How to practise mindfulness at work

I like to remind myself that being mind-ful means, literally, the opposite of being mind-less.?

Mindfulness is simply about being aware of the sensations in your body, attentive to your emotions, and generally receptive and open to your immediate circumstance. Mindfulness is a particularly useful skill to practice at work, especially when things become manic. Mindfulness in the work place simply means focusing on the task at hand, recognizing internal and external distractions, and releasing them as they arise. Professor Mark Williams, the former director of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, says: ‘It's easy to stop noticing the world around us. It's also easy to lose touch with the way our bodies are feeling and to end up living “in our heads” – caught up in our thoughts without stopping to notice how those thoughts are driving our emotions and behaviour’.?

Williams’ comments are especially relevant in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, where ‘at work’ isn’t a phrase we can take for granted anymore. The line between office and home space has become increasingly blurred in the past year. It is easier than ever, then, to lose sight of the larger perspective, one which is separate from work stress and which helps foster self-care, mental health and holistic productivity. In these new circumstances and spaces in which we find ourselves ‘at work’, it is more important than ever to be attentive to our bodies and our emotions.

In this article I’ll break down the need for the normalization of mindfulness both in and out of the workplace, before suggesting three short approaches you can take to help you practice mindfulness, in whatever form, ‘at work’.

Let’s begin with the importance of mindfulness for the body and mind.?

First, the body. To note one example, in a 2021?paper?it was noted that each year 750,000 people die from heart disease and stroke as a consequence of working long hours (defined as more than 54 hours a week). Heart disease is partially caused by stress and high blood pressure. Meditation, as?Penn’s Program for Mindfulness?notes, activates our bodies’ ‘rest-and-digest’ functions. In other words, daily meditation is scientifically linked to lower heart rates and levels of blood pressure, both of which can serve to lower the risk of heart disease.?

Next, the mind. 1 in 6.8 people experience a mental health illness in the workplace. This is a point that is especially pertinent for female readers, because women in full-time employment are nearly twice as likely to suffer from what the?Mental Health Foundation?terms a ‘common mental health problem’ as men. Benjamin Shapero, an instructor in psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School, has noted that many people don’t respond to ‘frontline interventions’ for mental health issues, such as intensive therapy or antidepressant medications. So, ‘there’s a great need for alternative approaches’. That is, people would like the option to have a more individualized, less intensive therapeutic approach to their mental health - one of which can be mindfulness. This can be as simple as a professionally guided meditation and breathing exercise undertaken in the workplace, be it in an office space or through a zoom class at home. It is worth getting in touch with your employer to see if any such services are offered, and if not, whether they would be willing to reach out to organizations to arrange them.

You know some of the benefits, then. But how can you actually begin to integrate the practice of mindfulness into your daily workflow? Let’s go through a few options - feel free to pick and choose, adapt or refuse.?

Firstly, you can use mindfulness to take a quick seated break. While you are at your desk, try closing your eyes, deepening your breath by inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. Pay attention to how you are breathing for the count of ten breaths. It’s as simple as that. As Mark Williams reminds us, mindfulness can be as arbitrary as noting how a bannister feels under our hand; the point is that your brain reacts to its immediate environment and removes itself from thoughts that may be impacting you in the present moment.?

Next, while in the workspace, you can try mindful listening. Jon Kabat-Zinn, professor of medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, defines mindful listening as ‘paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally’. In the workspace, this could mean taking someone to a quieter environment so that you are able to give your full attention to them, or even asking someone to clarify what they were trying to express to ensure that you have understood them fully. While this is not in the domain of guided breathing or meditative practice, mindful listening falls into the wider ethos of being attentive to your environment, and is a great way to foster an attentive and caring communicative environment in the workspace.?

Finally, use mindfulness for sleep. Just as the spatial boundaries of the workspace have become increasingly blurred, so have the temporal. It is of course normal to worry about work-related issues outside of work hours, but if you worry about work all the time it can be hugely damaging for your mental health. Matthew Walker, PhD, professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, notes that with regular sleep deprivation comes a reduced attention span, a worsened mood, and a weaker memory. While this may not be a surprise for many of us, it may be a shock to learn that up to?15% of adults suffer from chronic insomnia. Mindfulness, especially guided breathing and meditative exercises, can help you get to sleep by letting go of those work worries. As Shelby Harris, PhD, a clinical sleep psychologist in private practice, has noted, mindfulness ‘quiets the brain and allows for deeper sleep’. It’s great to practice guided breathing, for instance, even for just five minutes before going to bed, or when winding down from work. There are great apps for this -?Mindspace?to name one. Mindspace has a specific ‘work’ section, aimed at dispelling those thoughts which can remain entangled in your brain. Youtube is also a great resource for quick mindfulness exercises. There are great creators around, such as?The Mindful Movement, or you can type in ‘Meditation [...] minutes’, putting in those brackets the amount of time that you have available to you, be it 3 minutes, 5, or 40.?

Don’t rely solely on apps and technology, and think about the wider ways in which you can integrate mindfulness, defined as an attentiveness to your immediate circumstance, into your work life. By doing this, you will significantly reduce the risk of physical and mental health issues, and be able to focus on your work in an appropriate and productive manner. For more thought pieces, guides, and articles that will help you to lead a more productive work-life, make sure to keep checking back on?inploi’s blog!