Mindfulness in the workplace begins with Calm. Zenefits and Gifted pair up to bring Workest readers these tips on the benefits of prioritizing mindfulness.
In celebration of the positive advancements made for mental health and mindfulness in the workplace, Gifted and Zenefits have joined forces to give you a piece of our mind – on peace of mind.
Now more than ever, mental health is receiving the attention it rightly deserves. The pandemic compelled us to prioritize our health in a profound sense and, in doing so, it also encouraged us to implement mental hygiene practices. These needs have spilled over to the workplace, as Quiet Quitting and other pandemic-related stresses have become ubiquitous.
Modern workplaces should consider mindfulness exercises as much a normal part of self-care as regularly flossing our teeth or sanitizing our hands. Here’s an overview of just two of the many benefits associated with practicing mindfulness with your employees.
1. Mindfulness in the workplace positively affects productivity
When workers are stressed, things get bad for business – literally. Research demonstrates that worker stress costs employers billions of dollars in hours of lost productivity. Writing for Forbes, Suzanne Taylor suggests that HR professionals consider “employing mindfulness to calm the mind, manage stress, increase worker focus and enable people to get more done in less time.”
In some ways, employee mental health benefits have always been on offer as common office perks. Gym memberships and salad bars have long been a part of workplace wellness culture, and a balanced diet and exercise routine certainly have built-in benefits for mental health and employee productivity. But employers are recognizing the advantages of setting up additional resources that are specifically designed to support mindfulness in the workplace – and not just because actively improving holistic health is beneficial for productivity and bottom lines.
HR plays an essential role in functions like onboarding, payroll, PTO, performance reviews, and more. But other important functions of HR are more qualitative than quantitative. Taking care to set up a mental health day policy template so that employees know exactly how to ask for support with their mental health is a great way to show staff you care about their well being. HR professionals are in the distinctly human business of looking after their people.
2. Mindfulness in the workplace fosters positive conflict resolution
Mindfulness in the workplace isn’t just fuel for supercharged productivity. It’s also proven to be an effective balm for workplace conflict. According to one 2020 study, mindfulness is a promising factor in softening behaviors like retaliation and interpersonal aggression and reducing workplace conflict altogether.
Regularly practicing mindfulness improves collaboration while reducing avoidance, building stronger team relationships and turning moments of conflict into opportunities for cooperation. Organizations which are invested in creating a conflict-positive workplace, the study concludes, should consider offering mindfulness training to their employees.
The great thing about mindfulness is that it can be practiced anywhere, and it’s really easy to scale. Whether yours is an organization seeking to create a conflict-positive workplace with thousands of employees or an SME investigating mental health support for small businesses, it’s easy to apply mindfulness in the workplace as a conflict management tool.
Mindfulness can reduce workplace conflict by fostering an environment for collaboration, keeping employees engaged and happy as they work together to solve challenges.
Leverage the benefits of mindfulness in the workplace with Gifted x Zenefits
The last few years have taught us that workplaces are not immune to stress. Fortunately, there are plenty of effective stress management strategies that are optimized for the workplace.
A new focus on mental health with stress management programs has changed the workplace forever. But the key to leveraging these programs effectively is promotion over notification – that is, actively encouraging employees to make use of available resources instead of just telling them about them. It’s time to get mindful about mindfulness in the workplace.
To that end, we’re very excited to announce that you can now gift a subscription to the award-winning Calm app with Gifted. Calm is the #1 app for sleep, meditation, and relaxation (and, by extension, mindfulness in the workplace). They’re on a mission to make the world a happier and healthier place, which is why they’re the perfect partner for Gifted and Zenefits.
Summary
Giving the gift of Calm to your workplace is a wonderful way to implement office mindfulness practices and look after the mental health of your employees. The benefits of breathwork last a whole workday, but the peace of knowing that your HR team has your best interests at heart lasts a whole career.
Taking care of your employees mental health does not have to be daunting. We hope these tips from our partner Gifted help you and your employees tackle the work week with Calmness and surety.