How a Chief Mindfulness Officer Can Increase Employee Well-Being
Human capital is the top asset of every company and organization. Without the people, there is no service, product, or strategy.
The care of that workforce has shifted as the demands of our everyday workplaces increase and the workforce continues to reel from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a Mental Health America study, 83 percent of employees in the United States have felt emotionally drained. Nearly eight out of ten employees regularly experience physical symptoms of stress, and more than 75 percent cited money and work as the leading cause of their stress.
In today’s challenging, ever changing environment, when taking a collective breath seems necessary, a Chief Mindfulness Officer can help employees with their struggles and provide necessary programs to care for employee physical and mental wellbeing.
During the process, they can support organizations and their teams to manage uncertainty, connect with their own inner strength, build resilience, and ultimately thrive in their personal and professional lives.
Psychology Today defines mindfulness as “the quality of being really present in one’s momentary experience, accepting the moment as it is, rather than doing what we usually do, which is getting caught up in our thoughts and feelings.” It can also profoundly affect how people function in the workplace.
A Chief Mindfulness Officer can enable any organization to more deeply invest in its most important asset: its employees.
What Is A Chief Mindfulness Officer?
A Chief Mindfulness Officer is embedded in a company to share, teach, and curate content about mindfulness that enhances collaboration and communication and builds employees’ culture of resilience.
A Chief Mindfulness Officer has a deep understanding of how specific mindfulness techniques and tools can support an organization—both on the individual employee level as well as on teams, with leadership, and organizational culture overall. They initiate workshops, trainings, and other ways to incorporate mindfulness into the day-to-day life of an organization.
In order to implement mindfulness in a way that not only benefits employee wellbeing but priorities and strategic goals as well, a Chief Mindfulness Officer should speak the language of business and operate across all areas of the organization.
They should also be a strategic and strong operator, which is crucial in the successful adoption of a mindfulness program.
A Chief Mindfulness Officer should also:
- Be well-versed in the neuroscience of mindfulness, including major components and networks of the brain and nervous system that are impacted by mindfulness and meditation
- Practice a variety of science-based techniques for mindfulness meditation and mindful movement, including formal, informal and attitudinal practices
- Support employees to apply mindfulness and self-compassion to workplace relationships and as a tool during difficult conversations and conflict
- Provide access to mindfulness apps, guided meditations, and other resources that employees can use independently to support their stress management
- Incorporate mindfulness principles into performance management practices to encourage more balanced and compassionate feedback and evaluations
- Conduct workshops that explore how mindfulness can boost creativity and innovation within the organization and improve brain health
- Train employees on how to use mindfulness techniques during meetings and decision-making processes to enhance focus, attention, and thoughtful decision-making
How Can A Chief Mindfulness Officer Benefit Your Business?
Science-backed studies show that mindfulness reduces stress and anxiety, increases creativity, and improves our relationships. It also supports resilience by equipping employees with the ability to understand their emotions and stress levels, as well as their ability to influence them.
In companies that adopt mindfulness programs, employees report increased job satisfaction, a greater ability to focus, and a higher level of mental clarity. This leads to higher productivity and efficiency among employees.
Mindfulness can enhance creativity and foster innovative thinking by encouraging a more open and non-judgmental mindset, which is particularly beneficial for organizations seeking to stay competitive and adapt to changing markets.
A chief mindfulness officer is charged with analyzing and implementing types of mindfulness programs and training that could most effectively change an organization and its workforce. They could facilitate workshops and training on mindful communication, for example, which may improve conflict resolution skills and foster a more positive and collaborative work environment.
They can support an organization’s employees to:
- Manage stress
- Grow emotional intelligence
- Increase focus and productivity
- Improve brain health
- Solve problems creatively
- Balance work and life
- Improve holistic health
- Grow mental strength & resilience
- Strengthen communication skills
- Lead and manage effectively
Mindfulness programs also create community and build working relationships. The work of a chief mindfulness officer strengthens individual bonds and opens employees up to support one another, which can change the overall culture of an organization to one that builds a broader consciousness of the growth and wellness of its employees.
What Are The Barriers To Mindfulness In The Workplace?
One of the most common challenges that a chief mindfulness officer can encounter is the struggle to find balance between work and personal life.
In today's fast-paced world, where busy-ness is a status symbol, multi-tasking is the new norm, and technology is always begging for our attention, achieving work-life balance can feel like an impossible task.
A chief mindfulness officer could implement policies where employees are encouraged to shut off their computers for good at six in the evening, or create “sacred time” each day where they do not check email.
The inability to find balance between career and personal life can lead to burnout, which is another barrier to mindfulness in the workplace. Burnout is extreme physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion caused by excessive, unrelenting stress.
A neuroscience-based tool for combating stress and burnout when it occurs in the workplace is to complete the stress cycle, which allows our bodies to reset to calm. A Chief Mindfulness Officer might encourage:
- Exercise and moving one’s body enough to breathe deeply
- Slow and deep breathing with extended exhales to siphon off emergent stress
- Social connection via casual and friendly interaction with colleagues, which signals safety
A Chief Mindfulness Officer can encourage self-compassion, to help employees and organizational leaders see that being hard on themselves will not necessarily yield better results.
Research shows self-criticism actually detracts from performance. A self-critical attitude is shown to lead to heightened levels of depression and anxiety, lower self-confidence, and an increased fear of failure.
A Chief Mindfulness Officer may institute a program to support self-kindness and offer meditations on rewiring neural pathways.
What Is The Difference Between A Chief Mindfulness Officer And A Chief Wellness Officer?
A Chief Wellness Officer maintains the general well-being of an organization and creates initiatives and programs to do so.
As part of their specific responsibilities, they could:
- Lead health awareness campaigns designed to educate employees about preventative care measures
- Develop incentive programs for participating in wellness programs and challenges
- Conduct regular employee health assessments
- Coordinate with human resources to ensure the company’s health insurance provider is adequate
The focus of a Chief Mindfulness Officer is primarily on incorporating the tools of mindfulness into an organization’s unique culture and work environment preferably by using neuroscience-backed research on stress management, resilience, and brain health.
These efforts promote the overall health of employees, but are more focused on mental awareness and presence of employees and how it affects their behavior and wellbeing.
Along with analyzing a workplace’s needs and providing programs and activities related to mindfulness, they could also:
- Lead training for mindfulness programs and initiatives that enable employees to develop their own mindfulness tools
- Actively listen to the well-being needs of all employees
- Provide employees with a safe space to practice mindfulness, whether that’s in-office, virtual, or hybrid
- Collect and analyze data on mindfulness programs and monitor their effectiveness and success
What Are The Benefits Of Hiring A Fractional Chief Mindfulness Officer?
The role of Chief Mindfulness Officer continues to evolve as research continues into employees’ motivations and behaviors and how they contribute to happiness and resilience. Hiring a full-time Chief Mindfulness Officer is an understandably large financial commitment, but an important one to emphasize that an organization cares about its employees’ well-being.
If you are a small or growing organization but still want to emphasize the importance of mindfulness in the workplace, a Fractional Chief Mindfulness Officer can be brought in on a retainer basis for a fraction of the investment.
Fractional Chief Mindfulness Officers typically work on a part-time or project-based basis, so they can be more cost-effective. There are organizations, such as Mastermind, who can fill this role as well. Whether you partner with an individual or an organization, if you know that your company has the need for policies, programs, and ongoing support in the area of mindfulness, it’s time to ensure you bring on support.
Connection To Your Work
Mastermind is a neuroscience-based wellness firm founded in 2016 to bring research-backed brain training techniques to organizations nationwide. It helps organizations create happier workplaces and more resilient employees through neuroscience-based wellness programs.
As a 100 percent woman and LGBTQ-owned business led by engineer-turned-entrepreneur Dorsey Standish, Mastermind’s purpose is to grow a happier, healthier, more compassionate world by equipping every person with an inner toolkit for mental wellness.
Contact Mastermind to hear more about how it can help you build your own mindful community in the workplace and how its research-backed mental wellness can empower your team to prioritize their wellbeing.