Do you wake up and really relish the idea of going to work? After university, I took on an advertising sales position in the heart of London; it promised lucrative incentives for self-motivated graduates. The reality was somewhat different: cold calling and wildly exaggerating the truth were daily tasks. Thankfully I managed to escape from this soul-destroying job within a few months. Many aren’t so lucky and end up staying in jobs they don’t like, for far too long. Statistics show that we are killing our bodies and poisoning our minds in an attempt to climb up the career ladder and boost our bank balances.
According to the World Health Organization, the cost of stress to American companies is as high as $300 billion. One of my friends is losing her hair due to the pressure of meeting targets while another has developed sciatica (an intense pain in her lower spine) due to hunching over a keyboard all day long. How your job makes you feel, on a physical and an emotional level, is far more important than what you do or what you earn. Reports say that we spend around 99,000 hours of our lives working. So on average, a person slogs away, non-stop for around 11 years. As humans, we should be working to live, not living to work.
The Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh, believes that the corporate world needs to undergo a fundamental shift in consciousness and recognise the importance of integrating a spiritual dimension to business. “You have to consider your idea of happiness,” he says. “You think it is possible only if you win, if you are on the top, but it is not necessarily like that, because even if you are successful in making more money, you still suffer. Our society needs a collective awakening in order to save ourselves from the crisis we are in.”
Thankfully not all corporations are self-esteem zapping environments that turn us into corporate corpses. Many are realizing the multiple benefits of being mindful at work. For instance, Google offers lunchtime meditation programmes for its employees and as a result, they have a much happier work force.
EIGHT WAYS TO BE MORE ZEN AT WORK:
1. Humans are not designed to eat food in front of a computer screen. It’s a demoralizing habit that has zero benefits. Stop it today!
2. Drink as much water as possible throughout the day – we should be aiming for three litres per day. Research shows that a hydrated body keeps the mind more alert.
3. Take short breaks and stretch your body throughout the day to enhance concentration and energy levels. Doing shoulder and neck rotations are instant de-stressors.
4. We often send emails to colleagues sitting only a few feet away. Why not get up and stretch your legs and go and speak to them instead? Positive human interaction lowers stress levels.
5. Clear out your inbox. Delete old emails and organize everything in folders. De-cluttering your desktop feels incredibly liberating.
6. Book yourself a weekly Thai massage. This is perhaps one of the best things I did when I was working as an editor with weekly deadlines. It’s super de-stressing and strengthens your immune system.
7. It’s foolish to define yourself by your job title. Learn to develop a healthy detachment from your work. After all, you’re a multi-talented human being not a robotic cash cow serving the rat race. Personal growth should be a priority not an after thought. Make time to really relax.
8. If you’re really unhappy at work, do something about it. Fear is what keeps people in abysmal jobs and flat-lining careers. Self-belief, and an action plan, will help you escape from this depressing rut. Sometimes it’s worth just hurling yourself out of the fire and trusting the Universe to catch you. Don’t ever settle for a lifetime of misery or drudgery.
Go for your dreams!
Love,
