The Role of Mindfulness in Reducing Business Stress
Stress-related illness costs the UK economy over 16 billion pounds each year. Stress is a reaction to feelings of threat or danger, which can be caused by internal or external factors. Chronic stress damages our physical, mental, and social well-being. According to The Mental Health Foundation ‘, the pressures of modern life is causing us ever more stresses. This increase in business stress has prompted research into effective ways to manage it. So how do we reduce our daily exposure to workplace pressure? Researchers have discovered that mindfulness can combat this excessive burden of stress during the workday.
The Role of Mindfulness in Reducing Business Stress
A study from the University of Washington used twelve twelve-minute audio files that gave participants a mindfulness practice. Participants were divided into two groups: one listened to the practices, while the other group was told to simply relax. ‘The people who did not listen to guidance showed an increase in their salivary cortisol levels, which is a physiological marker for stress’, says Jeff Brantley, director of MBSR research at Duke Integrative Medicine. ‘This means chronic stress is having a negative effect on your body. The results suggest that mindful meditation reduces our experience of stressful events. Those reported less stress than they had felt before taking part in the study and needed significantly fewer medical treatments than usual during the following year.
The Role of Mindfulness in Reducing Business Stress
Another study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that meditation decreased cortisol levels and increased glucose tolerance. Participants had been selected on the basis they were people who tend to overreact when exposed to stressful stimuli. The research team leader, Professor Richard Davidson, said: ‘We think it is likely that these changes are related to the alteration of brain circuits which help us regulate attention and emotion’. A second study at UM showed further evidence of how mindfulness reduces stress. This time participants were randomly assigned a six-week self-awareness program with a focus on breathing or a relaxation program using visual imagery. At follow-up two months later researchers found that those who meditate felt less stressed than before.
The Role of Mindfulness in Reducing Business Stress
‘We are not talking here about just a few deep breaths to help you get through the day, explains Dr. Brantley. ‘This is an approach that can have long-term benefits over time. Imagine if your workplace had a mindfulness program that gave the opportunity for employees to take stock, reconnect with themselves and learn how to achieve greater personal balance? Social scientists say this would promote business productivity, cut absenteeism and increase retention rates among key staff. The evidence suggests that mindfulness makes us more effective at work while reducing stress levels.
Wouldn’t it be great if your workplace was less stressful? If you could feel refreshed after every break at work; come home without any pent-up frustration, and enjoy the time you spend with family and friends? Mindfulness can help by giving individuals skills to deal with stressors, such as increased demands, deadlines, poor time management and relationship problems.
FAQs:
Why is mindfulness in the workplace becoming so popular?
There are several reasons for this increase in popularity. First, research has proven that it helps reduce stress. The benefits of being less stressed at work have been shown to include boosting productivity, improving focus and finding creative solutions to problems. Second, employees who practice mindfulness feel more satisfied with their jobs and report higher levels of happiness in life in general. This makes working cultures much more positive places. Because people get on better with each other when they’re happier about their own lives. Third, if you’re doing your job well you’ll be less likely to get into psychologically damaging conflicts with colleagues or customers. Due to stress-related anxieties that come from feeling under pressure or incompetent. And finally, mindful people are generally more compassionate towards others. So workplaces run by mindful employees are likely to have more positive social atmospheres.
What is the best way of learning mindfulness?
There are many books on the subject of mindfulness, but probably one of the best ways to learn how to become more mindful is through attending a course with an experienced practitioner. There’s no ‘right’ way to do it; people use meditation and yoga as well as exercises like breathing deeply and getting into nature. You may need to try different approaches before you find what works for you: like learning a new sport or musical instrument. There’s no simple way of becoming proficient at mindfulness. It takes time and practice.
Conclusion:
Mindfulness is a very powerful tool, and there’s evidence. To show that it can significantly improve the quality of working life. And if a company invests heavily in mindfulness programs for its employees. This will pay dividends by creating a more harmonious. Satisfied workforce whose members are less likely to make mistakes because they’ve lost sight of what’s really important.
The bottom line: Mindfulness at work reduces stress levels and boosts productivity. People become happier at work because daily stresses don’t get to them as much. So they’re more positive about doing their job well. Because mindful people are less stressed generally, they’re also kinder and approach teamwork in a more collaborative way.