Tips to Practicing Mindfulness at Work

Sharon Moore April 03, 2013

Ask anyone around you if they sometimes get stressed at work and expect the big word ‘YES’. Some would even tell you it’s not just ‘sometimes’, but ‘often’! No matter what kind of job you have – whether you are just a newbie or a senior employee, and whether you are holding a major or minor position, stress is just around the corner. In fact, a whopping 400,000 people in UK from year 2010-11 reported that they experience work-related stress and believed that it is making them ill, according to NHS.

Well, stress at work is normal. Who wouldn’t get stressed and anxious about the deadlines, irritating bosses, and unending workloads? Unfortunately, work-related stress has plenty of awful consequences, from simple cold and flu to more serious health problems like heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Research also found that people who are stressed at work tend to engage in unhealthy habits as a coping mechanism, such as smoking, binge-eating and alcohol abuse.

If stress at work is normal, does that mean you can’t do anything about it? Fortunately, stress is a mental issue that you can defeat. One way to address stress is by practising mindfulness when you are at work. According to experts, it has many benefits. It soothes your mind and body, improves your productivity and alleviates the effects of stress to your physical health.

What is mindfulness?

Often, we fail to recognise our emotions and all other things that we experience. And when we face it, we face it with fears. Mindfulness is an ancient practise that originated from Buddhist monks and is based on the idea of reconnecting to your mind and body and being aware of all the things happening to them. For decades, psychologists from various parts of the world have developed a multitude of treatment approaches for mental illnesses that adopt the concept of mindfulness.

Being ‘mindful’ means being aware or conscious of what’s happening around you. It’s paying attention to the situation at hand. For instance, tending to the noise and texture of the keyboard as you type, feeling the warmth, bitterness, and sweetness of coffee in your tongue as you sip it, or feeling your tensed muscles as you go down the stairs from the office to the lobby. As you become accustomed to mindfulness, you revive the awareness that you tend to lose sight of whenever you juggle with work, finances, relationship issues, and other demanding conflicts.

So how do you practise mindfulness at work?

You don’t have to be a Buddhist to practise mindfulness and experience its healing effects. Wherever you are – at home or at work, you can practise mindfulness by following these simple steps:

Spare a few minutes to meditate. Meditation is a very simple activity with overwhelming beneficial effects. Spending just a few minutes of your busy day to this mindfulness practise can actually help you deal with the stresses of life. If you’ve never tried meditating before, you can actually get help from how-to books, blogs and guided CDs. But it is always best to seek help from a professional meditation teacher. Working with a real therapist ensures that you are doing the exercise correctly and reaping its full benefits.

Observe mindful breathing. Whenever you feel like the world is tumbling down on you and you have no one to hold on to, you can always depend on your breath. Yes, you read it right. Mindful breathing can offer you a quick relief from the debilitating effects of work-related stress. Practising this strategy is easy and you don’t even have to do anything to control it. You just have to pay attention to your breath as you let it flow naturally. This mindfulness technique can be practised for 2 to 30 minutes. Here’s how you do it: focus on your breathing while sitting up straight. Whenever your mind wanders from your breathing, go back to it gently. There’s no need to eliminate all other sensations you may feel during the exercise – such as those delivered by the noise in the background, the beating of your heart, and your emotions.

Lastly, check your body from time to time. Many times, due to the pressures and demands of our work, we forget to pay attention to the needs of our body just as we forget the time and date. But the more you avoid your emotions (good or bad), the more you will feel anxious and stressed. So make sure to check in with yourself throughout the day. Spare a few minutes to assess how you feel – are you feeling sad, pressured, angry? What is causing these undesirable emotions?

Incorporating mindfulness in your daily life can be an effective approach to beating stress at work. It does not only relax you but also helps you find peace amidst your very demanding and busy world.

Dear Readers,

What other mindfulness techniques can you recommend to individuals who are suffering from work-related stress?

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