Implementing routine mindfulness practice in the modern workplace.
Mindfulness refers to a process of nonjudgmental observation of one’s internal thoughts and feelings, relying on attitudes of curiosity, acceptance, and openness (Hunter & McCormick, 2008). In practice, mindfulness training can help people cultivate perspectives on their identity and intentions, foster more consistent and present-centred attention spans (Schaufenbuel, 2014), and frame an internal locus of evaluation and control to guide their actions and decision making (Hunter & McCormick, 2008). From a personality perspective, research suggests mindfulness does this by reducing neuroticism and psychological reactions to negative events (Twenge & Campbell, 2020), and constructs related to dark-triad personality traits, including emotional volatility and psychological inflexibility (Altizer et al., 2020). From a neurological perspective, mindfulness promotes neuroplasticity (Davidson, 2019), reduces the levels of cortisol in the brain, a hormone related to stress, and directly addresses anxiety, depression and pain (Schaufenbuel, 2014). Mindfulness is most commonly practiced through meditation and pranayama breathing (Altizer et al., 2020), and while increasingly referred to in popular psychology (Psychology Today), it has not yet been broadly adopted into Western cultural routines (Davidson, 2019). Mindfulness is particularly absent within the Western workplace, where fluctuating priorities, external expectations, and feelings of stress and burnout are typically experienced more frequently (Schaufenbuel, 2014). This is perhaps due to modern cultural dependencies on multitasking and mobile technology to effectively avoid inner thought and reflection and cultural perceptions on masculinity (Schaufenbuel, 2014). In fact, a 2014 study reported 67% of men opted to shock themselves rather than sit with their own thoughts (Schaufenbuel, 2014). Correspondingly, employers have historically positioned mindfulness against corporate culture of rapid goal attainment, and thus have not been easily persuaded of its potential to impact the bottom-line (Schaufenbuel, 2014).
Based on the evidence reviewed, it is my opinion that adoption of routine mindfulness practice in the modern workplace provides one of the simplest and most underutilized returns-on-investment across industry. At Google, mindfulness training has shown improvements in emotional intelligence, enabling employees to better understand colleague motivations, boost stress resilience, and improve mental focus, with Target, Aetna and General Mills reporting similar success (Schaufenbuel, 2014). From a human resources perspective, mindfulness can improve job satisfaction and employee-client relationships and reduce turnover and employee absenteeism (Schaufenbuel, 2014). This may be particularly useful with young workforce entrants who generally report a growing loss of meaning and purpose in the following decades of life (Davidson, 2019). Mindfulness training has also been shown to significantly reduce burnout, the most common cause of continued workplace stress, leading to increased productivity and decreased compensation claims and employee cynicism (Taylor & Millear, 2016). In addition, research by Dane and Brummel (2013) provides evidence that in some environments mindfulness is predictive of job performance and employee-employer attachment, measured via turnover intention. Looking at even rudimentary numbers, instituting mindfulness practice may only cost a few minutes per day, but can increase weekly productivity by an average of sixty-two minutes per person (Gelles, n.d.). By embedding cognitive routines like mindfulness practice into corporate culture, employees are challenged to redefine their perspective on business priorities, and individual development and growth (Schaufenbuel, 2014). Over the course of a career this enables employees to continually reorient themselves towards company aligned goals that more prominently engage their evolving implicit motives and strengths, helping to ensure sustained employee-employer attachment and production (Altizer et al., 2020). For less skilled labour, mindfulness helps employees find greater acceptance and meaning within modest work situations, set realistic work goals, and become less motivated by material wealth (Hunter & McCormick, 2008). In conclusion, mindfulness practice is a simple to introduce and cost-effective investment in employees, setting up employers for long-term cultural success.
Altizer, C., Ferrel, B., &, Natale, A. (2020). Mindfulness and Personality: More Natural For Some Than Others and How It Matters. American Psychological Association, 2 (999). http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cpb0000189
Dane, E., & Brummel, B. J. (2013). Examining workplace mindfulness and its relations to job performance and turnover intention. The Tavistock Institute, 67(1), 105-128. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.dal.ca/10.1177/0018726713487753
Davidson, R. (2019, January). How mindfulness changes the emotional life of our brains [Video]. TEDxSanFrancisco. https://www.ted.com/talks/richard_j_davidson_howmindfulness_changes_the_emotional_life_of_our_brains_jan_2019.
Gelles, D. How to be more mindful at work. https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/be-more-mindful-at-work
Hunter, J., & McCormick, D. W. (2008). Mindfulness in the Workplace: An Exploratory Study. Academy of Management Annual Meeting Anaheim, CA.
Psychology Today. Mindfulness. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/mindfulness
Schaufenbuel, K. (2014). Bringing Mindfulness to the Workplace. UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Taylor, N. Z., & Millear, P. M. R. (2016). The contribution of mindfulness to predicting burnout in the workplace. Journal of Personality and Individual Differences, 89(1), 123-128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.10.005
Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2020). Personality Psychology: Understanding Yourself and Others, 2nd Ed. Retrieved from https://revel-ise.pearson.com/courses/5f0f1221df9760001a1b7705/contents
