Mindful practices that can transform and add Zen to your working life

LEADERSHIP consultant author Michael Bunting, says mindfulness training courses are becoming increasingly common in workplaces because it reduces stress and increases productivity.

Happy employees equal healthy business … we’ve heard this before but organisations like Aussie Commerce in Sydney are taking action to keep their workers happy but offering free gym and yoga sessions and massages. Picture: Craig Wilson

MINDFULNESS, a practice inherited from Buddhist traditions, has found its way into our modern workplaces. And for very good reason — it reduces stress.

This concept is about the art of learning to be in the present moment and learning to focus our attention on what is rather than be distracted by what isn’t.

Just like in life, so much of our time in the office is spent worrying about the past or the future.

This is the reason workers today are stressed and overwhelmed, says Michael Bunting, founder of leadership consultancy WorkSmart Australia.

Mindfulness is also about cultivating a habit of abundance ... expressing gratitude for the good things your employees do in the office.

Bunting has written a new book, The Mindful Leader, exploring the issue.

“If you’ve ever wondered what one thing enterprises like Google, General Mills, Target, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Oprah Winfrey have in common, it is a commitment to mindfulness practices in their workplace,’’ he says.

Bunting, who is also the author of A Practical Guide to Meditation, specialises in mindfulness-based psycho­therapy.

He says mindfulness training courses are becoming increasingly common.

“Companies are finding it reduces stress and absenteeism, increases productivity, develops better leaders and generates more creative workplaces. It also enhances cognitive thinking skills and triggers more imaginative solutions,” Bunting says.

“Things workers stress over include the burden of a heavy workload, a difficult boss, the concept of change and worries about losing their jobs.”

Bunting says for an employee, mindfulness means being fully present in the moment and thinking only of the task at hand, not what is piled up in their inbox.

“It is the energy of being aware of what is really happening and of refocusing on your work and its purpose.”

The Mindful Leader by Michael Bunting.

Author Michael Bunting.

INTERSECTION OF ART AND NEUROSCIENCE

ENCOURAGING MINDFULNESS AT WORK

■ Make time for mindfulness. A corporation can be committed to mindfulness, but if no time is allowed for an employee to sit quietly for a few minutes, it will fail to get the results wanted.

■ Offer courses in mindfulness. Introduce mindfulness into your workplace by offering it within executive development courses. Offer mindfulness-based stress management programs to managers and all levels of employees.

■ Be sensitive to the workplace culture. If your audience doesn’t respond well to the term mindfulness, call it something else like presence or “the now.” Just make sure the employees use it to open their minds about it.

■ Encourage a climate where co-workers accept each other regardless of strengths and weaknesses. The people who work with you have their own strengths and weaknesses. No matter where you go, there will be people you naturally warm to and those who upset you.

■ Encourage employees to practice mindful breathing to restore their centre of calm. When employees feel stressed, it can be extremely helpful to experience mindful breathing. Simply breath in and out three times, focused on nothing but your breath.

■ Create a room where employees can be comfortable meditating and an outside garden for summer days.

■ Do one routine task mindfully. Return your attention to the current moment. Abandon your concerns about the future or the past.

■ Email mindfully. Type out your email, then step away from your keyboard. Take few deep breaths and focus only on your breathing. Return to the email and re-read it. Do you still feel that way? Imagine how the person reading it will feel. Is that the reaction you wanted to achieve?

Michael Bunting is the best-selling author of The Mindful Leader and A Practical Guide to Meditation, and co-author of Extraordinary Leadership in Australia and New Zealand. He runs leadership consultancy WorkSmart Australia, a certified B-Corp. The Mindful Leader (Wiley $29.95) is out now. Details: mindfulleader.net