Future work

Many of us spend around a third of our lives at work, which is over 90,000 hours in a lifetime. We work for many reasons; to follow a passion, a meaningful career, to make a difference, for social connections, to provide for our family, and to pay for our lifestyle. The first organisations were teams of hunter-gatherers who brought together a range of different skills, so the collective was more than the sum of the parts, which is still true of organisations today.

In more recent times we’ve gone through a series of revolutions that have transformed the world of work. During the first steam-powered industrial revolution machines replaced skilled labour and many people suffered dreary work lives, as little more than machines themselves. The second, electric-powered revolution was less dirty and dangerous, but many people were still treated like machines. The third revolution of computers, networks, and data brought greater autonomy and a host of new roles, where using your brain was more important than what you did with your hands. We’re now entering what’s called the fourth industrial revolution, where automation and artificial intelligence promise to disrupt how we live and work; from self-driving cars, drones, digital assistants, and machine learning. Although ordering a cab or booking somewhere to stay may be easier and cheaper, these new technologies bring unintended consequences, like increased inequality and lower job security.

We live in a challenging world with geo-political conflicts, global financial instability, and the looming climate crisis, which all impact our lives. In the post-pandemic world, many of us work in ways that allow a better balance between our work and home lives. It’s interesting that the ability to work from home has existed for decades, but it took a global health crisis to tip the prevailing cultural resistance within organisational management. The pandemic also pushed employee health and well-being into the mainstream, which is another positive outcome for many.

Our role and what we do contributes to our identity, sense of status, and self-worth at work, which can also extend into our personal lives. Our personal relationship with work depends on a range of factors:

How things are for us generally in our lives
The level of demand, stress, and frustration in our role
Whether or not we are making a meaningful contribution
How recognised, valued and supported we feel by our peers and the people above us
The ethos and values of the organisation
Whether or not there are opportunities to progress in our career
The level of change in the organisation and economic environment

In response to these changes and challenges, the skills and attitudes that we develop through mindfulness are even more important:

Thoughts: Being more aware of intentional (thinking on purpose) as well as unintentional (mind-wandering) thoughts. Knowing that we are not our thoughts, favouring thoughts that are useful, expanding and nurturing, and letting go of ones that are not useful, limiting and depleting.
Emotions: Being aware of our moods and emotions so that we become more the master than the servant of our emotions. Knowing that we are not our emotions and acknowledging feelings as they arise and allowing them to dissolve in their own time.
Trust: We can use openness, kindness, and compassion to build the trust of others, who find that we’re not a threat when we see them as people just like ourselves
Focus: Letting go of mental and emotional noise, and creating the space, clarity, and openness to allow our amazing minds to work at their full potential.
Stress: Being aware of tension and tightness as it arises in the body and working proactively with stress to release physical tension and negativity and revitalise our energy as soon as we can.
Acceptance: Accepting things as they are without resisting or avoiding the reality of a situation. Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor, and Stoic wisely said, “The impediment to action advances action. That which stands in the way becomes the way.

In an uncertain world, one certainty is that disruptive world events and technological change will impact our work lives. Cultivating mindfulness skills and attitudes can help us navigate disruptive change to find a more fulfilling, easeful, and productive future at work.

Suggested weekly practice

Using curiosity to explore trust. How much do you trust others? What makes and breaks your trust? Using openness, kindness, and compassion to build the trust of others, who find that we’re not a threat when we see them as people just like ourselves.
Taking regular breaks during the day to check in with how you feel and to settle any agitation and release stress, so that you can return to a more peaceful, calm, and relaxed state.
Practising acceptance by accepting things as they are, especially if they are difficult or challenging. This can also include seeing if, “The impediment to action advances action. That which stands in the way becomes the way “(Marcus Aurelius), is a useful approach when you come across barriers and blockages at work.

Guidance
Find somewhere undisturbed and sit in a comfortable, dignified, and upright posture, where you can remain alert and aware.
There are two guided practices for this session. You can close your eyes, or lower your gaze while the meditations play.

Play the settling practice, then read through the session content, which you can print off if that helps.
Then play the second audio to reflect on your relationship with work and explore awareness of thoughts and emotions.