mindfulness in the workplace · the nhs now recognises that mindfulness practice is a reliable and...
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© Forum Business Media https://www.mindfulness-in-the-workplace.co.uk/
Mindfulness is an innate human quality! It is a way of
learning to pay wise attention to whatever is happening
in your life; and to allow a greater sense of connection
to your outer and inner world.
Meditation is a formal contemplation practice, in which
we bring our attention to an object of focus – sounds,
a mantra, a visualisation, our bodies, held in a certain
posture. Meditation is found in many different forms
across traditions.
So, mindfulness meditation is a combination of the two.
It is a practice (in formal and informal settings) that
helps us to cultivate clarity, insight and understanding.
In terms of your wellbeing, mindfulness is a way for you
to experientially learn to take better care of yourself, by
exploring and understanding the interplay of mind and
body, and utilising your own inner resources for coping
and growing.
Mindfulness in the workplace
Organisation-wide access to a comprehensive mindfulness programme
Mindfulness practice in the workplace translates
directly into improved health, by reducing stress,
improving resilience, and promoting effective
relationship building amongst teams.
A body of qualitative evidence supports findings
that mindfulness improves workplace functioning
and productivity, including:
• Resilience
• Stress reduction
• Communication and teamwork
• Creativity and innovation
• Decision-making
• Performance
With this 8-week online training programme, you can reap the benefits of mindfulness with easy-to-
access online resources. You can log into the course from wherever and whenever it works best for you.
Your employer has paid for your access to this course. To set up your log-in details, please
register at: https://www.uk.uniqskills.com/en/general/mindfulness-in-the-workplace/
Once registered, your access will be activated within 1 working day. Check your inbox for
your log-in details, and enjoy the course!
© Forum Business Media https://www.mindfulness-in-the-workplace.co.uk/
During the course, you will:
✓ Use exercises and training to create good habits to help deal with
stimulation and improve physical and emotional resilience
✓ Learn to recognise and handle long-term stress situations, and
enhance decision-making during stressful periods
✓ Apply tactics to nurture health at work and at home, and to support
the development of others within the organisation
✓ Be introduced to new development and motivation techniques
inspired by the mindfulness approach within a corporate setting
✓ Learn to effectively deal with difficult emotions, such as the sense of
being overwhelmed, by:
✓ Conscious decision-making and appropriate reactions
✓ Learning techniques to increase effectiveness in tasks
✓ Learning to work with long-term stress and tension
✓ Maintaining communication
✓ Building competent teams
✓ Increase the flexibility and effectiveness of various activities, learn to
deal with the unexpected, and improve team relationships and the
work atmosphere
How does it work?
• Accessible expert learning
Developed with UK Network Registered Mindfulness Coach Kerry Stevenson,
the modules are accessible and practical, inviting self-reflection via specific
work and home-based exercises.
• Practical application The course avoids theory-heavy lectures, and instead offers learning in practical, bite-sized modules that you can complete in your own time. Combine science and practicality for a strong understanding of the materials and increased confidence in applying your learnings.
• High quality materials Expert materials and step-by-step training prepare you for specific situations with in-depth guidelines and scenarios.
• Flexible and mobile learning mode Materials are available 24/7 online, meaning you can access the course in your own time. Our UNIQSKILLS programme remembers your progress, so you can come back to it when it suits you and revisit the course whenever you need.
• The self-assessment quiz allows you to test your knowledge, and upon completion you receive a certificate documenting your professional development.
© Forum Business Media https://www.mindfulness-in-the-workplace.co.uk/
MINDFULNESS
Session 1 introduces the basics and the benefits of mindfulness, both in the workplace and in your
personal life. This session looks at the definitions and practices, and debunks some of the myths
existing around mindfulness. This session also includes the first check-in, to show your current stress
response and its journey through the course.
Exercises include:
• Guided meditation: noticing the senses
• Becoming present
• Understanding mindfulness and its use in the workplace, for example to help increase
motivation in your organisation.
Take away practice
• Mindful eating (explore senses)
• Journaling
STRESS REDUCTION
Session 2 looks at the definition of stress and how it shows up. You are encouraged to consider how
you notice when you’re stressed – what are your triggers? The session also looks at burnout and how
to recognise the warning signs.
Exercises include:
• Guided meditation
• Noticing thoughts, feelings & sensations
• Meditation
Take away practice
• Short check-in practice
• Journaling
Check-in tool: Stress response scale phase
RESILIENCE Session 3 introduces mindfulness as a tool to building resilience. This session looks at how to use the breath as an anchor, including
• Noticing a busy mind and returning to the breath • How to breathe properly to reduce stress • Counting the breath meditation
Take away practice
• Breath counting • Journaling
SYLLABUS
© Forum Business Media https://www.mindfulness-in-the-workplace.co.uk/
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METACOGNITION & DECISION MAKING Session 4 looks at metacognition, i.e. the ability to observe your thoughts. This introduces the distinction between participants thoughts and participants themselves: you are not your thoughts: you are what observes thoughts. The practice allows for more clear-eyed and focused decision-making, by helping you recognise the unseen drivers behind your thoughts and decisions. This session also includes the second phase of the stress response scale, as you work through the sessions in turn. Exercises include:
• Meditation on thoughts with breath as the anchor
Take away practice • Breath counting • Journaling
Check-in tool: Stress response scale phase 2
FOCUS Session 5 continues the learning from session 4 and applies it to movement and attention. Participants are introduced to the concept that ONLY attention is under our control (not thoughts, situations, etc). This understanding helps increase mindful focus and purposeful movement. Exercises includes:
• Guided meditation on mindful movement meditation • Moving the attention
Take away practice
• Mindful walking, or Hatha yoga • Journaling
PERFORMANCE & CREATIVITY Session 6 invites you to practice the pause: giving our brains time to catch up, and move from reactivity to responsibility. This session focuses on making the choice about how to respond to life’s events with acceptance, non-judgement and patience. Without past experiences colouring our reactions and expectations, responses are more clear-eyed and fair, allowing for more honest actions and communications. This pause between impulse and action is fruitful ground for creativity, as it breaks established patterns to allow new thinking to blossom, and performance to change. Exercises includes:
• Body scan • Guided meditation on noticing thoughts, feelings, and sensations
Take away practice
• Body scan practice • Journaling
© Forum Business Media https://www.mindfulness-in-the-workplace.co.uk/
MINDFUL COMMUNICATION & TEAMWORK Session 7 brings together learning from previous sessions with a focus on listening deeply and speaking honestly, to help improve communication and teamwork, and applies it to working in a team. What does it mean to pause in conversation and just listen? Exercises includes:
• Being comfortable with pausing whilst talking • Setting boundaries with others • Learning to assert yourself effectively • Erasing ambiguity with truthful and direct speech
Take away practice
• Journaling
MINDFUL ACTUALISATION Session 8 incorporates the teachings from all previous sessions to focus on values and self-care: you are invited to reflect on what kind of person you want to be, both personally and in the workplace. Participants are encouraged to use the check-in tool for a final look at their stress response and how this has changed throughout the course. This session also includes:
• How to notice unhealthy coping mechanisms that may shift you away from values/who you want to be
• How to take care of yourself to avoid stress and burnout • Meditation visualisation, to reflect on values and self-identity • Writing exercise on key learnings and takeaways from the course • A letter to yourself
Take away practice
• Overview of the course • Considering own way to practice in daily life (formal / informal practices)
Check-in tool: Stress response scale phase 3
Log in anytime, anywhere
© Forum Business Media https://www.mindfulness-in-the-workplace.co.uk/
Evidence in…
Course content
• Developed with UK Network-Registered
Mindfulness Trainer Kerry Stevenson
• Hours of training and instruction videos
• Scientific evidencing of mindfulness efficacy
• Accessible descriptions of mindfulness
techniques
• Weekly downloadable mindfulness logs
• Exercises to practice at home or at work
• Built-in opportunities for reflection
• Certificate of completion
• 8+ audio recordings of guided meditations
A definition of mindfulness (by Jon Kabat-Zinn)
Mindfulness is about being fully awake in our lives.
It is about perceiving the exquisite vividness or each moment.
We feel more alive.
We also gain more immediate access to our own powerful inner resources for insight, transformation, and healing.
Mindful awareness, is defined as:
paying attention
on purpose
in the present moment
non-judgementally
It is fundamental to this work, since the present moment is the only time anyone ever has to perceive, learn, grow or
change. We cannot change the past, or control the future, so all we have is now.
(Source: Full Catastrophe Living, by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD.)
Evidence in…
Stress, depression, anxiety, focus, creativity, compassion, physical pain, cancer patients, PTSD.
The NHS now recognises that mindfulness practice is a reliable and effective means of dealing with physical and mental
conditions. In fact, it has been deemed as effective or better than medication in certain health conditions.
Getting the most out of the programme
There is often an idea that mindfulness meditation either works or not for some people. This is misleading as it misses the point.
Paradoxically, for us to immerse ourselves in, and benefit from, the practice of mindfulness meditation, we need to let go of
trying to achieve or do anything at all.
Simple awareness is the first step towards reaping any sort of ‘benefit’ from the practice. Every person has a unique experience
from mindfulness meditation; so, let go of any expectations of fixing yourself! Mindfulness practices will give you the space you
need to see new perspectives of challenges and stress, and to cultivate a more peaceful and balanced mindset, and thus, life.