Your Member Benefits Website features include:

  • Access to online articles with helpful information
  • Ability to submit an online form asking a counselor to contact you
  • Topics covering working life, wellness, parenting, management, etc.

Your Customer Hub features include:

  • Automated headcount updates in UCMS
  • Invoicing reflective of the active populations under your account
  • Access reporting with case trends, disruptive issues, utilization

Local Service Partners

Local Service Partners are independent EAPs with which WPO has established strategic relationships for the delivery of global EAP services in alignment with the WPO models, processes and quality standards.

  • 14 June 2024
  • 8 months

Mindfulness in the Workplace: It’s More Than What You Think

Emily Fournier

Marketing & Communications Manager

Over the last few years, “mindfulness” has become such an exhausted buzzword to the point that there are now countless interpretations of what it even means. “Deep breathing,” is one you might hear a lot; “meditation” another. While these are absolutely components of an effective mindfulness strategy, that’s not all there is to it.

Mindfulness means so much more than being “zen” or self-aware, and it’s a lot less self-serving than people might realize. In actuality, mindfulness is an essential component of workplace safety and wellbeing. It’s responsible for maintaining cohesive, good-natured teams; helping employees stay on track with tasks; and minimizing accidents, injuries, or illness. And especially in our fast-paced world fraught with rapid and constant change, it’s even crucial for cultivating a resilient, agile workforce who can quickly adapt in the face of disruption.

Through this understanding, mindfulness becomes not just another personal wellness “hack” or tactic, but a vital community resource. As Nicole Roe at Triumvirate Environmental explains, there are no “random” accidents; they all have a cause. And that cause, more often than not, is a lack of focus caused by stress. The same applies for interpersonal relationships: If a person isn’t thinking intently about what they’re saying or how they’re behaving in a given moment—if they’re not thinking about how that other person or the people around them are feeling, or how they’re making others feel—conflicts are bound to arise.

The bottom line: A safe workplace hinges on the attention and dedication of its employees. It demands that they think carefully, act deliberately, and reflect diligently to keep themselves and their peers safe.

When employees are mindful and not mindless—an adjective often used to describe the mundane, repetitive tasks that workers perform on a daily basis—they pay attention not just to their own internal cues and needs, but to their external surroundings, and place or role in them. As they work cautiously and deliberately whilst thinking deeply about what it is they’re doing, they soon begin to develop a better understanding of how their role or duties connect to the wider workings or mission of their organization. They begin to envision better or best practices for performing tasks safely and effectively, and grow more committed to protecting and helping those around them.

As this happens across teams or workstations, organizations soon find that not only do their healthy and safety metrics improve, but so do those measuring employee satisfaction and wellbeing, as peers grow more trusting, understanding, and appreciative of one another.

How, then, to cultivate mindfulness in the workplace? Answer: Reach out to your wellbeing solutions provider.

By collaborating with a holistic wellbeing solutions provider, employers can not only gain access to mindfulness programs designed to teach employees new tricks or techniques for practicing mindfulness in their everyday lives, but they can also connect employees to a range of solutions dedicated to improving their holistic wellbeing and minimizing the stressors or distractions that so often pull their attention away from work.

This includes access to services like:

  • Wellness coaching, including support for nutrition, physical activity, weight management, sleep cycles, and more
  • Cessation support, including help with tobacco, cannabis, or alcohol use
  • Enhanced legal and financial assistance, including referrals for financial planning, budgeting, or debt management support
  • Work-life and family care consultants, including referrals for localized child, elder, and dependent care…

…all of which seek to help employees address their most basic human needs: those of health, safety, security, and family; without which, employees would not be able to enter a state of mindfulness and inner peace.

That said, it is with the help of mindfulness programs that employees can aspire to attain and maintain that state of mindfulness, working with a dedicated specialist trained to help them overcome challenges related to stress, concentration, anxiety, and more, by providing psychoeducation, materials and resources for independent practice, and guided mindfulness exercises suited to their individual needs.

Under the guidance of a dedicated mindfulness practitioner, employees can receive the support they need to implement mindfulness practices in their everyday life, including:

  • Body scans
  • Diaphragmatic breathing
  • Mindful movement
  • Mindful eating
  • Intention setting exercises
  • Positive visualization
  • Gratitude practice

And so much more…

In today’s frenetic world, it can be hard to “take a breather” and come back to the present moment. But as hard as it may be, it must be done—lest we allow our goals and ambitions to be undermined by stress, fatigue, dysfunction, and conflict. By investing in a holistic provider that offers mindfulness programs alongside comprehensive support for employees’ wellbeing, employers can aspire to promote a culture of mindfulness at work, and the safety, security, and satisfaction that comes with it.

Workplace Options helps employees balance their work, family, and personal needs to become healthier, happier, and more productive, both personally and professionally. The company’s world-class employee support, effectiveness, and wellbeing services provide information, resources, referrals, and consultation on a variety of issues ranging from dependent care and stress management to clinical services and wellness programs. Contact us to learn more. 

This content is intended for general information only. It does not provide specific direction, advice, or recommendations. You may wish to contact an appropriate professional for questions concerning your particular situation.

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