Employers are always looking for ways to make their people more productive. By the same token, employees seem to be constantly looking for ways to improve their work experience. Some employers and employees have found a way to come together over a practice known as mindfulness. But practicing mindfulness at work could present a quandary.
Research conducted several years ago seems to suggest that mindfulness is extremely helpful for certain types of workers in very specific roles. But that same research also indicates the opposite: mindfulness can actually be counterproductive to other types of workers in different roles.
Why does it matter? Because mindfulness is something employers have been encouraging for years. Back in 2017, an estimated 36% of U.S. employers offered some sort of mindfulness training. The number had jumped to 52% a year later. Unfortunately, I could not find any data from the last year or two.
The Basics of Mindfulness
Scott Moore, a global mindfulness business mentor and yoga nidra expert, teaches mindfulness to executives, middle managers, and anyone else who wants to learn it. Mindfulness is not all that difficult to understand in principle. In practice, it can be difficult to achieve.
In simple terms, mindfulness is a cognitive skill that focuses on being in the moment without any preconceived notions or judgments. A person focuses only on the here and now with the goal of zeroing in on current thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations. Some mindfulness teachers also encourage seeking a greater awareness of the surrounding environment.
The core components of mindfulness are:
- Paying close attention to the experience of the present moment.
- Observing one’s own thoughts and feelings without judgment.
- Maintaining a curiosity and acceptance of whatever happens during the experience.
- Creating space between one’s self and one’s thoughts.
Admittedly, while I understand the first three components, I am not quite sure about the fourth. An experienced mindfulness business mentor could probably explain it to me. That aside, it’s time to move on to the previously mentioned study.
Sometimes It Works, Sometimes It Doesn’t
The quandary of practicing mindfulness at work goes back to a study published in 2022. The study actually involved two separate research projects looking at different types of workers placed in different scenarios. Without getting into all the details, here are the two big takeaways researchers reported:
1. When It Works
Practicing mindfulness at work seems to benefit employees whose jobs are typified by two key characteristics: high stress and social interaction. One of the examples cited by the researchers was the typical call center employee.
Call centers are fast-paced and hectic environments. Coal center personnel interact with customers throughout the day. Between customer interactions and the fast-paced nature of the environment, stress can be a big problem for employees. But researchers discovered that practicing mindfulness before and during work made employees more productive, more focused, and more eager to help callers.
2. When It Doesn’t
On the flipside, researchers also looked at employees whose jobs required almost no social interaction. Whether or not their jobs were highly stressful did not seem to play a role in the researchers’ conclusions. They concluded that mindfulness could hinder such employees by turning their attention inward to the degree that they were less likely to want to fix past mistakes, work on self-improvement, etc.
If you are interested in learning more, follow the link in this post to the research and check it out yourself. If I’m understanding the results correctly, management encouraging mindfulness at work creates a quandary. It is a good practice for some, but not for others.
