What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the practice of paying purposeful attention to our moment to moment experience, with openness and curiosity. It is the opposite of autopilot and reactivity.

Why Mindfulness at Work?

In 2019, the WHO categorized Burnout as an official heath diagnosis. According to the health agency, burnout isn’t just synonymous with being stressed out. It’s “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”

According to the health guidelines, burnout is categorized by the following symptoms:

  1. Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
  2. Increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job
  3. Reduced professional efficacy

In an organizational setting, Mindfulness allows us to experience less stress, be more present and focused, gain greater clarity, have more constructive conversations and connect better with others in order to collaborate and innovate.

The Science

Once believed to be just a “woo-woo,” feel-good luxury, Mindfulness meditation is now seen as a business necessity. It has been scientifically proven that the practice of meditation changes the brain structure which leads to positive changes in behavior which leads to great business outcome.

Results

Organizations that have implemented Mindfulness programs in their workplaces have experienced some or all of the following:

  • Increases focused attention- improves concentration, fully present in the tasks and conversations
  • Improved relationships at work
  • Less emotional reactivity (lashing out or shutting down)
  • Reduced stress and associated costs (absenteeism, turnover, mistakes)
  • Increase in Emotional Intelligence — the ability to be aware of and manage one’s own emotions and recognize and respond appropriately to the emotions of others
  • Improved Productivity — increased engagement, better attendance, less turnover
  • Greater creativity, innovation — greater collaboration, openness to new ideas, flexible thinking
  • More collaborative culture
  • Better decision making — greater clarity, access to intuition, decisions not made coming from fear and anxiety

ROI of Mindfulness Programs

The Return On Investment (“ROI”) of the regular practice of meditation leads to a rise in employee engagement which translates to better productivity at work and increased profits for organizations.

Why Does this Happen?

People with a regular meditation practice are able to:

  1. Listen more deeply to clients and colleagues in order to build trust and address issues
  2. Bounce back from mistakes more quickly in order to continue to make progress
  3. Make fewer mistakes
  4. Forge stronger relationships
  5. Stay focused on tasks
  6. Respond to stressful situations with greater equanimity
  7. Adapt more easily to change
  8. Self-regulate
  9. Show empathy and compassion

Why Now?

As if life wasn’t stressful enough before, Covid has amplified this reality. We face constant change and uncertainty. We are physically disconnected from our friends and colleagues; working from home has further blurred the boundaries between our personal and professional lives. As a result of being remote, we have less exposure to our boss, our subordinates and colleagues and receive less feedback.

Now What?

Mindfulness isn’t a one and done experience. Just as having a regular workout routine helps us build the physical strength that enables us to be healthy and strong and deal with life’s physical demands, meditation is an ongoing practice that develops our minds and builds our mental and emotional capacity to relate and respond to the inevitable challenges of life with greater ease and equanimity.

Mindfulness Offerings

For Individuals

Mindfulness for Everyday Life (Open Enrollment Sessions)

Mondays at noon (ET) for 30 minutes – all levels of meditators welcome.
Sessions include a short talk, a meditation practice, and an opportunity to share and ask questions.

Register Now

For Organizations

1-on-1 Mindfulness Coaching

An individual in your organization is experiencing challenges around his or her circumstance that is impacting his/her performance at work. Mindfulness Coaching can provide a sounding board and support to see new perspectives and address the challenges in new, more productive ways.

Mindfulness Coach-on-Call

A coach is available during certain business hours for employees to reach out in order to reduce stress, and ‘take a time out’ to discover new more effective and creative approaches to challenges they are facing.

Introduction to Mindfulness at Work

Six week program to introduce participants to the art and science of mindfulness and its application to work, and to help them develop a regular Mindfulness practice that they can sustain on their own.

Drop in Mindfulness at Work Sessions

Scheduled for 30 minutes, once a week, employees can drop in and participate in sessions that include a short talk, a meditation practice and an opportunity to share and ask questions.
* All offerings are currently available virtually on Zoom.