Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in the Workplace

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Introduction

Work stress refers to the side effects or harmful experiences that an individual encounters when the occupational needs of the job cannot be met. The client does not have the abilities, resources or requirements of the work. This literature review illustrates the plight of the mindfulness-based stress reduction process as viewed by Industrial and Organization psychology. These problems can either be psychological, behavioral or physical. What are the methods used to do the study? What are the findings? What are the weaknesses and how can they be improved?

The review further evaluates the understanding of the psychologists by asking these questions. What are the relations between these methodologies? In which way do they contradict? What are the weakness of the study and how can it be improved.

Industrial and organizational psychology (I/O) plans organizations to increase productivity and improve living standards. I/O psychologists try to resolve problems at the workplace through scientific knowledge. Work needs to be satisfying and improve the quality of life.

Stress Reduction and Attention Control

According to I/O psychologist work is done to obtain productivity and to improve the quality of life of the clients (Astin, J. 1997). They believe that any dissatisfaction that occurs in the workplace is either a problem or stress. Individuals need to be monitored closely and the organizational structure understood well.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) was started at the University of Massachusetts. It was concerned with mindfulness training on meditation and yoga. The program encourages the workers to avoid conceptualized destructive thoughts. This makes it superior to other meditations health benefits. Behavior can under certain circumstances undermine health either physically, emotionally or spiritually. Recruitment was used as a method where the IQ of the workers was tested. This however excluded those whose IQ was below 80 in the study. Samples used in the study always give wrong information. Workers were also given an opportunity to report their own views using questionnaires. This can always lead to unjust answers on focus and job satisfaction. MBSR encourages workers to maintain their work position despite the prevailing conditions is a threat. Some workplaces are pathetic and deprive the workers of their rights. The working conditions should be improved so as to provide a quality work atmosphere for the workers. Whereas other avenues would advocate for change in the workplace to reduce stress, MBSR encourages individuals to maintain their position of work irrespective of the conditions encountered.

Use of cognitive therapy

Workers can reduce anxiety by recognizing the causes of stress and anxiety. These effects are born in the mind of workers (Astin, J. 1997). The medical school used both learning and practice techniques. Individuals should grow in their emotional reasoning. The grouping used included the control and treatment groups. Emotional health improved in the treatment group whereas realized systolic reduction. In Harry and Mark’s work, they use mind-reading, control of fallacies, overgeneralization, personalization and filtering methods to understand the effects of emotion in stress resolution. However, these methods have gaps and allow the worker to assume responsibility as a way of stress reduction. As result, the workers tend to focus on sounds and images. This in return promotes an organized and integrated perspective at the workplace so as to maintain control and unity among themselves.

Use relaxation and meditation

Meditation and relaxation proposed reflective, reactive and adoption of maladaptive strategies to reduce stress (Stein, F. 2001). The qualitative method encouraged participation and openness. However, this can result in laziness and lead to sleeping on the job. Time for relaxation should be specified and slotted in the duty plan.

Use of feedback loops

Stress can also be reduced by focusing on mindfulness and attention control. The individuals are expected to develop sustained attention and extensive processing ability. Workers should have their own personal ways of reducing stress. Some of the ways suggested by the MBSR program include procrastination which can also be called bad faith, behavior or fear of failure or lack of reward. When such conditions occur, then anxiety mostly arises. The client is therefore expected to have regulatory measures which can help him maintain stress and at the same time be able to adapt to the changes.

The model has the capacity to attend to the changes taking place within the organization. When attention is accorded to the goal objectives of the organization then the workers are able to eliminate self-regulatory failures and any other subsequent anxiety.

Use of transcendent attention

Yoga’s Transcendent Meditation proposes systematic research methods to bring spiritual indication of health happiness, wisdom, success and fulfillment in the workplace. Workers can reduce stress by being focused beyond the prevailing organizational situations. The main focus is not on negative emotions or guilt. Workers can also use delayed gratification to effectively manage stress within the workplace.

Use of monkey mind and personal experience

According to I/O psychologists, stress can be reduced when a worker focuses on the existing experiences. They suggest that the more mindful an individual is, the less procrastination occurs. Research conducted on the correlation between mindfulness measures and procrastination appreciated self-control as the best means of managing stress and anxiety.

Develop measures that are not harmful

Workers can develop strategies that they can use as tools for interviews. This means that their effort should be in work and not making good stressors. For an effective assessment scheme to be attained, workers should avoid negative results at the workplace. Any decline in control measures should be encountered with a re-evaluation of the structures which can then be organized to promote change.

Replacing stress with humor

Humorous persons are good and simple to work with. A working environment should encourage fun and be enjoyable both to the workers and the employer. A control measure should be developed so as to avoid inappropriate humor or offenses in the workplace. Humor adoption in mindful and stress reduction motivates the workers and eliminates stress.

Personal coping strategies

The workplace should encourage functional mechanisms among the members. Once in a while, the employer can improve the nutritional diet of employees. This can be done by a nutritionist to conduct training to the workers on the best diet. Similarly, light work and exercise should be provided during breaks to ensure fitness in the staff. At the same time, the employer can incorporate counseling sessions based on mindfulness stress reduction.

Adopt changes that provide healthy work schedules

Potential duties satisfy the employees and reduce stress just in the same way dissatisfying schedule results in negative health consequences. An organization should not force workers to do overtime jobs but give them the right to choose so that their family relationships are not affected. In circumstances where individuals work in shifts, MBSR suggests a forward rotating shift to be the better option in managing stress. Workers should have the opportunity to be in both day and night schedules.

Job security and promotion can also help reduce stress at work

Occupation can be managed when there is job security. In most cases, workers do not want to participate in changes due to the fear of losing their jobs. The changes should be compatible with the intended effort to improve the working environment. Workers are allowed an opportunity to better their careers and have increased responsibility. This research only focused on job security leaving an important aspect of specialization which can cause pride at work and stress to the junior.

Have a healthy level of management

Subordinates attain their optimum productivity if each operates at a manageable standard. Working for too long or at a high pace gives shoddy results and poor health. Strategies such as breaks reduced overtime and having monitoring comity can help reduce stress (Zinn, K. 1985). However, this is not true in all circumstances. Psychologists should know that more challenging work leads to a good experience.

Incorporation of technology in the workplace

Technology can be disastrous when the work is poorly designed. It requires good knowledge to provide tremendous work. Every department should have an expert. The members of staff should also be involved in the acquisition of new equipment. It is essential because they are the end-users of the equipment. Through this, goals and satisfaction are attained.

The organization should allow mutual social support

Such measures comprise supervision and co-working support. Workers need to be trained in proactive monitoring. Stress is reduced when one receives positive feedback on the activity done. This stimulates the growth of the organization in line with proper communication. Through a strong level of support in the workplace, various conflict resolution measures are obtained

Employees should be allowed to take part in control and participation

Participation ability of the workers should be increased through frequent meetings at the same time autonomy helps in checking the performance level within the organization. In the study of mind-body medicine, the relationship between self-care techniques and how they affect human behavior are addressed. The course imparts personal and professional lives to learners.

Feedback is seen as a motivator to keep society on pace. The course also agrees with the MBSR studies. It equips the learners with emotional and mental satisfaction thus helping them reduce stress (Marc, B. John, C. and Suzanne, C.2008). This made most students focus on staying more in the present than in the present before taking the course.

Conclusion

It should be noted that stress is an attitude that is conceived in an individual’s mind. Postponement of duty can not resolve problems as experiments suggest. Work should rather be planned and cleared depending non the urgency. Giving employees a chance to control and participate in autonomic decision-making can result in general company failure. To improve this method, workers’ views should be addressed and only sensitive issues are adopted. Social mutual support encourages close interaction whereas technology advocates for a fast and stress-free workplace. Job security resolves stress by giving assurance in the job whereas healthy management encourages productivity. Humor is a tool that workers use to forget bulk responsibility. However, stress managing strategies allow workers to get the satisfaction of their work.

Work cited

Astin, J. (1997). Stress reduction through mindfulness meditation. Washington, USA: American Psychological Association.

Marc, B. John, C. and Suzanne, C. (2008). Mind-body medicine and the art of self-care: Teaching mindfulness to counseling students through yoga, meditation, and qigong: (Report). Journal of Counseling and Development.

Stein, F. (2001). Occupational Stress, Relaxation Therapies, Exercise and Biofeedback. USA: IOS Press.

Zinn, K. (1985). The Clinical use of Mindfulness Meditation for Self-regulation. New York, USA: Consumer Reports Books.

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