Collaboration at Work

23.10.2017

Organisations today increasingly need their people to be able to work collaboratively with others. It's no coincidence that so many jobs listings require applicants to be 'team players'. However, in an atmosphere that demands results, some can find the pressures and strains of working with others to be detrimental to their emotional wellbeing. Mindfulness training can help people to collaborate more easily at work.

Achieving compromise

Published studies have shown that mindfulness appears effective in reducing levels of stress, and increasingly levels of resilience and emotional intelligence. In terms of improving workplace collaboration, mindfulness also raises the level of self-awareness and our awareness of others. This improves interpersonal sensitivity and communications skills by reducing impulsivity.

Say that you're working on a team project, but disagree with a colleague's opinion. Numerous disagreements might stall progress on the project. By reducing impulsivity, mindfulness allows us to take an opposing view on board and consider it before making a decision – rather than dismissing it out of hand. Even if you still disagree, you'll be able to explain your position more clearly and perhaps move forward together on a compromise.

The challenges of environment

When it comes to workplace stressors, it's difficult to step back. Under modern conditions we need to keep thinking clearly and creatively to deal with stressors – the trouble is, employees are often 'frazzled'. Overcome by the constant stream of daily hassles, our brains are in permanent crisis mode. That can make the need to  collaborate a debilitating challenge. How can employees be expected to work with each other if they're already struggling to work by themselves?

Using mindfulness, employees can reduce their overall level of stress in the workplace. That makes it easier to work as part of a team as it allows people to be more readily open to collaboration. When we are stressed, the need to collaborate can seem like an added stress that we simply don't need.

Working together

With mindfulness training, people at work can:

• Improve self-awareness. This is the ability to read your own emotions and recognise their impact, preventing the “amgdala hijack”. This is the act of unconsciously using gut feelings to guide decisions.

• Encourage self-management. This involves controlling emotions and impulses, making it easier to adapt to changing circumstances.

• Build social awareness. Mindfulness helps to improve the ability to sense, understand and react to others' emotions while comprehending social networks.

• Understand relationship management. Key for managers, this is the ability to inspire, influence, and develop others while managing conflict.

Empathy

The capacity to empathise more deeply with others is crucial in the world of work. Whether the other person is a customer, a client, a colleague, an employer, or employee: the capacity to be fully present to them and to demonstrate the sense that you see them as a person with their own individual thoughts and feelings is crucial to all vital relationships. This capacity for two people to ‘feel felt’ by each other is a key factor in allowing those in relationship to one another to feel vibrant, alive, understood and at peace.

To find out more about how mindfulness training helps with collaboration at work, email rachel@mindfulnesworks.com, or phone +44 (0)1223 750460.