In 2021, effective leadership requires managing a complex web of responsibilities, relationships, and expectations to help an organization adapt and thrive. People leaders have been called upon to help businesses navigate the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the workforce, the transition to in-office, fully remote work structures, or somewhere in between, and the expansion of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, to name just a few, are of their many obligations.

Juggling all of these roles at once can lead to stress and burnout. However, cultivating mental wellness and practicing mindfulness, both within your role and outside the workplace, can help mitigate the effects of work-related stress. To help leaders build their mindfulness skills, we invited Andy Lee, Head of Mindfulness at Wellness Coach, to lead a webinar series with Newfront.

The first webinar in this series focused on managing and the second webinar, which we hosted just last week, centered on managing distractions and training our focus.

Andy described focus as concentrated attention on a specific thought, idea, or activity – or “keeping your attention in one place.” This mental faculty is necessary for organizing our thoughts, completing tasks, forming and nurturing relationships, and navigating challenges throughout the day. The mind naturally wanders, shifting attention from one object to the next, and research suggests we spend nearly 50% of our day thinking about one thing while doing another. This distraction can cause us to be less happy and feel more disconnected than when we focus our attention on the task at hand.

Furthermore, “multitasking,” or trying to accomplish two tasks at once, is not possible for most work-related tasks and can even result in a 40% drop in productivity. In fact, we are never truly multitasking, but switching quickly between the two tasks, which is less effective and more mentally draining than completing the two tasks consecutively. Instead of multitasking, monotasking – or focusing on a singular task for a fixed amount of time – can actually increase focus and productivity.

A simple definition of mindfulness is paying attention to your present moment experience with an attitude of openness and curiosity. This practice is about bringing together all of our scattered mental energy and refocusing it on the present moment or task at hand and cultivating a judgment- and expectation-free approach to our everyday experience.

Meditation is the exercise that strengthens your capacity to be mindful throughout the day. If we think of our mind as a muscle, mediation is the workout that strengthens our ability to focus and be present in our experiences. Practicing meditation can help develop the skills necessary to be consistently mindful, which can reduce the stress caused by the distracted, overwhelmed mind.

Watch a replay of the webinar below to experience the meditation practice that Andy led the participants through during the session.

At Newfront, we take stress management and mental wellness seriously, and we’ve written extensively on employee wellness. Check out our tips for reducing stress in our recent blog post for Stress Awareness Month and others on the blog site, such as last year’s post offering guidance for mental wellness in the transitional fall months.

In 2021, effective leadership requires managing a complex web of responsibilities, relationships, and expectations to help an organization adapt and thrive. People leaders have been called upon to help businesses navigate the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the workforce, the transition to in-office, fully remote work structures, or somewhere in between, and the […]

Mindfulness for People Leaders: How to Manage the Distracted Mind

The past two years have brought unprecedented challenges and transformational change to the workplace, from managing the pandemic to addressing racial inequities, to enabling a work-from-home workforce. And for each of these challenges, People Leaders have been called on to help organizations adapt and thrive. This has stretched people to the limits of their capabilities and often increased the stressfulness of jobs that were already demanding.

Last week, Newfront hosted a webinar for People Leaders featuring mindfulness exercises led by guest speaker Andy Lee, Head of Mindfulness at Wellness Coach, to help People Leaders and other individuals with taxing jobs to combat this workplace stress.

Andy defined stress as the emotional, cognitive, and physiological reaction to situations we perceive as challenging, threatening, or difficult to deal with. Stress, he emphasized, is a matter of perception and the amount of stress we feel is often related to how large of a threat we perceive.

He also listed an acronym, SCARF, that summarizes the types of situations that stress humans out: threats to Safety and Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness. Attendees were then invited to imagine scenarios that they experienced stress in the last week, examine which of the categories in SCARF it fell into, and identify where in the body they felt this stress most acutely.

Andy then led the attendees in exercises aimed at re-centering our minds on breathing, being aware of our surroundings, and quieting our thoughts. This meditation can be experienced most clearly through the webinar itself, and a link to the recap can be found below.

Newfront takes stress management and overall employee wellness very seriously. Recently, our organization implemented bi-monthly Mental Health Days and we encourage our employees to take these breaks to help reduce stress and burnout and return to work with increased energy and a renewed spirit. Additionally, we’ve written extensively on employee wellness, and our tips for reducing stress can be found in our recent blog post for Stress Awareness Month and others on the blog site, such as last year’s post offering guidance for mental wellness in the transitional fall months.

Newfront is also hosting another Mindfulness for People Leaders webinar next week, this time focusing on managing the distracted mind. Click here to sign up.

The past two years have brought unprecedented challenges and transformational change to the workplace, from managing the pandemic to addressing racial inequities, to enabling a work-from-home workforce. And for each of these challenges, People Leaders have been called on to help organizations adapt and thrive. This has stretched people to the limits of their capabilities […]

Mindfulness for People Leaders: Wellness Coach’s Tips for Recognizing and Recovering from Stress

A few months ago, we wrote about the legal considerations for employers as vaccines became more widely available in the U.S. In this blog, we discussed whether employers could inquire about vaccination status, encourage employees to get vaccinated, provide accommodation for unvaccinated employees, and how to watch for discrimination.

Since that post, however, the number of vaccinated people in the U.S. has nearly quadrupled, with over 150M people fully vaccinated and over 50% of Americans having received at least one dose. While these numbers are encouraging and suggest that many companies will be resuming in-office work this year, returning to the workplace will not be necessarily straightforward.

To reopen offices, employers must consider vaccination rates among their own employees, COVID-19 testing strategies, mask requirements, and the ongoing threat of COVID-19 exposure as strains such as the Delta variant continue to spread. In our COVID-19 Report, we found that a majority of companies we surveyed had no testing services or vaccination policy in place for their employees.

Questions abound: How should you approach vaccines and employees returning to the workplace? Should you require employees to be vaccinated before returning to the workplace? What to do about masks once back in the office?

In July, ABD hosted a webinar in collaboration with Robert Hudock of Hudock Employment Law Group to discuss issues pertaining to the COVID-19 vaccine and returning to the workplace. This webinar provides important information, insights, and considerations for employers as we enter the next stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Click here

A few months ago, we wrote about the legal considerations for employers as vaccines became more widely available in the U.S. In this blog, we discussed whether employers could inquire about vaccination status, encourage employees to get vaccinated, provide accommodation for unvaccinated employees, and how to watch for discrimination. Since that post, however, the number […]

Employer Considerations for COVID-19 Vaccination and Returning to the Workplace

On June 15, California plans to fully reopen the economy by removing nearly all pandemic-related restrictions on residents. With vaccine rates steadily increasing and COVID-19 infection rates continuing to decline, businesses can resume “usual operations” and individuals and families can resume gathering as normal. California will also lift its mask mandate and adhere to CDC recommendations for mask-wearing, which allows vaccinated individuals to go without masks in public, including most indoor settings.

The Cal/OSHA board is meeting on June 3 to consider revised rules and decide whether or not to loosen pandemic-era restrictions on businesses and workplaces, such as physical barriers, distancing, and mask mandates. Depending on the board’s decision, all California businesses may be able to welcome employees back into the workplace on June 15. As the most populous state in the country and the first to set a shelter-in-place order at the start of the pandemic, this reopening will mark a turning point in the country’s pandemic response and set a standard for managing COVID-19 illnesses in a post-pandemic world.

At Newfront, we’ve spoken a lot about return to workplace plans, and urge our clients and peers in all states to create and execute a thorough and thoughtful reentry plan. Successful reentry plans will connect to company culture, values, and operations, while transparent, flexible, and focused on employee concerns and safety. Below is a list of resources we’ve compiled to help support a successful office reopening.

Recovering from COVID-19 building closures

Working remotely during COVID-19: Your mental health & well-being. American Psychiatric Association Foundation

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

CDC – Public health recommendations for community exposure

Caring for someone sick at home or other non-healthcare settings

Discontinuation of isolation for persons with COVID-19 not in healthcare settings

Interim guidance for businesses and employers to plan and respond to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

General business frequently asked questions

Community Resources for Employee Wellness

National information and referral service for those in need

National on-line referral services linking those in need with local free or reduced housing, food and medical care

Families First Coronavirus Response Act questions and answers

Families First Coronavirus Response Act posters (multilingual)

Stay at Home – A national list of stay-at-home orders

A list of state-wide return to work protocols

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Guidance on preparing workplaces for COVID-19

Opening Up America Again – Statement from the Biden Administration

Mental health and psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak

On June 15th, California plans to fully reopen the economy by removing nearly all pandemic-related restrictions on residents. With vaccine rates steadily increasing and COVID-19 infection rates continuing to decline, businesses can resume “usual operations” and individuals and families can resume gathering as normal.

The New Normal: How to Prepare for Full Reopening of the Economy

Employers in need of reporting injuries to OSHA are quickly approaching an important date  – March 2, 2020. Download our Occupational Health & Safety Bulletin for detailed information and helpful links to ensure your company stays in compliance.

Deadline for Electronic Reporting of OSHA 300A Data

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Articles from Megan O'Toole

Mindfulness for People Leaders: How to Manage the Distracted Mind

Mindfulness for People Leaders: Wellness Coach’s Tips for Recognizing and Recovering from Stress

Employer Considerations for COVID-19 Vaccination and Returning to the Workplace

The New Normal: How to Prepare for Full Reopening of the Economy

Deadline for Electronic Reporting of OSHA 300A Data

Newfront for Businesses

Newfront for Employee Benefits

Newfront for Private Clients

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Articles from Megan O'Toole

.css-13o7eu2{display:block;}Mindfulness for People Leaders: How to Manage the Distracted Mind

Mindfulness for People Leaders: Wellness Coach’s Tips for Recognizing and Recovering from Stress

Employer Considerations for COVID-19 Vaccination and Returning to the Workplace

The New Normal: How to Prepare for Full Reopening of the Economy

Deadline for Electronic Reporting of OSHA 300A Data

Newfront for Businesses

Newfront for Employee Benefits

Newfront for Private Clients

Blog ‍

Connect ‍
with ‍
us. ‍

Mindfulness for People Leaders: How to Manage the Distracted Mind