Where does mindfulness sit in the workplace?

Alison Wallington of Kent Event Centre says it can be too easy to rush through life without paying attention to the present.

I recently attended a business lunch with a mindfulness speaker. The concept of mindfulness is relatively new to me and I wasn’t sure what to expect but what I learnt has transformed my thinking on the topic and given me some tools to help myself and my team.

It can be easy to rush through life without stopping to notice much. Mindfulness is about paying more attention to the present moment, to your own thoughts and feelings, and to the world around you. Becoming more aware can help us enjoy our surroundings and understand ourselves better.

In the workplace mindfulness can help to reduce stress, anxiety and conflict and increase resilience and emotional intelligence, whilst improving communication. Through mindfulness employees can learn how to focus their attention and think more clearly. It is about taking time to stop, think and take stock of situations.

From the NHS, to Transport for London and Google, many businesses are practicing mindfulness techniques in the workplace. Google has its own Head of Mindfulness, Chade Meng-Tang, who says since rolling out the company’s mindfulness training, employee productivity has soared.

Working in events is typically very busy. No two days are the same and when an event is on it can often mean all hands-on deck to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Taking time to be mindful throughout a busy day has been proven to help employees achieve more.

Myself and my team try to be mindful throughout the day and are working together to fit mindfulness into our schedules. Part of this is stepping away from our computers for just a few minutes whenever we can. We also begin our day with a positive mantra that we try and repeat throughout the day. Positive thoughts breed positive experiences!

Mindfulness in the workplace is shown to increase employee focus, performance, efficiency, communication skills and work/life balance. All of which can only be a good thing for our industry.