What is a Corporate Mindfulness Consultant and Why Every Business Needs One?
Mindfulness has been the buzzword in the corporate world for quite some time now. But companies are yet to prioritize the role of a dedicated corporate mindfulness consultant. Is it because companies can get on by fine without one?
With the pandemic leaving employees stressed, insecure, and tired, the need for a mindfulness coach is greater than ever. Here’s why every business, regardless of its size, needs to get in touch with a corporate mindfulness facilitator right away.
The power of being mindful
Mindfulness equips people with better emotional intelligence skills. Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others and to respond appropriately. But good emotional intelligence skills are neither automatic nor effortless; they require training. And mindfulness is one way to practice them.
If done well, mindfulness training can help you notice things as they are - on their own - that is neither good nor bad, which is an important life skill that is the need of the hour.
With mindfulness, you don't have to force yourself to be calm or patient, or kind. You can train yourself to step back from your feelings, observe them, and respond in the right way. You can shift perspectives and see things from other people's points of view.
Above all, you can respond to unpleasant situations with grace and equanimity, rather than with dread and anger. You can also learn not just to tolerate weaknesses but also to appreciate them for what they are.
What does a corporate mindfulness consultant do?
A corporate mindfulness consultant helps cultivate healthy workplace cultures. Their work is interdisciplinary, drawing on fields such as psychology, neuroscience, behavioral economics, and behavioral science to give the training a holistic approach.
They directly work with people who are responsible for planning, implementing, practicing, and evaluating company policies and programs i.e., every employee in your team at any level.
In other words, corporate mindfulness facilitators teach companies about stress, resilience, and cognizance. They train employees in workplace mindfulness and help build supportive workplaces, where employees feel valued and appreciated, allowing them to grow.
How a corporate mindfulness facilitator helps shape a better workplace culture
From helping employees achieve a better work-life balance to taking care of workplace wellness, here are the key contributions of a corporate mindfulness consultant in your company’s future.
Equips employees with the right tools to mitigate workplace stress
This begins with understanding the root causes of stress and adopting practices that reduce stress. A corporate mindfulness facilitator may coach employees on mindfulness meditation, breathing exercises, and mindful living practices.
Employees who take this approach report increased energy, greater focus, and fewer physical ailments. They also report more job satisfaction, less anxiety, and a greater sense of meaning.
2. Reduces employee turnover
A study on the effects of mindfulness in the workplace concluded that mindfulness meditation helped curb the problem of high absenteeism and increased job satisfaction among the examined group.
Mindfulness training programs have been found to improve dedication to the job among employees. It has been observed that employees show more commitment to their tasks and take pleasure in their work, which is also one of the reasons why they prefer continuing with the company.
3. Allows your team members to be more sensitive to one another
Sometimes, knowing more about the other person is enough for you to understand why they are the way they are. Mindfulness consultants help people talk openly about their experiences as well as pay more attention to what their peers say.
A well-rounded program can really help people be more aware of how they think, feel, and how they affect other people. It can help them embrace the fact that they are all part of a team and are working towards the same goal, allowing them to be more compassionate to the people around them.
This fundamental awareness along with a few healthy habits at work can improve team collaboration as people become more accepting and sensitive towards their peers, rather than thinking of them as competition.
4. Helps improve productivity
A study by Oxford University's Saïd Business School confirms that “happy employees are 13% more productive at their job.” But it's not just productivity that increases; employees also feel more connected and engaged in their workplaces as they spend less time questioning their worth or place in the company and more time achieving their goals.
5. Brings forth the leaders in your company
A corporate mindfulness facilitator's job is to help people in your company become their best. Because they don’t distinguish between people and companies, mindfulness consultants give equal access to the same resources to everyone in order to help them improve their abilities.
As expected, the naturally skilled problem-solvers from the team automatically get called to attention during the training process, leaving you with new faces that have the potential to fill up your company’s executive positions.
Summary
The research conducted on mindfulness might be in its nascent stage but it has been largely conclusive. The nascency can be attributed to the fact that people are still new to the concept of mindfulness and are learning as they go. But it wouldn’t be wise to dismiss it as a temporary trend.
Mindfulness can help improve the quality of human resources in your workplace. If anything, the sooner companies realize that mindfulness training at work is the future of a happier and more productive workforce, the better foundation they can build for their business.