Chaos, deadlines, colleagues bothering you all the time, always losing that stupid stamp machine or stapler. Or a hammer, depending on what kind of job you have. Work is just part of life, because without work no money and without money no bright future. This can cause a lot of stress and turmoil in your thoughts and activities which ultimately is not good for you.
Meditation can help you experience more peace at work as well, and therefore has a variety of benefits. Therefore, in this article, I will discuss the effects of meditation in the workplace.
In the Netherlands, workplace absenteeism is a growing problem. This in itself is not surprising because it has become a trend that we have to do the same amount of work with fewer people. As a result, the individual in the company is suddenly much busier than usual and has to schedule his/her time more tightly.
Then when things go wrong, which is part of life, everything gets tangled up and you suffer from stress. If the knot is difficult to unravel the individual suffers from long-term stress which can result in depression or burnout.
Stress at work is the cause of a person getting sick from work in 40 percent of cases. British research(1) shows that 1 in 5 Britons are stressed by work. Since Dutch society is similar to British society, there is a good chance that these figures also apply in the Netherlands.
Stress reduction, therefore, is often something we quickly do subconsciously.
For example, do you notice that when your day is stressful, you would much rather run to the printer a few more times or grab a cup of tea/coffee? This may be because those are actually moments of rest and where you are doing something, such as walking or taking care not to spill a hot drink on your hands. As a result, you are very focused in that moment.
This is actually a form of meditation, which may explain why bringing that cup of tea to your desk, without spilling, can still give such a nice feeling of accomplishing a task.
Another way to reduce stress at work and thus be able to look clearly at your tasks is to meditate regularly and then also very consciously and not just because you are busy with that cup of tea/coffee.
What effect does meditating have at work?
By meditating regularly, you can get the following benefits:
- Better well-being at work.
- Better productivity.
- Less psychological stress.
- Reduce the separation between personal goals and business goals.
- Even your boss may think you are doing your job better.
The last point does require that your boss take a quick baseline before you start meditating and then have a moment to dwell on it a few weeks after as well, but he/she may also notice if he/she doesn't have to specifically dwell on it.
These benefits are evidenced in British research conducted in 2014 (1) among middle management positions. This is because this group usually experiences the most stress because they are also eager for promotion, often standing between the shop floor and management as a kind of buffer between which the middle manager must navigate. This naturally calls for problems that cause stress.
When do you meditate at work?
Meditating at work doesn't have to be done at set times. If you feel comfortable doing so, of course you can, but if you need flexible options for meditating, that's possible too.
Especially if you are feeling very stressed and thoughts are imposing themselves on you incoherently, you can use a moment of calm to meditate for a few moments, even if only a minute.
What kind of meditation is best at work?
There are several forms of meditation you can perform at work. Mindfulness meditation is the best-known form of meditation that can be used at work. This is also because mindfulness meditation does not have to stop the work, but rather you become mindful on the work you are currently doing(2).
Breathing Meditation
In addition, breathing meditation is a form you can perform when doing your work from behind the desk. In this form of meditation, you focus your attention on your breathing. By just focusing on that, possibly with your eyes closed so you don't see your workplace, you can calm down. You can also take deep breaths if you wish.
You can do this for 1 minute. It can be enjoyable to do this every 90 minutes (an hour and a half).
After meditating, you slowly focus back on the room. First you focus on the sounds and then you open your eyes, after which you calmly review how everything looks and continue with what you were doing or after which you start a new activity.
This form of meditation is very helpful if you feel momentarily overwhelmed about all the activities you have to perform or if you have just experienced a nasty event at work, such as a heated argument.
Loving kindness meditation
Especially if you have many colleagues and would like to be able to get through a door with everyone, this meditation form is the one for you. You can also stick this form at the end of your breathing meditation because you are going to bring up loving thoughts about your colleagues for 10 to 15 seconds. This doesn't have to equal like loving your colleagues, but you can highlight their positive points to yourself, such as:
"Pete is always in the mood for a friendly chat," he says.
"Marieke is very sociable during lunch."
"Henk is always there for you if you need coffee or tea."
"Sterre is very good at recovering lost items," says Sterre.
These are just examples you can use for colleagues in your workplace. In addition, at the end of the work day, you can make the effort to (smile) at your colleagues and wish everyone a good evening. That may not be meditation, but it does help create a positive vibe in the workplace.
Bodyscan
The body scan is the way to take a break from living in your head and into your body. Especially if you have an office job, you are not always very aware of your body. This is a shame because your body gives you all kinds of signals, which can even make you more stressed than necessary.
Scanning your body reconnects your brain to your body and allows you to relax very consciously.
All you need is a quiet place where you can sit or even lie down. This form of meditation is best done on your break so you can thoroughly explore and relax your body.
I described the whole exercise in a blog about the body scan.
What effect is meditating during work called on health?
Meditation can therefore relieve stress and ensure that you perform your tasks better as a result because you are less preoccupied with stress magnifying thoughts. One way to achieve this is with breathing meditation and loving kindness meditation.
In breathing meditation, deep breathing can cause you to have less cortisol in your body. This literally lowers your stress level.
Loving kindness meditation enhances positive emotions, makes daily events more enjoyable and also reduces stress.
By reducing stress, you actually kill two birds with one stone when it comes to your health. In fact, stress is a major cause of high blood pressure, which can lead to cardiovascular disease, and you lower that risk in turn and perhaps even your blood pressure if it was too high.
The other immediate benefit is that by reducing your stress, you turn your immune system back on. Stress actually turns that off, or at least turns it down, so you have more energy to fight, flee or freeze in a stressful situation. Since you generally don't need that at work, it's only better to lower your stress level.
Another benefit is that you lower your risk of burnout or depression. In fact, prolonged stress can cause that. So there are an awful lot of ways that meditation can keep you from sitting home sick, or at least lower that chance a lot.
Researchers don't yet know why, but meditation also improves your ability to concentrate(3). Of course, this may explain why that productivity in the workplace gets a lot higher after meditation training.
Want to learn more about mental techniques to make your life, both at work and at home, easier? Then come to a seminar or check out Hypnosis Institute Netherlands' training courses.
Sources:
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11469-014-9513-2
http://www.visualistan.com/2016/05/meditation-in-the-workplace-and-why-we-need-it.html
http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/meditation-heals-body-and-mind
