Mindful practices that can lead to greater job satisfaction

Many people tend to think that achieving job satisfaction is as simple as good pay and enjoyable work. The work of Siegal and Lance (1987), however, defines this all-important element as an ‘emotional response defining the degree to which people like their job’.

People have various expectations when it comes to their work. Especially in today’s world, workers are hungry for growth, opportunities, and invigorating challenges. A workplace that cannot provide these to them will not give them the job satisfaction they crave.

Finding your work meaningful can lead to increased motivation, engagement, empowerment, career development, job satisfaction, enhanced individual performance, and personal development. It also leads to lower levels of absenteeism and stress. When you’re not actively motivated, engaged, and content with your work, a massive portion of your time spent in the workplace becomes unsatisfactory, leaving you unfulfilled.

An extended period spent feeling dissatisfied by your work can lead to frustration, anger, and even depression. Job satisfaction is a personal measurement or outcome for all employees, so there’s a lot an individual can do to improve their job satisfaction.

A new employee joined us recently and was immediately overwhelmed by the stress of a job he was relatively new to. He worked long hours and found navigating WFH during the pandemic very stressful.

Given that we were all working from home, it took us a while to realise he was struggling. When we did, I hopped on a call with him to figure out the best way to balance his work at that point in time.

“I just feel like there’s so much going on. I feel guilty if my meals run too long or I take breaks in the middle of work,” he told me.

I immediately reassured him and let him know that as important as our work is to us, being mindful and conscious about our mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing is more so - you can’t give your 100% if you don’t have much to give. I reminded him: “If you’re stressed out and aren’t making an effort to find satisfaction in the work you do that’s definitely a concern for us.”

This is the perfect example of how everything else can be perfect (pandemic aside) - pay/remuneration, supportive colleagues, and other “work perks” - but if you’re not comfortable with the work you’re doing, you’re not going to enjoy any job satisfaction.

Here are a few ways mindful practices can make a major difference to your workplace.

How mindful breaks boost job satisfaction

Taking breaks during the workday may seem like a waste of time or a dent in your productivity, but this perception is a complete contradiction to reality.

Taking brief, mindful breaks throughout the day, whether this means simply looking up from your screen or just catching your breath in between tasks, is a healthy practice that can completely transform how you perceive and approach your work and drive job satisfaction.

When you take mindful breaks, you make it easier to concentrate on each task, improve your focus, and produce high-quality work. It also helps you relax.

When your work is constantly draining and pushing you to exhaustion, one of the most basic elements of job satisfaction is not fulfilled. Based on my experience, small breaks make a big difference to job satisfaction.

Avoid multitasking

Mindfulness requires you to be mentally present, every moment of the day and attuned to your physical environment and state of emotions. This sharpens your focus and improves the quality of your work and your own wellbeing.  

When you have a clearer understanding of how your emotions, reactions, and workplace habits are affecting you and influencing your performance, you will have a much better handle on altering these aspects to improve yourself.

When you cease multitasking and concentrate on one task at a time, you can avoid feeling overwhelmed. You can also look towards taking on new challenges and opportunities when you have more confidence in your abilities, helping you enhance your job satisfaction.

How Awakened Mind helps you enjoy improved job satisfaction

Navigating the dynamics and complexity of the workplace can be daunting. 

Self-awareness and personal growth that are powered by mindfulness can help you become the best possible version of yourself, both inside and outside the workplace.

Awakened Mind is a mindfulness platform that has all the tools and resources you need to develop mindful practices in your everyday life. Our features help you develop guided meditation practices, creative thinking, healthier relationships, resilience, self-development, stress management, workload management, and improved wellbeing.

Awakened Mind is a one-stop solution to corporate mindfulness. Boost job satisfaction and improve your corporate culture with Awakened Mind today!