Mindful workplace

Articles and discussions on mindful practices in the workplace.

Are you a confident person?

Are you a confident person?

A lot of people ‘fake’ being confident but sometimes their language can give them away.  An interesting article by Bernard Marr highlighting the language of less confident people.  It has received a lot of interest.

10 Phrases truly confident people don’t use by Bernard Marr

While I agree with Bernard Marr, I have also noticed that people who are very direct sometimes use this style of language to try to soften their messages. What have you found? read more

By Alison Wem, ago

Google HQ, London

Googlers new London home: designed for their well-being

Many of you will have seen the reports this week on the plans submitted by Google for their new HQ in Kings Cross, London.  Known for being an innovative and forward-looking company, according to the plans Google has designed in recreational space to;

“ensure the health and wellbeing of staff and foster the innovation and creativity that defines the company”

Google recognizes that the formal desk is not always the place where someone has their most inspirational thoughts.  Often these occur when the conscious brain is sufficiently engaged with activities such as running, walking amongst trees, swimming, enjoying an amazing view that your thoughts from your sub-conscious brain can be heard. read more

By Alison Wem, ago

Women: do they make good coaches?

When I started my career in IT, I was often the only woman on the team.  What I observed was that men operated differently and I had to learn to adapt to a new set of team social rules.  In my experience men are;

  • much more direct
  • may even shout at you when irritated
  • not hold a grudge afterwards.

Having a mentor to help with this learning became an imperative for me and was enormously beneficial.

If like me you are in the second half of your career, you may have ruminated on how you operate in the workplace.  Meeting up with a former manager from my youth, he reminded me how when I first worked for him I did not speak up in a group situation, even when he knew I had some good ideas.  This is not an uncommon trait in a woman at work. read more

By Alison Wem, ago

Mindfulness at work

Finding your Inner You

Many of us have two halves to our lives – work and home.  In your home life you can easily choose to experience more mindfulness and being present in your life.  We can also practice meditation, yoga, reiki which are all good for your body and soul.  The question is;

“How can you bring mindfulness into your hectic business day where your schedule is often not your own?”

This series of articles aims to give you some ideas, hints and tips to be used in your work life.  The first is; read more

By Alison Wem, ago

Unilever Wellbeing Zones

Gone are the days when resting on the job was considered lazy and unproductive. Recent Psychological and scientific studies say sleep health leads to greater employee innovation, productivity, job satisfaction and quality of life.

Well done Unilever for launching a Wellbeing Zone at your corporate offices – a space for mindfulness, meditation, rest, and recovery. Read more in the article below.

https://journal.thriveglobal.com/the-importance-of-rest-for-sustained-high-performance-37addbe1883f#.bm7pr1cfk read more

By Alison Wem, ago