Mindfulness Team Building Activities For Work
When mindfulness comes up, most people picture a yogi sitting peacefully, meditating but mindfulness is much more than that. In this article we look at how you can bring mindfulness to the workplace.
When mindfulness comes up, most people picture a yogi sitting peacefully, meditating. Though yogis are undoubtedly a part of the mindfulness movement, mindfulness is much more than that.
A research published in Frontiers Media found that mindfulness training improves wellbeing, lessens perceived stress, and reduces burnout in the workplace. The research also demonstrated improved individual, team, and organizational performance, highlighting the significance of employee mindfulness for a business.
Mindfulness, in general, has two components:
- Bringing attention to the present moment with purpose
- Being receptive to new experiences without bias
Most of us undoubtedly encounter the opposite more often at work. We get engrossed in our everyday responsibilities, doing them in a rut, and fretting about the next projects before they are even necessary.
How is Mindfulness Related To Team Building?
A recent study indicates that a team can develop mindfulness as a whole. This implies that team mindfulness is a common understanding of how a group works and addresses new challenges.
Too often, we see teams operating without purpose or direction because members find it easy to get distracted. Tasks are not completed effectively because individuals or teams are unevenly tasked. As a result, conflict develops and group members start to become critical and defensive.
By engaging in mindfulness, the same team could operate more like this: team members remain focused, and meetings are about analyzing facts and ideas rather than evaluating them. Positive team dynamics emerge, supporting the way coworkers relate to one another. Team awareness develops as members observe and implement these patterns.
Do Group Meditation
Yes, meditation is the OG mindfulness practice, and there’s a solid reason why countless millennials and Gen Z have continued to practice it. Numerous advantages of meditation include lowered stress levels, more self-awareness, longer attention spans, and more. Your team members will be able to concentrate and be present more effectively thanks to all of these variables.
One way to include meditation in your team-building practices is to:
- Sign up your team for live meditation sessions with Teamland.
- Invest in a team strategy using applications for mental wellness like Calm or Headspace.
- Try a well-being app like Thrive or have a group practice guided meditations on YouTube.
Hold A Gratitude Session (In-Person Or Online)
Developing an appreciation for both the big and small pleasures in life is a terrific way to practice gratitude. Recognizing and appreciating the things you notice in your environment and yourself is the first step toward cultivating gratitude.
Get everyone together and have them do a body scan as a team-building activity. As a group, ask everyone to identify something for which they are thankful, such as a ray of sunlight on their skin. Something in the kitchen, maybe, like the aroma of food?
Declutter Your Office (In-Person or Online)
Distractions are the biggest obstacle to being mindful. A messy office setup is an apparent source of distraction in the workplace. Allocate some time to organize the shared spaces and workstations. For long-lasting decluttering, you can additionally buy some useful office organizers in advance.
If you work in a remote team, organize a virtual meeting using a conferencing tool and declutter your individual workspaces together.
Play Ups & Downs (Online)
Your team might be lacking in drive and purpose if they have trouble focusing on their work. Poor cooperation results from low involvement, and because many individuals aren’t there, a lot of effort and discussions need to be repeated.
Ups & Downs is a trivia-style game that helps your teams discover more about the things that inspire each other. Finding out what motivates your teammates might help your group stay focused and in sync.
Final Thoughts
Schedule a meeting to review previous problems your team has faced, how you solved them, and what lessons you all took away from the experience.
A team-building activity like this will encourage your group to see obstacles as chances and tackle complex tasks with more transparency in the future.