Why Business Leaders Should Promote A Culture of Meditation In Their Organizations Now
Because the world as we know it is coming to an end. I am not making a doomsday prophesy. What I mean is workplaces as we know them are undergoing enormous change. The old ways of working are coming to an end. What you know as the norm today, or a stable process, might not even exist in a few years from now.
That’s one. The other reason is interactions at work, by their very nature, are full of conflict. There is a natural conflict that arises between professionals on how things should get done; on what should be given priority; on which ideas to accept; on words, written or spoken…
The conflict is not a symptom of working under one roof. It is the nature of “work” itself. Be it onsite or remote.
A young analyst proposes an idea that he feels is an efficient way to solve a problem. The manager figures that the idea doesn’t fit in the process, the way he is trying to manage it.
The same manager presents a budget for a new initiative and her bosses think it is not the right time. There are other priorities.
In spite of processes, rules & policies conflict will continue to arise.
Third. Stress. Stress is the mother of all things that go wrong in a workplace. From abusive bosses to a closed-door management style to insecure work environment to overworked employees, stress flows in all directions at work.
Have you observed how these 3 forces — Change, Conflict and Stress have grown during the pandemic? The Great Resignation is the latest symptom. It is a reminder to all business leaders that the way workplaces get managed needs to change.
One thing you cannot miss out, unless you have suddenly popped-in from beginning of 2020 in a time machine, is that everybody is going digital. Digital technology has become the driver of most of the workplace related changes you are seeing. In few years from now you will find it very normal to be working remotely in digitally connected work environments.
Going digital & remote work are in every business leader’s top agenda. But what they are missing out on is the human aspect of remote work. The factor that is going make it tick — mental health & safety.
In past when professionals used to work from one location, there was still a physical binding of a location. With digitally connected work environments this restriction is gone.
So how do you handle the 3 forces of Change, Conflict and Stress in the new work environment?
You must champion mental and emotional health at the earliest. To do that you need to get right tools. Tools that are effective and can easily be made part of a digital workplace.
Right now the two most accessible tools of this nature are — meditation and mindfulness.
How are you going to use these tools and make them part of your work culture is the problem you should be actively looking solutions for.
