Integrating Well-Being Into Return-to-Office Policies

In a bustling workplace, getting distracted and overwhelmed is easy, especially when transitioning between working from home and shifting to on-site work. This sudden shift often affects employees’ well-being, productivity, and work output.

Business owners must observe policies that also prioritize the mindfulness and well-being of their employees, as this plays a significant role in employee performance and retention.

But what exactly is mindfulness, and how does this play a role in the well-being of employees?

In this article, let’s discuss mindfulness and well-being, their role in the workplace, how they affect employees’ performance, and what steps you can take to integrate them into return-to-work policies.

What is mindfulness?

The American Psychological Association defines mindfulness as the ‘awareness of one’s internal states and surroundings.’ Simply put, it’s being purposely aware and present of your current emotions and thoughts without prejudice, judgment, gentleness, and kindness.

In our daily lives, examples of how we practice mindfulness are by:

1. Enjoying every mouthful of what we eat.
2. Waking up with a calm mind and a sense of purpose.
3. Allowing yourself to pause and rewire your brain whenever necessary within the day.
4. Working out that allows you to relax and become less distracted.
5. Doing simple meditation.

Harvard Health describes mindfulness as calming the mind and body, helping people become less distracted, managing stress, and improving focus and memory.

Importance of mindfulness and well-being in the workplace

When the world came to a standstill and everyone worked from home, practicing mindfulness still wasn’t easy, especially with the lack of division between your workspace and your bedroom and the distractions all around. Come 2024, and return-to-work was implemented, practicing mindfulness is still, and even more, a challenge to employees.

Mindfulness in the workplace is a psychological state in which an employee is aware and present of their workplace surroundings, taking in information but not mindlessly reacting to it. This helps them manage their emotions, stress, and well-being despite being in a demanding role.

8 Tips for integrating well-being in return-to-office policies

Employee mindfulness shouldn’t just be a preach or a concept for businesses prioritizing employee well-being. For business owners, mindfulness, health, and wellness programs should be integrated as return-to-work policies through the following:

1. Give time for well-being in the morning

Studies discussed in Harvard Business Review (2022) explore the impact of mindful meditation before work, such as breath-based meditation and loving-kindness meditation, on helping employees become more attentive and helpful to coworkers and customers, especially for those with emotionally charged social interactions. Similarly, research has shown that prayer can have comparable benefits to meditation in the workplace, with studies by the Association for Psychological Science (2020) suggesting even greater positive effects.

Mindful meditation and prayer, even for 10 minutes a day, allow your employees to ground themselves before work in preparation for a job requiring a lot of sensory stimulation, especially in a return-to-work setting. Both practices can calm the nervous system, shutting down the fight-or-flight response and making employees less reactive to negative emotions and less angry. This can be particularly beneficial in managing workplace stress and improving interpersonal relationships.

Provide employees with a quiet space where they can meditate or pray, preferably an open mini garden area or a quiet conference hall they can use. This dedicated space can serve as a sanctuary for both secular and spiritual practices, accommodating diverse employee needs. Research has shown that spiritual practices, such as prayer, can lead to greater decreases in anxiety and stress, more positive mood, and even increased pain tolerance compared to secular meditation.

Moreover, scholarly studies show that incorporating prayer in the workplace has been associated with increased employee morale, productivity, and decreased turnover. It can also foster a sense of connection and reduce feelings of isolation, which can be particularly valuable in today’s often stressful work environments. By providing time and space for both meditation and prayer, employers can support their employees’ emotional well-being, potentially leading to improved job satisfaction and overall workplace harmony.

2. Encourage a clutter-free office and workspace

Dr. Mo Ziaei, Cornea & Vision Correction Specialist at Re:Vision, says,

“Our overall well-being is a culmination of all internal and external factors we see, hear, and feel daily. Employees spend 80 percent of their time in their desk space and in the office, and the more messy the environment is—so are our thoughts and focus.”

Workspaces are high-stress environments, so it is very important to keep them clean and clutter-free by encouraging and implementing clutter-free policies like:

1. Reducing the use of paper or going digital
2. Making use of scratch papers rather than new ones
3. Invest in good-quality storage solutions
4. Implementing a clean desk policy
5. Implement regular cleaning schedules

3. Provide fitness program perks or vouchers

It’s easy to become insufficiently active, especially with return-to-work arrangements back in a place where factors like commute, social gatherings, and overtime work make physical health and regular physical activity the least of an employee’s priorities.

Sufficient exercise helps not only one’s physical health but also mental health, as it helps you gain focus and reduce stress by channeling your energy into physical work rather than drowning in mental distress. For employees to be productive and healthy, business owners should encourage sufficient physical activity, including:

1. Providing gym membership vouchers
2. Provide free access to marathons or fun runs
3. Provide maps of nearby walking routes they can do during lunch break
4. Do walk-and-talk meetings
5. Conduct post-work physical activity programs like group Zumba, dance, or spin classes.

4. Provide healthy food and drink options

An integral part of improving employee well-being is encouraging them to consume a healthy and balanced diet that can make them physically and mentally healthy. Nutrient-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein, and healthy fats give the body the nutrients and energy to function productively throughout the day.

Business owners can offer a healthy snack corner for onsite or hybrid-work employees or provide company-branded water bottles for remote workers, which will help promote brand loyalty and emphasize the importance of adequate water intake.

5. Provide effective onboarding programs

Murtaza Oklu, Owner of OMO Transfer, says, “With return-to-work policies in place, business owners may encounter new faces in the workplace. As much as you are excited to welcome them into the team, these fresh faces may have some reservations about an entirely new environment—this is where effective onboarding comes into play.”

Effective onboarding programs help new employees acclimate to their new work environment, connect, and feel welcomed sooner. This improves their well-being by giving them a sense of belonging and support, such as providing them with new hire roadmaps, involving them in team-building activities, or assigning them an onboarding buddy.

Rodger Desai, CEO of Prove, says, “Effective onboarding programs should not start and stop at introducing new hires to their role, their responsibilities, and the team. These programs should be tailored so that your new hires become effective contributors to the job and the organization, increasing their confidence and helping them become more productive.”

6. Offer flexible working arrangements

Despite return-to-work arrangements, business owners who can afford them can still offer flexible working arrangements or hybrid arrangements for their employees. A Stanford report shows studies showing that hybrid work arrangements have zero negative impact on employees’ productivity and are less likely to quit compared to those with full on-site work arrangements.

Matthew Channell, Owner of TSW Training, says, “Flexible working arrangements and policies help employees improve their work-life balance, allowing them to allocate more hours to work rather than getting stuck in a commute. Employees with work-from-home schedules can also have more opportunities to manage their errands, get sun and exercise, and enjoy home-cooked meals—contributing to their overall well-being.”

7. Conduct regular health screenings

Prioritizing employee well-being should not start when the problem begins. You should not wait for your employees to get sick or unproductive before providing them with wellness or health programs, which can be more costly for the business.

Conrad Wang, Managing Director at EnableU, says, “An important policy for return to work is to have employees get at least one regular health screening per year. Engaging in preventive measures, like ensuring your employees are healthy, will not only lessen the cost for the business by detecting and preventing diseases early on but will also improve their overall well-being by making them feel that their health is also given importance and priority in the workplace.”

Employees who feel that their employers also value their personal lives and matters become less likely to leave and become more loyal and productive at work.

8. Encourage single-tasking instead of multitasking

‘Are you able to multitask?’ is a common question employers ask during job interviews, but recent studies have shown that multitasking negatively impacts employees’ focus and stress levels.

Humans are not computers. Ultimately, we can multitask—like drinking our morning coffee while taking a call and answering an email—but it eventually wears down our productivity and focus and makes us prone to mistakes.

In this regard, employers should advocate single-tasking instead of multitasking. By embodying mindful attention or directing your attention to one task at a time instead of multiple tasks simultaneously,  you can avoid distractions, do your tasks quicker, and finish more tasks in a day rather than juggling them all at once.

Benefits of well-being in return-to-office policies

Integrating mindfulness and prioritizing employee well-being is more than just shallow, feel-good programs to incentivize employees. More than anything else, incorporating mindfulness and well-being policies in the workplace can:

• Increase focus and productivity. Mindfulness and improved overall well-being help employees be in their best physical and mental state, allowing them to give undivided attention to work, and resulting in increased overall productivity.
• Stress reduction or resilience. Stressors are unavoidable at work; however, by practicing mindfulness, employees can find calm in the storm and face problems with a calm mind.
• Better decision-making. Employees who practice mindfulness also become great decision-makers as they navigate each problem and work with clarity and awareness, avoiding impulsive thoughts and decisions.
• Greater job satisfaction. Mindfulness and great well-being help manage employees’ physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion, thereby reducing or recovering from burnout and feeling greater job satisfaction than your colleagues.
• Better communication with colleagues and customers. Mindful communication helps employees become aware of their present thoughts and feelings, avoid blurting thoughts and words that may ignite problems with colleagues or customers despite heated discussions, and simply allow an avenue for effective and productive conversations. Additionally, mindful communication promotes two-way communication, where both parties actively listen and converse.

Kathryn MacDonell, CEO at Trilby Misso Lawyers, says, “The negative impact of miscommunication can be devastating and costly, be it peer-to-peer or employee-to-customer. Poor communication can lead to serious liabilities, lawsuits, and malpractices for business owners.” She adds, “Practicing mindful communication helps avoid these issues by being an active listener, being open and nonjudgmental, and the ability to listen and talk without jumping to conclusions and letting your emotions get ahead of you.”

Wrapping up

In this day and age, when remote work is quickly transitioning to onsite return-to-work arrangements, it is inevitable for employees to become stressed, agitated, and distracted, leading to unproductivity in the workplace. Because of this, business owners should ‘walk the talk’ and seriously implement effective mindfulness and well-being policies in the workplace.

These policies, including simple clutter-free programs and extensive regular health assessments, will improve employees’ overall well-being and help them feel appreciated and valued, creating a stronger sense of loyalty and appreciation for the business.