According to recent Gallup studies, employees have suffered from an increased stress level that reached an all-time high of 43% in 2020 due to numerous borders closing, increasing layoffs, and workplace instability. Alongside the changes brought forth by the digital age, the pandemic impaired workplaces globally and pushed leaders toward addressing or reshaping employee engagement. Employers and managers are looking to address this phenomenon to avoid “burnout” and disengagement in the workplace.
As we move into 2023, it is important to look back, assess and plan for the coming business year. Regarding employees in the 21st century, being focused and organized in the workplace is a desirable skill. Today, with more hybrid and virtual work environments spreading, keeping your problems at home becomes harder to accomplish. Another study by the Kaiser Family Foundation on Americans found that 40% of citizens feel the pandemic negatively affected their mental well-being. Even though the impact of the pandemic on work environments varies from country to country, it is evident that mindfulness is missing in the workplace and among employees.
Origins of Mindfulness
For thousands of years, individuals and groups have commonly applied mindfulness in a religious or spiritual context. The most famous origins of mindfulness teachings come from Hinduism and Buddhism. On the one hand, Hinduism’s history is deeply connected with mindfulness through the Bhagavad Gita’s (most revered Hindu texts) teaching about yoga and Vedic meditation. This technique traces to the Vedas, ancient Indian texts that are the foundation for yoga and Ayurveda. On the other hand, Buddhism can also be closely correlated with mindfulness, knowing that the latter represents the first steps toward “enlightenment.”
With time, modern Western practitioners and teachers began implementing Eastern teachings about mindfulness in new environments outside the spiritual sphere. By the 1970s, American professor Jon Kabat- Zinn founded a stress management program called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) that revolved around mindfulness. The program was initially created for individuals battling mental or physical illnesses but grew to include various approaches toward stress reduction. The 8-week program was founded on Eastern beliefs taught by Buddhism and western science. It inspired other therapeutic programs like Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) designed to treat patients with severe Depressive Disorder.
Adaptation of Mindfulness in modern workplaces
With management facing new challenges like employee burnout and low performance, employers have turned toward the health & wellness sector for solutions. Today, managing stress levels in the workplace have become a primary focus in achieving a productive work environment.
In 1970, a German-American psychologist coined burnout “the extinction of motivation or incentive, especially where one’s devotion to a cause or relationship fails to produce the desired results.” Following research by Mental Health America, 76% of participants confirmed that workplace stress has resulted in them going through burnout. The World Health Organization (WHO) characterized burnout under the following aspects:
- Depletion of energy
- High mental distance from one’s job
- Reduced professional efficacy
When it comes to reducing employee burnout levels and increasing work efficiency, employers are implementing various wellness approaches and providing employees with mental health resources. Yet, these methods do not always bring the desired results if they are not applied correctly. In some cases, poor management practices can jeopardize the success of any support given and increase burnout. When employees feel their managers are not as empathetic as they would like them to be, they resist approaching them with mental health or work-related struggles.
Creating a suitable work environment is a demanding but much-needed task for employers in this digital age of business. Now, programs target mental and physical well-being in work environments by introducing personalized mindfulness and meditation practices.
What can employers do for better employee wellness?
- Provide proper communication channels for team members.
- Consulting with wellness experts and mental health professionals for mental health assessment.
- Hosting seminars, training, and workshops that address employee concerns like mental health, stress management, and mindfulness.
- Training the management with proper knowledge and skills to support employees appropriately.
