1. A Mindful Workplace
Starts With You
Summit County Worksite Wellness Conference
September 13, 2012
Presented by:
Mayra J. Porrata, M.Ed.
Senior Associate, Round River Consulting, LLC
Founder & Managing Partner, Sunny Day Publishing, LLC
Lecturer, Kent State University, School of Health Sciences 1

2. Tips for this session: (aka: staying
awake during a mindfulness session
following lunch)
•Breathe deeply
•Relax
•Smile
•Generally be aware of how you feel ☺

3. Session Guarantees ☺ (objectives)
By the end of this session…
You will have been sitting here for 30-40 minutes ☺
You may have experienced any of the following:
delight, boredom, surprise, resistance, disbelief, extreme
sleepiness or excitement.
You may have a greater understanding of mindfulness,
mindfulness practices and how mindfulness may be
implemented and practiced in your workplace (and in your life).

4. A little about me…
Student and practitioner of mindfulness
(off and on ☺) since 1976
Former “corporate soldier”
Master’s Degree in Community Health
Education
A mother of 2 girls
A caregiver to a special-needs child
A perfectly flawed human being

5. A little about us all….
At our core…we all seek the same
things:
To understand ourselves/the world
To do meaningful work
To have relief from suffering
To love and to be loved

6. The case for a mindful workplace
Mindful people are usually pleasant
Mindful people experience less stress
Mindful people are less prone to injury
Emotional states are contagious (Fowler &
Christakis, 2008 )

7. The case for a mindful workplace
Mindfulness education is a SOLUTION:
To help reduce worksite stress
To help keep “healthy employees healthy”
To help employees with chronic health conditions cope
To maximize individual and organization potential!

8. “How you see yourself,
who you think you are, how you
see others,
what you think the meaning of life
is,
how you see death, belief, God,
darkness and beauty is all
determined
by the style of mind you have”.
John O’Donohue, Poet, Priest,
Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

9. Our “style of mind”
“MINDLESS” MIND
Lacking full awareness of our behavior(s)
Lacking creativity & spirit
Lacking love & compassion
Makes us prone to physical, emotional, social, mental
or spiritual injury
Without exception….we have all been “there”

10. Our “style of mind”
“MINDFULL” MIND
Fully aware
Responding vs. reacting
Open to creative and loving
solutions
Supportive of the entire individual
(physically, emotionally, mentally
and spiritually)

11. Mindfulness Defined
a dispositional characteristic
(a personal attribute/trait)
An outcome (a state of awareness
resulting from mindfulness training)
A practice (mindfulness meditation
practice itself)
Black,D.S. (2011).A brief definition of mindfulness. (Accessed from
http://www.mindfulexperience.org)

12. Mindfulness Defined
Utilizing all our senses simultaneously
Operating from our heart/soul/spirit/Higher
Self
“Heartfulness” (Fr. Keating)

13. Mindfulness Defined
Paying attention without judgment (Kabat-Zinn)
“Non-conceptual knowing” (Kabat-Zinn)
Self-regulation of attention
Other words that have been used to describe the
experience/process of mindfulness:
“Present” (Tolle)
“Aware” (Lisi)
“Conscious” (Dyer)
“Awake”(Williamson)

14. Criticisms and common complaints
about mindfulness
“It takes too long- I don’t have time be mindful!”
“It’s too spiritual”
“It’s not very “professional” or “scientific”
“It goes against my religion”
“It will “numb me out”
“I will have less fun in life”
“It will disconnect me from “real” life
“I will be more mindful when “things” calm down in my life” ☺

15. In reality….
The practice of mindfulness can help to create a
more engaged and productive work team.
Mindfulness could be a simple and inexpensive
addition (or foundation) to your worksite wellness
program.
Consistent mindful awareness leads to “clarity”:
a self-understanding that no longer produces
judgment of self or others (Brunson, Wading the
Stream of Awareness, P. 261)
15

16. We are all “wired” for mindfulness
We are more AWARE than we “think” we really are.
Although commonly ignored, our hearts and every
single cell in our body has “feeling” and “sensing”
abilities (we are feeling organisms!).
Mindfulness and heartfulness are under-utilized
human capacities.
16

17. Research note:
“Mindfulness may be important in disengaging
individuals from automatic thoughts, habits, and
unhealthy behavior patterns and thus could play
a key role in fostering informed and self-
endorsed behavioral regulation, which has long
been associated with well-being enhancement”
(Ryan & Deci, 2000)
17

18. Mindfulness Activity ☺
http://www.donothingfor2minutes.com/

19. September 19, 2012 Sample footer 19

20. “The 21st Century belongs to
The
the Aware, Focused, & Loving
Leader”
Jeff Brunson, Leadership Coach
Wading the Stream of Awareness

21. Typical workplace “awareness”
Focused on the actions/behaviors of others
Focused on protecting our ego/position
Focused on “fairness” and favoritism
The Mindful Workplace
Mindful of our own actions and behaviors
Mindful of our own thoughts and ideas
Mindful of our own emotions

22. “Emotions are a more evolved
way of thinking”
Marvin Minsky, Artificial Intelligence Pioneer
TED Presentation: Health and the Human Mind

23. Using emotions to understand
employee needs and states of “being”
When people “behave badly”…..or “agreeably” it is merely a
physical manifestation of an emotional state.
When people do things that “feel good” to them, they are
happy, more creative, healthier and more productive.
When people do things that “don’t feel good” to them, this
feeling is stressful to the body. (“Stress is a risk factor for
many conditions—long-term stress impacts our bodies” Jon
Kabat-Zinn)
23

24. Negative Emotion Related Related Positive
Emotion(s) Emotion(s) Emotion
fear anger, caring, love
hate, compassion,
disconnection, connection,
competition collaboration
Awareness, Presence, Mindfulness
resentment annoyance, appreciation, gratitude
frustration, grace,
irritability peace
grief sorrow, bliss, Joy
sadness, satisfaction,
depression pleasure
(Non-duality)
boredom disinterest, eager, passion
weariness, motivated,
heaviness creative
worry aversion, attraction, excitement
motionless desire
apathy indifference, delight, enthusiasm
unhappy happiness
despair anguish, aspiration, hope
desperation anticipation
jealousy intolerant, comfort, pride satisfaction
anxious, pride contentment
uncertainty danger, safety, security
mistrust trust
Porrata-Pirri Emotional Awareness Chart ©2012

25. 25

26. Promoting a culture of mindfulness
and wellness
Always begins by example and with leadership/
management support.
It will still be “work”, but a more compassionate
workplace.
Compassion? – What does that have to do with
work?– It is a pathway to our shared humanity.
A gentle call to all leaders and managers: Working to
create a supportive and compassionate workplace can
help reduce employee stress and chronic illness.

27. “To effectively reenergize their workforces,
organizations need to shift their emphasis from
getting more out of people to investing more in
them, so they are motivated—and able—to bring
more of themselves to work every day. To
recharge themselves, individuals need to
recognize the costs of energy-depleting
behaviors and then take responsibility for
changing them, regardless of the
circumstances they’re facing.”
Tony Schwartz, Human Performance Expert
The Energy Project 27

28. Mindfulness strategies for your
workplace
Encourage employees and co-workers to reflect
on how they “feel”
IMPORTANT NOTE: We are ALL (EACH)
responsible for our feelings ☺. It is not your job
to “fix”, counsel or in any way “change” how
someone feels. You may feel “resistance”– that is
“ok” ☺….feel that resistance for yourself– allow
yourself to be “ok” with that tension.

29. Mindfulness strategies for your
workplace
Team deep breathing (let’s try it now!) ☺
Doing “nothing together” for 2-3 minutes and
allowing everyone an opportunity to express
what they most noticed or appreciated.

30. Mindfulness strategies for your
workplace
Gratitude practices – (what we appreciate
grows- what do you want to grow?)
Consistently express your gratitude for
employees
Invite employees to share a weekly or monthly
gratitude list during staff meeting.

31. Mindfulness strategies for your
workplace
Mindful food/eating practices
For your next staff meeting, bring/order food items
that are healthy and nutritious
Initiate or volunteer at a local community garden

32. Mindfulness strategies for your
workplace
Mindful movement/exercise
Invite employees/co-workers to take a walk
during lunch
Remind employees to stretch their muscles and
breathe deeply throughout the day

33. Mindfulness strategies for your
workplace
Laugh together ☺

34. Mindfulness strategies for your
workplace (policy level)
Unlimited vacation policy
Work “on anything” for a month
Incentivize worksite mindfulness practices and
initiatives along with other health promotion
incentives like smoking cessation, weight loss
and increased physical activity.

35. In Closing….
If improving employee health is a priority:
Mindfulness practices will bring “coherence” to
your worksite.
Mindfulness will help reduce stress in your
worksite.
Mindfulness will open up new pathways for
creativity and production.

36. A Mindful Workplace
Starts With You
Comments? Questions?
Thank You ☺
Copies of this presentation will be made available
following the conference-- OR
Contact me directly at:
mporrata@roundriverconsulting.com