With the constant pressure to be productive around the clock, to-do lists that just keep growing, and a near-omnipresent connection to our inboxes, it’s not surprising that employees feel stressed out. In fact, 57% of workers reported that they experience negative impacts on their health and well-being because of work-related stress. Thankfully, evidence suggests practicing mindfulness can make a massive difference for employees and employers.

To learn more about worker well-being and understand how it ultimately impacts your bottom line, Mindfulness Strategies, a leader in organizational mindfulness consulting, discusses what happens when employers don’t prioritize wellness, what worker well-being is, and how mindfulness can play a part in helping you build a stronger team.

What Does Worker Well-Being Mean?

Well-being isn’t just about physical health. It also encompasses mental and emotional health, including social connections and financial stability. Accordingly, worker well-being is the state of employees' health, safety, and satisfaction with what they do at work, why they do it, and the place in which they do it.

The workplace environment plays a major role in fostering positive well-being, with workers thriving in environments that encourage social connections, aid in maintaining work-life balance, and provide opportunities for career development. When workers feel supported, they’re more likely to contribute meaningfully to the workplace and feel fulfilled.

When Wellness Isn’t Prioritized

When employers don’t prioritize employees' well-being, the company can be negatively affected. For instance, many toxic work environments will experience:

Increased turnover
Increased tardiness
Increased absenteeism
Diminished communication and peer relationships
Reductions in quality of work

Prioritizing wellness to improve worker well-being is vital to a business’s long-term success. Studies have shown that employee well-being is directly linked to workplace performance. Teams that believe their employers care about their well-being perform better in a myriad of ways, including but not limited to improved customer engagement, increased profitability and productivity, reduced turnover, and even reduced numbers of safety incidents.

The Importance of Communication

Before jumping into practicing mindfulness in your workplace, it is essential to consider the dynamic of your work environment. According to the APA’s 2023 Work in America Survey, 43 percent of employees reported worrying that if they told their employer about a mental health condition, it would have a negative impact on them in the workplace.

Leaders must ensure their company or organization promotes open dialogue around mental health to encourage workers to express their needs openly and comfortably. Some of the best ways to do this include, but are not limited to:

Understanding the significance of mental health
Providing mental health coverage
Making environmental improvements to the workplace (e.g., more natural light, adequate personal space, structured quiet areas)
Communicating openly about mental health to minimize stigma
Integrating mindfulness practices into the workday

While mental health can be a challenging subject for both employers and employees, being able to do so is critical to improving worker well-being. The ability to openly communicate about mental health will create easier conversations about meeting the needs of everyone in the workplace, ultimately leading to improved worker well-being. Additionally, conversations around mindfulness may come more naturally, allowing people to express the importance of mindfulness and the benefits everyone can gain from it.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the ability to be present in any given moment. It is the ability to be aware of what is arising and the emotions accompanying any situation. Mindfulness allows an individual to be more in control of how they react and respond to stressful situations, both at work and in day-to-day life.

The beauty of mindfulness is that anyone can practice it and personalize their strategies based on their lifestyle. Often, people begin integrating mindfulness exercises into what they already do, such as exercising or practicing a hobby. Some simple examples of practicing mindfulness include:

Focusing on the breathing
Meditating while sitting or walking
Experiencing the environment with all five senses
Setting an intention for the day

Mindfulness can improve the overall quality of life, including time spent in the workplace. Everyone can benefit, from employees becoming more focused and productive to leaders gaining a better sense of clarity and compassion.

How Mindfulness Improves Worker Wellbeing

Simply put: when people feel good, they do good work. Encouraging workers to practice mindfulness will not only improve their day-to-day lives but also their work lives, which will consequently improve their quality of work and productivity. Specific benefits of practicing mindfulness in the workplace include:

Reducing Stress

Practicing mindfulness helps people learn how to control how they react to stressors. When workers can regulate their emotions well, they become more resilient. As they become more resilient, they improve their performance in stressful or high-pressure situations. This improvement leads to better outcomes for everyone when tensions are running high.

Improved Focus

When people become more aware of themselves through mindfulness, it becomes easier to notice and reduce mental distractions. Having this ability increases concentration, which in turn improves work performance. All of these things result in an improved use of time and resources!

Increased Emotional Awareness

Mindfulness teaches people how to manage their emotions more effectively. When workers know how to manage their emotions well, relationships with peers improve, which leads to better teamwork. Improved emotional management skills foster better communication, conflict resolution, and problem-solving.

Strategies to Achieve Positive Worker Well-Being

There are many different ways to incorporate mindfulness into the workplace. It’s okay to test things out to see what works best. Sometimes, the first thing may not be the best fit, and that’s okay. Some simple first steps can include:

Practicing What You Preach

Management and leaders within the workplace must demonstrate that they recognize the importance of practicing mindfulness and actively participate in mindfulness practices. Doing so will encourage employees to follow suit and ensure that everyone gets to experience the benefits. Additionally, management leading by example shows a commitment to worker well-being, creating a supportive environment.

Making Meetings Mindful

Make mindfulness a part of every meeting by beginning each meeting with simple mindfulness exercises. Opening mindfulness exercises can increase focus and make for improved conversation. Some examples are:

Body scan
Goal-setting (personal or professional for the meeting, the day, the week, etc.)
Mindful movement or stretching

Creating a Mindful Space

Find a space in the workplace that can be a “dedicated mindfulness" space. This space doesn’t need to be elaborate, but it should be comfortable and quiet. If employees work from home, encourage them to create a mindful space for themselves.

Encouraging Short Breaks

Advise employees to take short breaks throughout the day to practice mindfulness. Research shows that taking multiple breaks during the workday increases productivity and work engagement and prevents decision fatigue. Short breaks allow employees to be mindful throughout the day.

Prioritizing Positive Worker Well-Being Through Mindfulness