Adopting Mindfulness-based Practices to Manage Stress at the Workplace – Mimansa Singh

Workplace stress is a real concern that has far-reaching consequences. Overwhelmed by work stress, individuals tend to feel an impact on their performance, efficiency, leading to poor decision-making and strained interpersonal relationships at work. This increases the overall dissatisfaction at work and affects their physical and mental well-being. Study done by McKinsey (2022), talked about burnout challenges that are being experienced by employees worldwide due to unaddressed stress and its work place correlates thereby impacting mental health of the employees. Therefore, adopting a mindfulness-based approach at workplace and incorporating it into day- to-day lives can play a significant role in reducing stress and increasing overall well-being. 

Mindfulness at Workplace  

One of the common experiences shared by individuals in today’s faced-paced hectic work-life is the feeling of being rushed, restless and pressured given the kind of work-related lifestyle changes we have undergone. This is almost becoming our automatic state of ‘being’- unaware of our present moment with mental preoccupation about so much more. We don’t feel at ease. Mindfulness is about changing this default mode to a more aware state of being by learning to pay attention to your present moment. Substantial research over the years has shown associations between mindfulness practices with both job performance and health outcomes (Journal of Business Research, 2023). 

Mindfulness through Practices  

Being in the here and now is one of the core aspects of mindfulness. Being able to bring our attention to the task at hand, be it with work or interpersonal relations, increases the quality of the moment you are living. The other aspect of mindfulness is to practice being non-judgemental in our approach by being aware of your thoughts, emotions, and surroundings. Here are some of the mindfulness-based strategies that workplaces can adopt to manage stress: 

Mindfulness can be an antidote to a lot of mindless and stressful activities that we engage in our day to day lives. Organisations can play a critical role in transforming workspaces by inculcating well-being though an approach of mindful living. 

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