Work Life Balance

Being Mindful Is About Changing How You Feel About You, Not the Job

September 14, 2016 by Wilma Jones Leave a Comment

In a conversation last weekend I was asked if mindfulness can really make you feel better about your job. I had to think about it for a moment, because the way the question was phrased was a little different than the way I usually approach being mindful.

It’s because of my mindfulness practice that I was even able to look at things from this perspective. Pre-mindfulness I only cared about things like that from my perspective. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not self centered to a fault or anything. I just looked a life from my side a little too often.

I don’t think mindfulness makes you feel better about your job. For me, it makes me feel better about me. Where I am at that present moment, including the work I do. It makes me feel good because mindfulness allows me to look at the moment without judging myself. I am here, on this planet in this universe holding down this little piece of life. Part of that is working at a job I do well. Solving business problems and making things happen.

So I responded that no, mindfulness isn’t about making you feel better about your job. It allows you to put your job in its rightful place in your life. To understand your relationship to your job and the benefits you enjoy as a result. It boosts the feelings about the good stuff and minimizes the feelings about the bad stuff about work. Because what you focus on is what you draw more of to your life.

Mindfulness is a key component to creating a happier attitude toward your job. Because it makes you feel better about all of you, including the work you do.

It’s Real Folks. 1 Horrifying Example Of Hateration At The Office

August 22, 2016 by Wilma Jones Leave a Comment

It’s Real Folks. 1 Horrifying Example Of Hateration At The Office

Let’s say you work for one of the big communications companies in the U.S. You’re one of thousands of hard-working professionals keeping dial tones humming and great throughput on connections to the cloud for millions of customers every day. But when you go in the office one day this is what greets you:

Unless you’ve been hanging out under a rock for the past year, the climate in our country is getting a little heated. And I don’t just mean the temperature. Naw, walking into your cubicle and seeing a dang noose hanging from the drop ceiling is more than a bit scary.

Yet, this is exactly what happened a couple of weeks ago at an AT&T office building in downtown St. Louis. It turns out it was an office of contractors from Ericcson. The company blamed it on an “international contractor” who didn’t understand the “disturbing racial and cultural implications a noose has here in the US.”

That response makes me think, “really?!” Excuse me, but anyone from any country who has been living in the US for the past year would be aware of the cultural implications of a noose or a host of other racist symbols.This happened in St Louis. Anyone familiar with Ferguson, MO? I don’t believe for one moment that someone who lives in region of the country that has been a hotbed of racial tension for months was unaware of the implication of hanging a noose in a coworker’s cubicle. Someone who thinks it’s okay to play this type of joke at the job has issues.

I am glad to know the person was fired. That was the right thing to do. At a minimum, this was another disturbing example of the absence of consideration and tolerance in US workplaces. Your thoughts?

Your Mindlessness Just Creates a Mess

May 2, 2016 by Wilma Jones Leave a Comment

Your Mindlessness Just Creates a Mess

Mindfulness is becoming more mainstream everyday. I think that is a really good thing. There are an abundance of studies that prove the benefits of practicing mindfulness, ranging from its ability to lower stress to the positive changes it makes in our brains.

For me personally, I was one of those people who overthought everything. I was often worried about whether I had said or done the wrong thing. You might say I was consumed by past actions. That is the essence of being mindless. Always thinking about the past and basing my future actions on what I did or didn’t do in the past.

The biggest personal benefit I received from learning to be more mindful was to eliminate that type of thinking from my life. I now actively think through challenges based on current options, not choices from my past. I am able to stop the thoughts because I have a more objective view about my life and my abilities.

I know that just because something didn’t work in the past, that is not a reason I can’t accomplish what I want in the future. Mindfulness has given me a great tool for looking outside myself and the little box my thoughts had created for me.

We all have that little box that we’ve put ourselves in. We think we’re too old, too broke, too fearful or too…whatever. That little box is just allowing a mess to have a place in our mind. All those thoughts are under our control and all it takes to start breaking free is to learn to be more mindful about ourselves.

That is why be more mindful at work can take your productivity and creativity to a new level. It allows you to stop looking at issues the same way you always have in the past. Even if other staff members remain in their respective boxes and old patterns of thought, you don’t have to stay there with them.

Interested in giving it a try? Start with this easy, 3 minute mindful morning meditation today!

Mindfulness at Work – Is It a Legal Risk?

April 20, 2016 by Wilma Jones Leave a Comment

Mindfulness at Work – Is It a Legal Risk?

A lawyer in the UK cautions employers about offering mindfulness training to their staff as it could create a legal risk for the company. This is an interesting perspective built on the presumption that mindfulness training is seen as a form of “therapy.”

Helping people to understand how to ‘live in the moment without judgement,’ is the main principle of mindfulness. I am not sure that all mindfulness training can be considered therapy, but I understand that people like to sue for anything these days. Because of the litigious nature of society, I agree that employers and their management teams should present mindfulness training [italicize] in the appropriate framework.

I believe mindfulness training, is just that- training. Just like other types of skills and behaviors companies expose their staff to, mindfulness is just another tool for employees to have in their toolkit. Employees who are able to add the practice of mindfulness to their workday are less stressed and more productive. They feel better about their jobs and themselves.

I have found mindfulness helps me to deal with those unexpected irritants that can move you off your game at the job. Whether it be people, policies or the dreaded processes, I can use mindfulness to remember that ‘this too shall pass.’ Learning to breathe and stop letting outside influences roil my day has been invaluable.

The article encourages employers to ensure the training is not offered to just one group. It should also be presented at a time and in a manner that doesn’t encumber the staff by making their jobs more difficult. I think that information is applicable for lots of training options, not just mindfulness.

I hope this lawyer’s viewpoint of doesn’t derail the increasing use of mindfulness training as a option for employees. As with any other new skills being taught to staff, you must present it in the correct fashion. Take the focus off mindfulness as therapy as a first step. Mindfulness has been proven as a valuable skill for workers, especially office workers.

That is why the Living Happier @ Work programs introduce practical applications of mindfulness (along with the other 3 practices of gratitude, kindness and exercise) for workers to see how to use the skills in their everyday work activity. Applying the learned skills to how they approach meetings, addressing workplace conflict and even their emails take the training from a therapeutic offering to real workplace skill.

It’s part of a bosses job to help make their teams increase productivity. It’s a bonus if the training you offer helps the staff become less stressed. Mindfulness training can do both. Present the tool as a skill to be mastered, not a therapy and you can reduce concerns about litigation.

Two Words Can Make a Huge Difference

April 8, 2016 by Wilma Jones Leave a Comment

Two Words Can Make a Huge Difference

The workplace is the place you’re least likely to hear the words, “Thank you.” A 2012 study documents that 90% of workers do not show gratitude to their colleagues on a daily basis. And the results are even worse for bosses. Only 7% of workers thank their bosses for anything regularly. That is a pretty sad state of gratitude in American companies.

Statistics document that a workplace environment where people feel gratitude from management and are encouraged to show thankfulness to one another, reduces employee turnover and increases profit. Why then, is it so hard to accomplish? One of the biggest issues is management. As many of us have heard in our careers, the company shows their thankfulness for our efforts in the form of a paycheck. But obviously, that is not enough to motivate people over the longer term. That’s why so many of us think to ourselves at the end of the weekend, “Is it Monday already?”

The best way to begin to change this course is to ask your employees what way they would like to be recognized when management wants to thank them for their efforts. People are not the same and what one person enjoys in terms of thanks may not be accepted the same way by another employee. For example, some people want to be acknowledged in front of other staff, maybe in a team meeting. Others would prefer comp time off to enjoy with their family outside the office. Find out what is important to your staff and figure a way to show gratitude in a way they will really appreciate.

I remember when I started out in my first sales gig. I so craved to be on the top of the stack ranking board. I wanted to earn the glamorous trips the top performers were awarded every year. When I won a trip to London in my second year of sales, I was over the moon with pride and happiness! However, after more than 25 years and hundreds of thousands of miles in travel, the thought of taking a trip with a few hundred of my (not) closest coworker-friends is not something I am thankful for. There are other ways to motivate me as a seasoned sales management person.

Your next best move if you manage a team is to start gradually. If you haven’t been a “thanker’, you can’t just walk in and start showing gratitude to everyone. It will be received as insincere. You need to take baby steps toward gratitude. Start with simple conversations with your team. Or maybe even launch a survey asking your team what they value in terms of recognition and thanks for their efforts.

Be sincere and be realistic. Remember that the most important relationship a person has at work is with their immediate supervisor. Make sure your team knows you care and you appreciate their work. That is the biggest indicator of work happiness. Reduced turnover and increased productivity are the by-products of building a great team based on showing gratitude to one another.

What are your thoughts about showing gratitude at work?

Being Mindful Is About Changing How You Feel About You, Not the Job

It’s Real Folks. 1 Horrifying Example Of Hateration At The Office

It’s Real Folks. 1 Horrifying Example Of Hateration At The Office

Your Mindlessness Just Creates a Mess

Your Mindlessness Just Creates a Mess

Mindfulness at Work – Is It a Legal Risk?

Mindfulness at Work – Is It a Legal Risk?

Two Words Can Make a Huge Difference

Two Words Can Make a Huge Difference

Contact

The Latest From The Blog

Thoughts on Mindful Commuting in the 21st Century

Meet Wilma