarity, it can have numerous benefits, including:
Mindfulness in the workplace plays a critical role at keeping your team sharp, specifically by improving three features — stability, control and efficiency. Meditation allows people to learn how to manage distractions. Workers operate in a 24/7 environment of constant distractions with email, smartphones, social media, the 24-hour news cycle and multiple projects and deadlines. It's important for your employees to develop the skills to put their focus where it's needed most. 3. Enhanced Creativity As automation becomes more common and routine administrative tasks are completed by computers and algorithms, the real value that people bring to the table is creativity. Enhanced creativity can help develop new products, find innovative solutions to problems and redesign processes in an effective way. Studies show people are at their most creative when they're in a relaxed state. Relaxation allows people to look at problems differently, using divergent thinking to consider the widest range of potential solutions and hone in on the right one. Encouraging mindfulness in the workplace can support a stronger creative process. There's a strong case for introducing mindfulness in the workplace — from increased productivity to an improved employee experience. Mindfulness makes us more focused, more effective, and happier, to name just a few benefits. So it's little wonder why today, in multinational corporations and small businesses alike, more and more people are meditating on the job. If your organisation would like support on how to implement workplace mindfulness or is interested in our employee mindfulness courses get in touch with FD Consultants today. Mindfulness Exercise SeriesOver the next four weeks I will be releasing a series of mindfulness exercises that you can do at home, at your desk or when you find five minutes to truly focus on yourself and your mental wellbeing.
Please also do share these with your friends, family and colleagues, so we can all enjoy the benefits of mindfulness and stronger mental health.
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Everyone who has ever held a job has, at some point, felt the pressure of work-related stress. Any job can have stressful elements, even if you love what you do. In the short-term, you may experience pressure to meet a deadline or to fulfil a challenging obligation. But when work stress becomes chronic, it can be overwhelming — and harmful to both physical and emotional health. Unfortunately, such long-term stress is all too common. You can't always avoid the tensions that occur on the job. Yet you can take steps to manage work-related stress. Common Sources of Work StressCertain factors tend to go hand-in-hand with work-related stress. Some common workplace stressors are:
Effects of Uncontrolled StressUnfortunately, work-related stress doesn't just disappear when you head home for the day. When stress persists, it can take a toll on your health and wellbeing. In the short term, a stressful work environment can contribute to problems such as headache, stomach-ache, sleep disturbances, short temper and difficulty concentrating. Chronic stress can result in anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure and a weakened immune system. It can also contribute to health conditions such as depression, obesity and heart disease. Compounding the problem, people who experience excessive stress often deal with it in unhealthy ways such as overeating, eating unhealthy foods, smoking cigarettes or abusing drugs and alcohol. Taking Steps to Manage Stress
It can be hard to know how to talk to someone who has been bereaved - even if they are a close colleague or friend. We often worry about 'saying the wrong thing' or upsetting that person by reminding them of their loss. However, if they are living with their experience of bereavement every day, it is unlikely that we will be raising anything they have not already been thinking about. When it appears that someone may have been bereaved by suicide, things can feel even harder. Suicide and mental health are still issues that can be stigmatised and misunderstood. Someone bereaved by suicide may therefore avoid talking openly about their loss for fear of judgement or exposure to insensitive comments. Yet having their loss, and its particular nature, overlooked by others can also be painful. Suicide has a wide 'ripple effect' making it important to bear in mind that many people can be affected by a suicide - even those who did not know, or were not particularly close, to the person who died. They may have witnessed the suicide or found the person who took their own life. It may also be that the particular details of a suicide evoke a strong response in an individual for personal reasons - for example, if they, or anyone they are close to, could be seen to have something in common with the person who died. If someone close to you has been bereaved or affected by suicide, it may be helpful to start off by considering what might make their loss or experience feel different, and then to hold certain things in mind when speaking to that person and to others. This fact sheet provides relevant information, and also details of where those bereaved or affected by suicide can access further support. Why Bereavement By Suicide Is Different Whilst any bereavement can be painful and complex, there are several factors concerning bereavement by suicide that make it a unique and particularly challenging kind of loss.
Information About Suicide Considering the following information may help you to reach out to someone who has been impacted by suicide with sensitivity and understanding.
How To Help People tend to grieve and respond to difficult life events in very different ways. Therefore, if someone you know has been affected by suicide, their thoughts, feelings and behaviours may vary or change over time as part of their own individual reaction. Here are some ways in which you may be able to help.
Counselling & Further Professional Support It's very normal for anyone bereaved or affected by suicide to experience a wide range of sometimes conflicting emotions in the days and weeks that follow - also for them to perhaps notice disturbances to their sleep, appetite, energy levels and general outlook on life. In the very early stages it will usually be best for a person to make use of their existing support networks, taking care to look after themselves physically as best they can and returning to work and other activities gradually and in a way that feels manageable. However, sometimes counselling or further professional support may play an important part in their recovery and ability to move forward in life.
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