Exploring The Future Of Work: Mindfulness And Productivity In 2024

05 Jan 2024

In 2023, many companies continued to offer hybrid workdays, a norm that got established during the pandemic, and launched multiple programs to support employee mental and physical wellbeing. Google offers onsite healthcare services, fitness facilities and classes that cater to various interests, and stock their micro kitchens with nutritious and portion-controlled meals. At Asana, you can take naps in between your workday in designated nap rooms. Accenture provides counsellor support for mental wellbeing and encourages employees to conquer health goals, with the promise of rewards. Offices integrated mindfulness through a variety of ways - providing employees access to meditation apps, organising group fitness programs such as Zumba and yoga classes, bringing in mindfulness experts to raise awareness and whatnot. These programs were not added as an afterthought, but planned meticulously, taking into consideration that employee wellbeing directly affected their productivity. 

Productivity of an employee directly affects the expected outcomes from the tasks that they perform. The more effective they are in managing their time and applying their skills, the better the outcome. Technology has been both an asset and a liability in affecting workplace productivity. A plethora of popular tools such as Teams, Google Workspace, Zapier and Slack are being used by companies to track workflows, organise resources, automate tasks, maintain work history and enable transparent communication. However, our smartphones are the number one cause for us being unproductive at work. A survey conducted by Statista shows that approximately 1 out of 2 smartphone users in the US spent 5 to 6 hours on the phone. More worrying is the fact that picking up the phone has become a deeply entrenched habit, with the average user picking up the phone within 3 minutes of keeping it aside. While these statistics may vary based on geography, occupation, age and so on, the global trend on phone usage and dependency has been increasing steadily over the years.

Are these numbers an indication of how we’re setting ourselves up for a dystopian future, where all of us are glued to our phones, hunched and unmindful of the real world around us?

Workplace Trends For 2024

To be mindful is to be present, and to be aware of our thoughts and actions in the present moment. Employers are equipping themselves to understand the impact of global events on people, the dynamic shifts in the idea of the workplace and the expectations of the employees themselves, the foremost being work-life balance. 

Here are some of the popular trends predicted for 2024 in addressing mindfulness at workplace:

1. Finance wellness programs to help employees plan for their future better.

2. Digital detox initiatives to help employees disconnect from the virtual world and engage meaningfully in the real world.

3. Holistic approach to wellbeing, integrating spiritual, mental, physical and social wellbeing through innovative programs and tech solutions.

4. Flexibility in work timings and/or hybrid work opportunities, as a way to provide work-life balance, and reduce commute stress.

5. Building mental resilience through workshops and learning opportunities, as a way to help employees adapt to a changing world, shaped by technological leaps (Remember that ChatGPT is only a year old) and adverse events.

Is There A Tool That You Can Use To Become Mindfully Productive?