At
first glance, it might appear that encouraging employees to take a
few minutes to watch a humorous video while they’re on the job
wastes both time and money. Similarly, a concept like mindfulness
might seem too academic to apply in the dollars-and-cents business
world.
However,
recent research shows both short, lighthearted breaks and mindfulness
can lead to more satisfied, calmer,
and more
productive
employees. These tools also can reduce stress and strengthen mental
health.
A
recent study
with the rather cumbersome title “Some positivity per day can
protect you a long way: A within-person field experiment to test an
affect-resource model of employee effectiveness at work” draws on
long-standing research that shows self-control, or managing one’s
emotions to meet the demands inherent in many contemporary
occupations, requires emotional effort, said Wladislaw Rivkin, a
study author and Associate
Professor
of Organization
Behavior
with Trinity College Dublin (Ireland). “Self-control demands
(internal) regulatory resources,” he said.
When employees’ regulatory resources are depleted—say, after a particularly contentious interaction with a colleague or customer—they’re often less able to focus on other tasks and are less creative, Rivkin said.
[Read more: Staying Focused in Hard Times: Tips for Small Business Owners]
The
research team sought to identify interventions that would help
employees replenish their emotional coffers by eliciting happiness
and energy, said Vera Schweitzer, Lead
Researcher
and a doctoral candidate at WHU
- Otto Beisheim School of Management
in Germany. They found that watching funny, unoffensive videos,
typically three to five minutes in length, was more effective than
music or even receiving a gift in helping employees replenish
emotional resources, remain engaged, and enjoy working. Many videos
were from popular comedy shows, she said.
Fortunately,
employers can rather easily and inexpensively encourage this type of
intervention. Rivkin suggests recommending short, humorous videos or
posting a joke-of-the-day on a company intranet or newsletter.
To be most effective, the videos should prompt a laugh, rather than just a smile. Of course, it doesn’t make sense to interrupt a session in which an employee is focused on a task. Instead, the idea is to use natural breaks to introduce a positive intervention, Rivkin said.
The more knowledge you have of what’s going on within your head, the more power you have to change it.
Lynley Turkelson, University of Cincinnati doctoral candidate
Mindfulness: another way employees can enhance mental health
Many
jobs require employees to focus their attention on a project or task.
Yet mind-wandering or off-task thinking can account for 30 to 50% of
a person’s daily thoughts, said Lynley Turkelson, a doctoral
candidate at the University of Cincinnati with a focus on
neuropsychology. Turkelson also led a review of studies on
mindfulness; the results are captured in the paper “The Current State of Mind: A Systematic Review of the Relationship Between Mindfulness and Mind-Wandering.”
“Our
brain is wired to pay attention to certain things,” Turkelson said.
Novelty is one. If something isn’t new, our brains aren’t as
excited, she added.
That can create challenges in the work world, as employees often must complete tasks they’ve done before. Mindfulness can help. This refers to focusing one’s attention on the present moment or a specific action, like breathing, while also nonjudgmentally accepting whatever thoughts and feelings occur. The key is to notice that your mind has wandered, as this enables you to redirect it back to the present moment. “The more knowledge you have of what’s going on within your head, the more power you have to change it,” Turkelson said.
[Read more: Postal Petals Founder Reminds Entrepreneurs to Be Mindful]
How can this help employees? Research shows that periods of mindfulness even as short as 10 minutes can reduce mind wandering and improve focus, Turkelson said. Mindfulness can also help individuals react more thoughtfully and healthily to stressful situations, according to health care provider Kaiser Permanente.
Organizations
can easily and inexpensively expose employees to mindfulness. This
could include offering a class or a subscription to a
science-supported mindfulness app, Turkelson said.
Mindfulness’s benefits can extend beyond reducing mind-wandering and boosting productivity. “It can address aspects of mental health and help people prevent burnout,” Turkelson said.
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