Mindful Business

The ancient practice of mindfulness is increasingly valued on both a personal and professional level and is impacting all areas of our society and culture. In the business environment, the mindful boss becomes a true leader who inspires employees, not a manager, and the mindful employee contributes to the development of mindful organizations. And such organizations become mindful businesses.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment in an accepting, non-judgmental way. It is a simple practice, accessible to everyone, to train the mind.

Most of the time our mind wanders; we worry about the future, we think about the past, we fantasize and we dream. Meditation brings us into the present moment and is a great tool for becoming calmer and more empathetic.

Why reach for mindfulness?

Stress at work is getting worse and worse, becoming also a leading cause of illnesses. Modern technologies, apart from their important and necessary functions, make us waste our time on unimportant things. We are bombarded with lots of information these days, this usually result in some form of anxiety. What is more, it makes us feel disconnected or overstimulated. This in turn can overwhelm us on a personal and professional level. Even more, the quality of our work suffers when we are constantly moving from one task to the next. And mindfulness can help here by improving our focus.

Unlimited benefits of mindfulness in business

Mindfulness in business impacts three key areas. The first is the work of the organization and its market results, the second is the employee as an individual, and the third is the boss and his attitude not only to employees, but also to clients and business activities. In all these areas, mindfulness brings numerous benefits that both the employee and the employer can appreciate. The connection is simple – the more mindful the employees and the boss are, the more mindful the entire organization will be. Why? Because it is mindfully managed.

Impact of mindfulness on the employee:

• Increased self-awareness in the individual: knowledge of self, own limitations and talents, emotions and needs
• Decreased emotional reactivity: a person who is aware of their emotions is less likely to feel overwhelmed by them and makes decisions based on logic and empathy
• Stress reduction: our emotions at work are often difficult to hide, which increases tension and stress; thanks to mindfulness we can break this chain
• Improved mental health, which means improved physical health and quality of life in all its aspects.

The impact of mindfulness on work in an organization:

• Management and strategy: mindful leaders make good and thoughtful decisions guided by information rather than emotion
• Sales and negotiations: observation and correct conclusions are critical in sales, and that’s what mindfulness is all about
• Teamwork: a team that can listen carefully, communicate and support each other is a guarantee of success
• Quality and efficiency of work: when we are in the “here and now”, we don’t waste time or focus on distracting elements, which allows us to work more calmly and efficiently
• Fewer days off work: mindfulness practice leads to less stress, which in turn improves our mental and physical health.

Do you practice mindfulness regularly?

Although mindfulness meditation was inspired by Buddhist practices, it now exists as a completely secular practice. Mindfulness is present in large organizations from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. Modern science shows that by practicing various meditation and mindfulness techniques, it is possible to increase mental clarity and balance, free attention, and increase focus and self-awareness. In addition, top companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, eBay, Intel, Nike, LinkedIn, and General Mills are creating a more mindful corporate culture and staffing their organizations with leaders and managers who act more mindfully. Mindfulness meditation training is a proven and effective tool to support this development on a large scale.

Keep calm and practice mindfulness!

In addition, mindfulness is an excellent long-term strategy. Your employees will appreciate a mindfull attitude as this will certainly make them more satisfied with their jobs. Your customers will have more confidence in an honest, mindful company. I hope that you find this article inspiring, and that it will result in the need to discover more about mindfulness for business.