Work can be a source of stress for many reasons.
First of all, it is a place where you spend a lot of time. Second, work offers a variety of other stressors. The people you work with can be a source of collegiality; they can also be a source of stress. The roles that you play can lead to stress: coworker, employee, director, manager, or boss. Finally, work has many unique situations where you do not have control, and a lack of control can lead to stress.
Even if you enjoy your job, it is easy for you to think of work as a way to make a living. But work can also be a way to do something meaningful and make some kind of contribution to the people you work with and beyond that, the customer or client. When you take work for granted, it can lose its ability to give meaning to your life.
Work is one of the places where many people experience burnout. When the focus of your work is getting more and more done in the same limited amount of time, that pressure can lead to feeling of burnout. This pressure is complicated in today’s world where the speed of electronic communication can leave you feeling behind or like there is always one more thing to do. One of the ways you can respond to the challenges and demands of work is to operate on autopilot. You get tasks done, but it can feel like you are going through the motions or simply checking items off your to-do list.
The source of work stress is not the many stressors that you experience on the job.
The stress comes from how you interpret the stressors. If you can change your attitude and response to these stressors, work can become a place where you express what is meaningful and valuable. One of the ways to change your response to the stressors at work is with the practice of mindfulness.
When you hear the word “mindfulness,” you might think about a practice like meditation. But mindfulness can be a way that you enter into and be present in any situation. As it relates to work, adopting a stance of mindfulness can help you experience work as something you are choosing to do. You can practice mindfulness regardless of your work situation. You can love your job or hate it. You can work in a hectic or more laid-back environment. With mindfulness you are are more fully aware of who you are and how you are being in your workplace.
How can you practice mindfulness at work?
Well, it can start well before you get to work. It can start when you get up in the morning. Instead of just going through the routine of getting ready for work, stop for a moment and affirm the fact that you are choosing to go to work. As you go to work, don’t get caught up in all the things that you have to do that day. Instead, enjoy the ride, the music, the environment around you.
When you are at work, there are several ways that you can practice mindfulness. From time to time, stop and be aware of what is happening in your body. Are you relaxed and at ease, or do you feel tension in some part of you body? Take a few deep breaths and see if you can ease that tension. When you are doing a task, give it the attention it deserves for as long as it deserves. Don’t be thinking about what is coming next. If an email arrives, don’t be distracted by it, unless it has something to do with the task at hand. Once the task is complete, pause for a moment and be grateful for the accomplishment and mindfully enter into what comes next.
Be mindful of your interactions and communications with the people around you. Are they just part of the task, or is there a way to be more present to who they are and what they are saying? Finally, be aware of that time when you are leaving work. Check in with how you feel. Be mindful and aware of each step you take to your car.
The meaning you get out of work does not have to be determined by how much you like or don’t like your job. It does not have to be determined by how much money you make at work. That meaning comes from how mindful and accepting you are of what you do and what comes your way. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a program I offer that will teach you ways to deal with stress in many areas of your life. You can go to my stress reduction page to learn more.