The author has over 20 years of experience working in the Workplace Wellness and Injury Prevention industry, creating innovative and effective services and products for many Fortune 500 organizations. She and her associates have proven success in driving employee engagement without incentives, ultimately driving large scale health and safety risk improvements and risk reduction. Originally, injury and illness prevention industry standards provided training and education on hazards, common workplace injuries, and health promotion (OSHA 2012). However, the author and her team have discovered an additional concept and practice that effectively brings all of these learning points together: mindfulness.
Described by Time Magazine as the skill needed to survive the 21st century, mindfulness is more than just a buzzword (2016). It is a scientifically proven tool to change the way a person thinks, operates, and responds in situations. In addition to discussing how operating in mindlessness directly impacts health and safety, this paper explores how to incorporate mindfulness into everyday living. Lastly, the paper. In addition, it discusses how mindfulness was used to motivate and educate employees on the principles of worker readiness in an effort to support sustained achievement of injury free work performance.
Mindfulness is a practice that heightens our awareness, a tool that allows you to be responsive instead of reactive, and a method to help quiet constant brain chatter. Also known as staying in the present moment, mindfulness has applications at home, in relationships, and especially in the workplace. According to a recent study, employees that practice mindfulness are more productive, safe, and resilient, and have a more positive outlook on life than those who do not practice (Elder 2014). It can be utilized on a daily basis to impact nutrition, stress, injury prevention, and additional topics specific to a worker. Body mindfulness can also be applied to understanding how the body feels while performing tasks, promotes addressing body mechanics, and encourages proactive action on muscular skeletal disorders.
