HOME OFFICE AND MINDFULNESS

A retThe leap in time in terms of work culture that we are currently in catapulted us knowledge workers into the home office a year ago and thus into a new form of work. So I’m really late with this article. Nevertheless, I think it conveys interesting points that are useful to us both now and in the post-Covid period.

HOW MINDFULNESS SUPPORTS US IN THE HOME OFFICE

According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness means  paying attention in a specific way: consciously, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally. This type of attention increases awareness and promotes clarity and the ability to accept the reality of the present moment.

It is beneficial for our job performance as well as for our recovery and resilience . This inner attitude of mindfulness can support us in many ways, for example in the home office.

It helps establish routines and habits at home that encourage mindful work. In terms of an incomplete list, I see the following mindfulness impulses that can specifically enrich our home office day:

  1. Start
    – A conscious start to the day with a breathing Vipassana meditation or mindful physical exercises anchor us in the present and give vitality and energy.
    – Using the short commute from the kitchen to the study as a walking meditation sharpens awareness.
    – Airing the study well in the morning leaves valuable oxygen and freshness behind.
  2. Working
    – pausing every now and then and noticing what is happening in body and mind leads to awareness in thinking and acting.
    – Monotasking instead of multitasking leads to concentration and productivity.
    – A minute’s silence before an online meeting (alone or with all meeting participants) can induce calm and insight.
    – Communicating mindfully, for example with the help of conscious and value-free I-messages in difficult conversations, can create a connection.
  3. Rest
    – Take regular breaks. After tension comes relaxation – a law of nature that keeps us healthy if we follow it.
    – Drinking and eating mindfully during coffee and lunch breaks creates joy and presence.
    – Take care of yourself. Paying attention to nutritious food, regular exercise and enough sleep helps to stay healthy and vital.
  4. Let go
    – separating the office from home gives you relaxation. A walk outside clears the head and activates the body.
    – A conscious transition from the home office day to the end of the day with a short silent pause and linger on the body or recite the sentence ​“I did my best, I’m letting go now.” a few times. Or a metta meditation can give kindness and gratitude.
    – In the home office it is possible to work around the clock, but this contradicts healthy self-care. There is a limit to what you can do. Postpone the rest until tomorrow or get support. Do not see this attitude as a weakness but as a strength.

Which mindfulness impulses have you already heard or already established as your own routine in your home office? Please leave a comment below.

“It is clearly important to read and add knowledge to be an effective worker and leader.
Even more important are the mind and heart we show up with every day.”

– Matt Tenney

ZOOM FATIGUE AND HOW TO DEAL WITH IT

For most people, working from home also means video communication instead of meetings. It’s beneficial because it helps people stay connected face-to-face and saves physical trips.

However, many video conferencing users complain of exhaustion after online meetings. There is already a term for it: Zoom fatigue , which means something like video call fatigue resp. Video Conferencing Exhaustion. Just as “google” is like any web search, the term “zoom” has become ubiquitous and a generic verb replacing video conferencing.

The psychologist Dr. Linda Kaye from Edge Hill University in the UK says that a large part of this is because we want to see ourselves on the screen and present a good image to our colleagues. “It’s likely that this raises our self-awareness to a higher level than usual, and therefore causes us to engage more with our self-presentation than in face-to-face interactions in the real world,” she explains.

Another explanation for fatigue, according to the psychologist, could be our inability to fully utilize the usual range of social cues and non-verbal communication during video calls. We need to pay extra attention to the behavior of others in order to effectively track social interactions. These extra attentional efforts can tire over time.

The good news: There are ways to reduce zoom fatigue.

The following tips are suggested by  Harvard Business Review :

  • Build in breaks.
  • Keep meetings shorter.
  • You don’t have to participate in virtual social meetings with colleagues.
  • Switch to a phone call or email when appropriate.
  • Reduce the stimuli on the screen – try to take yourself out of view.

And Stanford University professor Jeremy Bailenson summarized the following possibilities:

  • Stop looking at yourself on the screen. Constantly looking at your reflection in the mirror can lead to stress. In the video settings, select “Hide self-view” by right-clicking on your own photo (once you see that your face is properly framed in the video).
  • give yourself more space. We are cognitively more efficient when we are not constantly sitting still. Sitting close to the screen during a video call can feel confining. Give yourself more space by moving around the room with your laptop.
  • Make the faces smaller on the video screen. Too much close-up eye contact can be intense. Resize the video window to minimize the face size, this gives a little distance.
  • Turn off your camera and turn away from the screen every now and then during longer meetings (if the video situation allows it).
MINDFULNESS TRAINING FOR EMPLOYEES

MINDFULMIND is part of the vision that meditation as a tool and mindfulness as an attitude in the health promotion of Swiss companies – at work and in the home office. Above all, we would also like to address SMEs that can take a first step with a relatively small budget. For this we have developed the practice-oriented and holistic  mindfulness training MINDFUL WORKS as well as a mindfulness program – for the benefit of the employees and the company.